Be an iPhone for Halloween!

The winner. An iPhone dog costume. Poor thing.

Runner up. Hand-down the most comfortable iPhone costume out there.

Really well done. He’s got mobility, and people can tell who he is (just look at his Facebook info).

I think the screens on these iPhone costumes actually light up. There might be a beer fridge in there somewhere, too.

Pretty good. Must be a first generation iPhone costume.

Hmmm…. so many options. Ahhh…  Where should I go?

Listening to Elsie’s message before your aunts and uncles messages?

iPhone costume guy with his feet really close together.

Photo: iPhone with a SIM card ejected.

Question: Will a Korean SIM card work in my iPhone?

Answer:  NO!! It doesn’t matter who you ask. It doesn’t matter how they answer. It doesn’t matter if you have a Ph.D. in mobile phone technology.  You will ultimately find yourself wasting your time. SIM is an acronym for “Subscriber Identity Module.”  A Korean SIM card from a mobile carrier in Korea will not work in your iPhone (including SK Telecom, KTF, and LG Telecom).

The Reason: At the moment, every mobile phone (hand-phone) is required to be registered into the carriers network. That means the actual phone’s serial number, or ID number must match what is allowed on the network. Not only that, each phone model must be approved by the government.  This is mandated by the Korean government. Jail-breaking your iPhone to function with a carrier in Korea will not work.

Your iPhone will not magically jump on the Korean cell phone network simply by inserting a Korean network SIM card. I know it’s frustrating. The best way to use an iPhone in Korea is to either purchase an iPod Touch or an iPhone and dealing with what’s available for the time being. For now, you must be satisfied with using an Interbro ”egg” to provide your iPhone with a local WIFI connection.

You’ll have a high-bandwidth 4G connection for about  $20/month with KT Telecom plus the cost of the “egg” (sometimes called the Yota Egg for about $200). You can register a Korean phone number with Skype for about $30/year plus $10/month for an unlimited calling plan.

See Also:

How to Use the iPhone in Korea (with Skype)

How to use your iPhone in Korea WITHOUT Skype for phone capability

Why is the iPhone not in Korea?

iPhone 3G vs the 3GS

아이폰 나는 나의 iPhone 을 정말 좋아한다

Who are the major mobile carriers in Korea?

10 reasons why Korea needs the iPhone

Step 1: Get a WiMAX subscription with your Korean mobile phone company

Step 2: Get a wireless router for your WiMAX called an “egg”

Step 3: Get your iPhone or iPod Touch

Step 4: Get Skype

If you have a WiMAX subscription, you can get a router called an “egg,” manufactured by a company called Interbro (branded as Yota in Korea) to use with your iPhone or your iPod Touch. The “egg” turns into a WIFI hotspot, with speeds up to 4 megabits per second. The Egg’s battery lasts an impressive 5 hours, an hour longer than my MacBook. That is faster than most high speed cable connections anywhere in the world. KT has their WiBro service everywhere, including the subways.

KT offers 30 gigabytes of data transfer at speeds up to 4 megabits per second for $20 per month. This is a much, much better than Verizon Wireless’s similar offering in the US called MiFi for $60 for only 5 gigabytes of data transfer.

I currently use my iPhone everywhere here in Korea, and I also use Skype daily to make phone calls home to the US. I’ve used my Skype iPhone App on my iPhone, and it works great. Now you can use your Skype account to make phone calls anywhere in the world for CHEAP. I pay $30/year for a US-based phone number (you can also get a Korean phone number), and $10/month for unlimited phone calls anywhere in the world. Some countries are limited to just land-lines. Fortunately, there are no surcharges to mobile phones in the US and Canada.

There’s been talk for 3 years about the iPhone reaching the Korean shores. There’s a ridiculous amount of hype about it, but its still not here. For now, I’ve found my own band-aid fix to use my iPhone in Korea.

See Also:

How To Use Your iPhone in Korea Without Skype (Full Mobile Phone Capability)

Do Korean SIM cards work in the iPhone in Korea?

Why is the iPhone not in Korea?

iPhone 3G vs the 3GS

아이폰 나는 나의 iPhone 을 정말 좋아한다

Who are the major mobile carriers in Korea?

10 reasons why Korea needs the iPhone

진짜 진짜 블링 블링 아이폰!!

Behold, the world’s most expensive iPhone. Officially called the Princess Plus, Peter Aloisson’s creation is ridiculous. It has over 300 diamonds set in 18k white gold , with about half the diamonds that are “princess cut.” You can have one for about $175,000 USD.

Solid 22ct gold (not plated, solid) iPhone with diamonds.

다이아몬드 황금 아이폰, 한정판 황금아이폰, 명품폰.

저렴한 4,000만원 짜리 명품 아이폰!!

For only $35,000, you can get a Stuart Hughes designed bling-bling iPhone to show off to the world just how rich you are. Or you could be the equivalent to “owning the Ferrari but can’t afford the gas,” and spend all your cash on flashy iPhone with hopefully enough dough left-over to pay for the cell phone service.