T-Mobile Germany to sell unlocked iPhone--for 999 euros

Deutsche Telekom-owned T-Mobile said it will comply with a court injunction opposing its exclusive German market rights to Apple's iPhone by selling an unlocked version of the device. Granted, you'll have to dig under the couch cushions to come up with the €999 (U.S. $1,477) T-Mobile will charge for the non-exclusive iteration--the operator will also continue offering the iPhone at a discounted price of  €399 (U.S. $590) in tandem with a two-year contract.

Claiming the terms of the Apple deal are uncompetitive according to German law, rival operator Vodafone successfully petitioned for a temporary injunction against T-Mobile, forcing the release of the unlocked iPhone. A Hamburg court hearing is scheduled in two weeks. Vodafone said it does not want to halt T-Mobile's iPhone sales, but wants consumers to be granted the freedom to select their own network provider. T-Mobile said in a statement it would abide by the terms of the injunction "until the legal situation is resolved."

For more on T-Mobile's moves:
- read this International Herald Tribune article [1]

Related articles:
Apple announces German iPhone [2] deal with T-Mobile
O2 chief defends iPhone [3] revenue sharing
iPhone [4] to Vodafone … and O2?