The iPhone 4 is now available unlocked.
(Credit: CNET)The company's online store now lists both a 16GB and 32GB unlocked version of the smartphone. Customers can choose between a black or white model. The company's 16GB version retails for $649, while the 32GB option is available for $749.
Apple currently sells locked versions of the iPhone for $199 and $299 for the 16GB and 32GB models, respectively.
"If you don't want a multiyear service contract or if you prefer to use a local carrier when traveling abroad, the unlocked iPhone 4 is the best choice," Apple writes on the device's product page.
"It arrives without a micro-SIM card, so you'll need an active micro-SIM card from any supported GSM carrier worldwide."
That last statement is perhaps most important to potential customers. Apple's unlocked smartphones will only be capable of running on AT&T and T-Mobile networks in the U.S. The company said it will also work around the world on "supported GSM carriers."
Unlocking the iPhone has long been the practice of some iPhone owners. Over the years, several unlocking tools have been made available to people who wanted to break from the grasps of AT&T and try out T-Mobile in the U.S. Last August, for instance, the iPhone Dev Team released an unlock solution for the iPhone 4, called "ultrasn0w," that allowed users who had jailbroken their iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 3G to bring the device to another carrier.
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