Unlocked iPhones Make Way For New Apple Products

O2 is Apple's carrier partner in the United Kingdom. The carrier offers pay-as-you-go 8-GB iPhone 3Gs at a cheaper rate, £342 (about $500), though those handsets can only be used on O2's network.

""The iPhone has been hugely popular with over one million units sold in the UK," said Peter Rampling, Marketing Director at Telefnica O2 U.K. on the O2 blog.

The deal to offer Sim-free -- and therefore unlocked -- iPhones to all U.K. networks was made possible due to European Union legislation that guarantees the sale of Sim-free mobile phones. Do-it-yourselfers have long been buying the iPhones with no contracts and using tools, such as Yellowsn0w, to open and unlock the handset themselves.

In the United States, beginning next week, AT&T will begin selling iPhones without requiring a two-year contract. Again, the price point is steep: an 8-GB iPhone will go for $599 and the 16-GB iPhone for $699. Earlier this month Apple debuted its iPhone 3.0 software release.

The recent moves could indicate that Apple is prodding retailers of the device to clear the shelves of older iPhones to make way for a third-generation model to be potentially available this summer.