Belgium’s iPhone No Longer MIA, Just More Expensive And Globally Unlocked
Despite being one of the few launch countries, our friends in Belgium got shafted over when Mobistar pulled out on the iPhone 3G’s sell date of July 11th after they conveniently remembered the country’s corporate reaming law on phone exclusivity. After getting their shit together Mobistar attended a brief press conference to confirm that yes the iPhone 3G is coming, SIM unlocked but will rape your wallet harder than other foreign iPhones.
Belgium is still getting both flavors of the iPhone, 8GB and 16GB coming in at black and white but will just about tear up and stamp any dignity your bank account might have had when it came to holding money when you wrestle out 525 Euros for just a baseline 8GB model or 90 Euros more for that shiny, iPod-esque 16GB model that still retains the same amount of finger prints. Besides having the bragging rights to securing down an iPhone 3G you’ll also have the privilege of a globally unlocked phone bestowed upon you. That’s right, while the iPhone here in the states is still tied to AT&T in some way and a specific carrier in those non North American territories, Belgium iPhones will be able to travel the world to see the great wall of China, eat spaghetti in Italy or just laugh at those in Fiji who don’t even have a launch date all while being able to use local GSM carriers with no roaming fees tacked on.
Despite Belgium’s strict stance on fucking over phone exclusivity wherever it may pop up, Mobistar still retains rights as the only carrier to sell the iPhone, wether or not you want to sell a piece of your soul for a 2 year contract to them is now up to you. Alternatively you could sign up with another Belgian based carrier or send it to a buddy in Russia to add a touch of Apple to your Cold War reenactments. The one major downside is the lack of Visual Voicemail support from each Belgian carrier but it’s to be expected when no one has exclusivity. But to make up for keeping customers in the dark, Mobistar will be throwing a launch party selling the iPhone 3G to the first 250 people who signed up online for more information through their website on July 11th and proceed to sell off some more that weekend with normal shipments picking up within a few days.
Special thanks to David Dauphin who attended Mobistar’s brief press conference in Belgium for the debriefing.