old3eyes: I wonder if this is the beginning of the end for cheap unlocked fones in NZ. Will this progressively creep up the the mid range fones?? At least Vodafone's $30 unlock price is way better than the AU$75 I was charged a couple of years ago for a cheap Vodafone prepay fone in Australia. The unlock cost more than the fone cost.

freitasm: He meant the unlock fee he paid in Australia cost more than the phone when he bought one there a couple of years ago.

He didn't say unlocked phones are more expensive.

NonprayingMantis:

old3eyes: I wonder if this is the beginning of the end for cheap unlocked fones in NZ. Will this progressively creep up the the mid range fones?? At least Vodafone's $30 unlock price is way better than the AU$75 I was charged a couple of years ago for a cheap Vodafone prepay fone in Australia. The unlock cost more than the fone cost.

locking allows the phone to be sold more cheaply than when not locked, not the other way around.

mattwnz: This is an interesting article about it http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/8769785/Complaint-over-Vodafone-Sim-locking

uglyb0b: The problem I have with this is the idea of these phones being sold locked because they are "discounted".

The two phones Vodafone is currently locking are priced at $109 unlocked or $79 locked (Nokia C2) and $89 unlocked or $59 locked (Samsung E3309). The previous retail prices for these unlocked were $89 and $59. In other words, the prices of the unlocked phones have been increased, rather than the locked phones being discounted. (Well a $10 discount on the locked Nokia but a $20 price increase on the unlocked model).

If they actually were discounted or sold below cost and were network locked I would have no problem with it.