I was starving after the gym this morning so I stopped over at a nearby supermarket to get a sandwich. On the way out, I noticed this on their noticeboard:
This person is selling them for really hefty prices:
- The 8GB black is for BD 420 (US$ 1,111 – it’s $199 originally but with a contract)
- The 16GB black is for BD 465 (US$ 1,230 – it’s $299 originally “)
- The 16GB white is for BD 480 (US$ 1,270 – it’s $299 originally “)
They go on to explain why the prices they are charges might appear high with this:
Why does the price APPEAR high? …. What you don’t know is that to own an iPhone 3G in from Apple, Worldwide, you MUST (in addition to initial iPhone price & being a resident in that country):
- Sign and entire 2 YEAR contract with AT&T, and add $30 to every monthly bill.
- Pay Taxes.
- If you wish to cancel contract you must pay $170+, if otherwise cancelled you MUST RETURN the device.
- many more hassles.
Well, for those prices, Apple can keep their phone. I would rather have this one instead.
Comments
What’s the phone number on the ad?
I’m not comfortable giving it out publicly! Go to Aljazeera on Budaiya road and get it from there! (or email me)
R_I_P_O_F_F 😯
When is the SE C905 coming out?
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I suggest buying the jailbreak one from ebay
Yups there’s loads on ebay & they’re cheaper. I wouldn’t trust parting with 450 Dinars with some stranger I don’t know, don’t trust, and have never met or heard of before! At least you get the comfort of buyer protection with ebay if you use Paypal.
– My 2 fils
I agree with you Mahmood it is so not fair, SUCH a RIP OFF I need an iPhone but if I can’t afford on why would I starve my self for a couple of months to get a phone when I can get a sony erricson which has better features.
I’m ready to buy an iPhone but for not more than 200BD 8GB and 300BD 16GB although it is stil a rip off.
Total Rip Off!
Its just another highly priced fancy Apple product. With that sum i could buy a N95 8GB which is way better thn the iPhone in my opinion. The only thing is it lacks the touch screen, but who cares aniwayz…
compared the ebay the price isn’t that bad.
This should be fun, lets think of what else you could buy with a spare 450 dinars instead..
– 4,500 cans of diet coke – would last for years; or
– A years worth of 1Mbps broadband from Batelco; or
– A brand new 20″ iMac 2.4Ghz; or
– A road legal scooter ?
These prices will come down rapidly over the next 4 months. As it is, GPS + UMTS/HSDP is not worth upgrading yet.
I upgraded my first gen iphone to 2.0 applied a CallerID address book fix and i’m very very happy. The extra speed does not bother me. NetShare over EDGE is sufficient to browse on a laptop via the iphone.
Still no Vcard support and sms forwarding, bad bad bad. But still, by far the best phone i’ve ever used.
—
Sam, where can I get a brand new iMac 2.4 for 450!? i’ll buy it today!
same here! (as far as the iMac is concerned)
It should be OK if you publish the phone number. I’m sure the advertiser won’t mind. He/she will get much more exposure for what he paid Aljazeera!
Well, the price is fine, I just flew in from New York and the prices there are exactly the same that the AlJazeera guy, but the difference is he has it unlocked.
But guys, Jailbreaking is NOT the same as unlocking…. in New york while i was the cheapest i found was $80 dollars for unlocking….
if you do the math:
Iphone ($300+8% tax)+ Extra on contract of $30×24 + Unlocking = $1100 !!!
so its actually cheaper to get from the Aljaeera guy. US market was sold out as of last week so no matter where you are, its sold out..
eBay is full of fruad and i would rather pay the extra couple dinars oicking up from a guys house in bahrain.
