Verizon iPhone

The iPhone 5 can now be purchased unlocked in the U.S. via the Apple Store. An unlocked iPhone allows Apple customers to buy the device without agreeing to a two-year carrier contract, however, this also means users are stuck paying an unsubsidized price. Apple is offering the 16GB model for $649, the 32GB model for $749 and the 64GB model for $849.

The unlocked iPhone 5 only works with GSM wireless networks such as AT&T and T-Mobile (T-Mobile customers considering buying an unlocked iPhone 5 may want to wait until next week to see if the T-Mobile iPhone rumor is true). The unlocked iPhone 5 does not support CDMA-based carriers such as Verizon Wireless or Sprint, and requires a nano-SIM card to work.

Shipments of nanoSIM cards have begun rolling out to T-Mobile stores this weekend. The nanoSIMs can be used with unlocked iPhones to access T-Mobile's HSPA+ network. T-Mobile has been working hard to convince iPhone users to switch carriers by promising bigger savings and unlimited data plans.

T-Mobile also began offering free iPhone support to its customers in June, and announced it was building a iPhone-compatible 4G network in May. Unlike the other big U.S. carriers (AT&T, Verizon and Sprint) T-Mobile does not officially carry the iPhone, however, it is estimated over one million T-Mobile subscribers use the Apple phone on T-Mobile's network.

You're not experiencing iPhone 5 déjà vu. Last year major iPhone carriers and retailers started blacking out employee vacations for what we all thought would be the iPhone 5 release, and it seems to be happening again. A "trusted Verizon employee" told TechCrunch Verizon has blackout out vactations from September 21 to September 30 in anticipation of a new iPhone.

Verizon's blackout supports an earlier report which claimed Apple will begin selling the next generation handset on September 21. If true, you can expect Apple stores and other iPhone carriers such as AT&T and Sprint, to begin blacking out the same dates for their employees in the near future.

A German wireless carrier also seems to think the iPhone 5 will be available in September. 9to5Mac published an email from Mobilecom Debitel informing their customers about a fall iPhone release. Here's the translation for the picture above:

A few hardware unlock solutions for the iPhone 4S have appeared this month, but Gevey has released a Verizon and Sprint unlocking solution. The Gevey Ultra S claims to unlock both GSM and CDMA, unlike the R-SIM and TP-SIM which do not work with Sprint models.

The new SIM interposer requires that your iPhone be jailbroken, not be running iOS 5.1 or higher and is on one of the following basebands: 1.0.11, 1.0.13, 1.0.14. This is also the only known solution for Sprint handsets. The Gevey Ultra S is $60 and will be available at the end of this month.

It only took a few months but Sprint finally released an iPhone app for their customers. Like other carrier apps, the "Sprint Zone" allows users to access their account, search for promotions, read Sprint news and locate Sprint stores. There is also an Apple store locator, easy access to Apple Care, and the ability to check simple device info like battery stats and data connection. The App is free in the iTunes App Store for devices running iOS 5 or later.