To make a long story short: a few days after the iPhone made its German debut under T-Mobile exclusivity, competitor Vodafone cried foul. The rival service provider brought T-Mobile to court, and claimed that T-Mobile's bundling of a 2-year contract with each iPhone was a violation of German law, an assertion that the court agreed with.

But this development, the first legally available unlocked iPhone, probably won't spell the end of Apple and its network partners' dominance over the smartphone. If anything, the entire saga proves that they're in full control. Indeed, in Germany you now can buy an iPhone that will work with any GSM network-but only if you can pay 999 euros (nearly a thousand and a half dollars!) and live with the limited functionality.

Thanks to EuroNews for the heads-up