The iPhone price will not drop in the coming months but cause dmena dis way higher then supply….
its a really cool fun,, i love it. and I want it
Ahmed, maybe if he gave me a “free sample” iPhone I might publish his contact details! 😉
With most dreaming of 4G/5G masts and boxes to go in, (dream on) 3G as a format/medium was/is a huge flop by comparison to the hype. 3.5G seems more usable data wise. 3G was good of course, but who used its full potential? I don’t think the Ifone 3G has a front camera on it even. Well I have read all the reviews etc. and I cannot find mention of it. I could be wrong. As the telcos will have us believe, we are all making video calls. HaHa, I think not! Most of the video calling with Zain in the early days where simply between employees. Imagine the driving in Bahrain/Middle East if video calls did catch on. Geeee-zus!
Anyway. Nevermind all that. The HTC ‘Diamond Touch’ is admittedly a windows device, but gives the Mac a very good run for its money and its BD300 around.
unlocking??
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/08/07/brando_iphone_3g_sim_unlock/
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Ohhh I’ve just read the TRA’s annual report for 2007 which has just come out! The results from their independent survey they did are terrible! 😡
34% of households without phone lines
47% of the households have no internet connectivity!
On the business end, only 8% of businesses use e-applications, and a mere 5% make use of ICT solutions!
Well, that’s growth potential for you!
Wohoo!!! i just bought the iphone 3g white edition and I LOVE IT. its unlocked and working and Bahrain perfectly…. Apparently its from the same AlJAzeera guy.
HEY GUYS!!!!
(i posted a mimilar message on EmiratesMac formums)
I GOT IT!!!
after reading the poster about a couple of days ago in jazeera Zinj branch i called the guy and last ight i picked it up from him!!!!…. the 8GB one for BD430!
which i consider a GREAT bargain (the cheapest i could find in dubai last week was Dhs 6000+) (now THAT‘s hefty)
and best part is …IT’S UNLOCKED!!!! 😛
…now is works perfect on my ZAIN line!! im super psyched!!
he’s a really nice guy too… NOW i OWN and iPhone 3G!!!!
just wanted to let you guys know that is all the real deal and good!
oops! i meant to say similar not mimilar
Hi there,
Anyone wanting to patch the caller ID problem for Bahrain should check http://www.waish.org
Cheers!
I think it would be better if we took it with a contract
😐 😛 🙄
Fawzi 1, good for you that you got the iphone 3g. Almost BD500 on a PHONE ! ! ! You must have more money than sense IMHO. You could take a holiday in the Far East for that price, and I know which one I’d prefer. . .
Hi,
I Post this only with Mahmood’s permission. I have been watching these big prices that some of you are paying. I bought a high priced one too but I have now found a very cheap supplier. I have 5 units of 8GB fully unlocked, fully Arabic enabled. I can sell each for BD320
If interested contact Mahmood to get my personal details. Shops are selling way to hi and I bought these on dealer prices from the states.
Martin
only if I get a commission!
I DID predict prices would come down rapidly 😛
Prices arent coming down rapidly….i just have a cost price much cheaper then the shops….i dont make 200 dianrs a peice like the shops….. im just selling at the cheap price to stop the shops killing everyone.
You Samaritan you…
Martin you have my blessings in publishing your number or contact email address here if you wish, and good luck!
Thanks Mahmood,
My Contact is 39944321.
Best Regards,
I can’t believe the prices of the 3G iPhones at Geant (apart from what they’re doing is completely illegal of course by offering “broken” iPhones to get them to work here):
picture taken this morning (23 aug 08)
I’ll tell you what I can’t believe.. Geant have actually printed the Wifi and bluetooth module MAC addresses on their advert!!!! Enlarge the photo and have a look!
Crazy!
Wow, you’re right!!
ROFL!!!! why on earth would you do that!???
But, (un)fortunately, the chances of finding that particular iphone are very small! The best you could do is implicate it by spoofing the MAC 😛
But where would Geant staff of gotten the MAC addresses from? It certain isn’t printed on the box or any of the iPhone documentation?
I was wondering the same thing!
haha, the Geant peple who printed that are silly, they put the MAC address and all because they just went to the Settings>General>AABOUT page and copy pasted pretty much what was shown! LOL
how can they not know that its always diffent….hahaha
NOW I FEEL GLAD! that i bought mine for the price i did!….
