Ars Technica says that T-Mobile has been forced to sell unlocked iPhones in Germany for just under US $1,500. The (temporary?) unlocked iPhone sale is a result of a lawsuit brought by Vodaphone (which is part of Verizon here in the U.S.) that claimed locking a phone to one carrier violated German law.

Here’s the scoop:

This is all due to the temporary injunction issued by a German court earlier this week. The judge said that T-Mobile had until today to change its policies with the iPhone. Even though the company said it would oppose the injunction, it apparently had no other choice than to oblige until the case is reviewed once again in a couple of weeks. Vodafone, which brought the case against T-Mobile, said that it would not pursue the iPhone throughout Europe–this case was special because Vodafone believed that it violated German law.

So what can you do now? Well, if you’re in Germany and you want an iPhone, you can buy one from T-Mobile for €999. If you already bought an iPhone, the company says that you can request an unlock code (which will probably cost you the difference between €399 and €999). T-Mobile has said that it will continue to sell these contract-free, lock-free iPhones “until the legal situation is solved,” so this may be temporary.

Everybody panic! Unlocked iPhones! Get them while they still exist! (If you have lots of extra cash to blow on a phone, that is.)

T-Mobile forced to sell unlocked iPhones in Germany [Ars Technica]
(Photo:medalian1)

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