The iPhone launches in France tonight on the carrier Orange. One of the cool things about the French launch is that they’re selling the unlocked iPhone for so much less than T-Mobile is selling it for. Maybe all the delays in launching a French iPhone were because Orange was a tougher negotiator… if that’s true, the extra time was worth it: the uncontracted iPhone from Orange is a bargain at €649 (about $975); the standard locked iPhone with one of their four simplified plans is €399 (about $600),

The customer can unlock the iPhone for €100 (about $150), which drops to free after six months. If only we could have some straight answers from AT&T and Apple about unlocking in the U.S.A.