BD599= purely and utterly total rip off!
600BD for a phone! now THAT is out of this world!
600 Dinars for a mobile phone is extreme.. You’d be able to buy a high end laptop or desktop for that price… or a 50″ HDTV plasma TV!
Hey there bro,
Although yes it’s amazingly expensive (it was 700 BD when it first came out!) It’s not technically correct to compare it to US prices, especially since you haven’t factored in the two year contract tied to it 🙂
In the UK, it’s around 200 GBP + a 30 pounds contract for 2 years.
In India, it’s 350bd plus a two year contract.
I don’t know what it’s going to be in Qatar (since it’s officially the only gulf country to get it through Vodafone)
Would be interesting to find out the Qatari situation. But as you might have guessed, I don’t like complications. I want to walk into a store, make my selection, pay my money and walk out and insert my SIM card and Bob’s your uncle.
The Apple “policy” is monopolistic and distasteful. So until their product becomes freely available without the locking-in mechanism, I think I’ll give it a pass.
WTF iPhone Sucks! Its just a gimmick! What an expensive price! Such a POS
H E L P
Can’t unlock my son’s new Iphone. I’m losing respect daily because of this.
Can anyone unlock it?.
Will “appreciate ” your help…….wink wink
Sure I can unlock it for you. Give me a call on 39944321
i am comming to bahrain on september first. please let me know how many you need. i will get them for you. send me an email. thanks. i can unlock and jail break them also.
Hi radwan, How much are the unlocks for….are they the ones that require you to cut the sim card or the newer ones which dont. I would love 2 or 3. How much are they so that I can decide?
thnkx
Are you this Jobless, get a life..
I really agree with the last comment, i think u know very little about Zain.. I work there and i really know how many services we provide, but a hand-full of people just like you just want to destroy the image cause you have nothing else to do. It seems like u prefer Batelco, so injoy ur 4 GB for 40BD..
Thanks Ayoub, I shall. Make sure you come back and enter your staff number so you can get a proper pat on the back for defending Zain’s honour.
hahahha..that price is 3x the orignal..after a month or so software cracks would come out.just like the old time.I crack my friends iphone and ipod instead of paying 40 bd for it..
is there any law that prohibits supermarket to sell these illegal iphones? after all after buying them you won’t get any apple support since is illegal…is there any consumer protection here in Bahrain??
bamster..iphone or iphone 3g? you can unlock it… google it..here is a tip search zibra and other tip.. go to youtube search iphone unlock..u’ll get the exact software name for unlocking plus tutorials..but if it is iphone 3g..you gotta wait a little more time..
Good day to everyone!
I am needing a little of anyone’s help here. I have an aunt living in the united states that is willing to get me and my husband an iphone 3g but I am not really so sure if it can work properly here in Bahrain. I was like thinking if you guys knows anyone who can completely unlock and jailbreak (as how i heard it but doesn’t know really what is it for) an iphone 3g safely. And another thing, is it safe to have it shipped through Aramex for we already have an account with them (via their official postal address)? Coz I believe that we could only use that certain postal address if we will buy or shop online. I was trying to reach their customer service but no one is attending my query, just an answering machine. I am hoping someone could help me out here. I am really dying for this iphone 3g and now I can have it without any cost. Pleae help…
Thank you and more power to Mahmood!
Hi Cathybabe,
I can jailbreak and unlock the phone for you. I too have ordered via Aramex and its perfectly fine. However I didnt quit eunderstand your question. Give me a cal on 39944321 and ill explain it all to you. It’s not rocket sceince so no worries.
I guess ill wait for your call. I have two remaining unlocks.
Regards,
Tariq.
there is no unlocking software right now for the new 3g iphone. you have to use turbo sim where you have to modify your sim card..my suggestion is..its better to wait for a few more months for sure they’ll develop a new software just like before..afterall later edition of Iphone 3g will have a minimal bugs.