Apple is imposing numerous restrictions on iPhone sales to slow down the unauthorised unlocking of iphones. Starting from Thursday, Apple no longer will accept cash for iPhones and will sell only two devices per person. Apple will be asking for a credit or debit card for payment to discourage unauthorized resellers.

Customer response to the iPhone has been off the charts, and limiting iPhone sales to two per customer will help ensure that there are enough iPhones for people who are shopping for themselves or buying a gift. According to Apple, about 2.5 lakh iphones out of 14 lakhs were purchased recently to unlock and resell them.

Currently Apple iPhone devices are available only in the U.S. and can work only with AT&T carrier, however, unlocked iPhones are relatively popular not only in the U.S., but also in Europe and even in Russia. Recently France has prohibited Apple to sell locked phones in France. As a result, as soon as the company starts to sell its iPhone in France via Orange, customers will still be able to use iPhones in any networks.

Some experts, however, are of the opinion that the ‘restrictions on iPhone sales’ have little to do with censoring the unlocking business, and more with Apple’s holiday marketing and sales strategy. They point out that despite what seems like an endless iPhone launch, the iPhone has only been on the market for four months now, and Apple’s manufacturing capacity is probably still only about 5,00,000 iPhones a month. With the iPhone launching in Germany and the UK in two weeks and in France in a month and with holiday shopping demand ramping up, the last thing Apple wants to happen is to run out of iPhones for any of its markets.

The iPhone was launched on June 29 and has become a popular device thanks to its ability to act as digital media player, phone, Web browser and personal digital assistant. The device is equipped with 3.5″ touch-screen instead of keypad, includes support for quad-band GSM, EDGE, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 EDR wireless technologies. The iPhone also features a 2 megapixel (2MP) camera along with a photo management application.

iPhone will be available in Asia including India in 2008. But unlocked Apple iphones are likely to be available in grey market once Apple start sellling unlocked iPhones via Orange in France.

iPhone will be available in Asia including India in 2008. But unlocked Apple iphones are likely to be available in grey market once Apple start sellling unlocked iPhones via Orange in France.

Written by Mahesh Chawla in Cellular