US iPhone 5

I'm travelling to the US over the holidays and I am considering buying an iPhone 5 while there. After being told that US iPhones are contract only I have had it confirmed that it is possible to buy direct form Apple an unlocked iPhone. Has anyone done this? Have you had any problems? I've also had conflicting advice about Apple's worldwide warranty, but I suspect this is scare mongering to prevent one purchasing abroad. The saving is roughly a £100.

Thanks

Have you taken into account Sales Tax in the US plus duty and VAT when importing the phone?

I have various US things (iPad, iPhone) and they are fine. I have taken an iPad back to a UK store and the replaced it. You have to ask the store for an unlocked iPhone as they do not generally advertise that they have any.

They are cheaper, remember to add sales tax though (9% to be safe, some towns are cheaper). You are *supposed* to add import duty, but unlikely you will be stopped. So about £450 instead of £529 for the 16gb version.

Is the factory unlocked iPhone 5 actually available in the US yet? You might want to confirm in the Apple Support Communities. You will need to create an id to be able to post questions.

Other things to consider are state sales tax, import duty and warranty.

Edited by deleted (Tue 18-Dec-12 11:39:52)

They have been available for quite a while. As I mentioned below you just have to ask. I have noticed that the Apple website now sells them as well so perhaps they are widely available and no 'cloak and dagger' stuff.

Are you sure? As of early December a factory unlocked version was only available for online order. A date for in-store sales had not been announced.

Edited by deleted (Tue 18-Dec-12 11:55:26)

I bought one five weeks ago in San Francisco, so I'm positive

OK I stand corrected. ASC still carries many posts from users unable to make an in-store purchase. What is the warranty situation? This another much discussed issue and it would be interesting to hear from someone who has actually bought one!

I didn't ask about the warranty. As mentioned in my post below, I did buy (an original) iPad that had problems and took it back to a store here and they just swapped it.

I'm assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that the same applies to the iPhone.

AFAIK the iPad has an international warranty whereas the iPhone is country of origin specific.