Can a Paddy buy the Nokia7500Prism?

December 13, 2007 11:09 AM

If my Irish friend orders the Nokia 7500 Prism from the UK, will it be unlocked when he gets it?

I realise there is probably a very simple answer to this but it is not clear from the many websites he's checked. He doesn't understand why it's only been launched in the UK and doesn't want to spend £140 just in case.
(My feeling is if it is free with certain payplans, for £140 he can probably do what he wants, but he wants more certainty than that.)
Mefites?

posted by Wilder to Technology (4 answers total)

Best answer: Do you mean just the handset? If so then yes, but if he gets a sim with it on a contract then probably not.
posted by gatchaman at 11:47 AM on December 13, 2007

Yep, just the handset.
posted by kairab at 12:06 PM on December 13, 2007

Best answer: Buying the phone direct from Nokia UK costs £159. So £140 is in the price region where you'd expect it to be unlocked, yes.

Basically, as long as you're buying a new one, and you're not buying it from a network (contract or pay-as-you-go, since some networks lock some of their pay-as-you-go phones as well), then you're good. The key phrases to check for are 'handset only' and 'sim free'.

Or, of course, just ask the vendor straight out whether it's unlocked or not.
posted by chrismear at 12:19 PM on December 13, 2007

Response by poster: thanks, his vague concerns relate to the fact that none of the websites he found it on contain those phrases. He was also worried about the fact that it is not for sale in the ROI (he's a very straight up kind of guy). CM points to a very elegant solution. I can buy it for him here in the UK and post it!
posted by Wilder at 10:51 PM on December 13, 2007