iPhone 5: Prices sink Dh1,550 in 24 hours as Nano-SIM cutter appears

Retail prices of Apple’s iPhone 5 are sinking fast – from Dh6,000 quoted just yesterday, prices have dropped to Dh4,450 within 24 hours today – and may fall further in the UAE as more people realise that the phone will be as useless as a raincoat in Dubai until etisalat and du launch nano-SIM cards here.

Retailer Géant is selling the 16GB ‘factory unlocked’ version of Apple’s iPhone 5 in Dubai – for a steep Dh5,900. Emirates 24|7 checked out the device on Saturday – yes, we felt it in our hands – and it looks rather ordinary (sorry, Apple fans, but that’s our first impression).

While Géant’s price may be quite steep, online retailers in the UAE are advertising the new smartphone cheaper than that. The UAE-based retailer Aido.com is offering the 16GB version for Dh4,449 while the 32GB variant will set you back by Dh4,789 and the 64GB iteration is available for order at Dh5,169, with delivery starting tomorrow.

Discount website VIPdeals.ae is also offering Apple’s latest smartphone for Dh4,450 (plus shipping) to fans in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, and promises delivery within three working days.

For those who do not want to wait until the official launch – it could take until the end of the year – the slight problem about the nano-SIM not being retailed in the UAE could be overcome by a new invention: the nano-SIM cutter.

While some worldwide users have claimed that they have managed to cut their existing micro-SIMs to nano-SIMs in their kitchens, there may be a more structured way of doing so, with one of the first nano-SIM cutters now being flaunted in the virtual world.

Yo Yo Base, a Chinese online retailer, is already offering a nano-SIM cutter for making your existing SIM cards iPhone 5-compatible for those who just can’t wait.

The SIM cutter promises to be able to cut any GSM SIM card, which means it should handle both Micro-SIMs as well as regular SIM cards.

“This Nano SIM cutter is designed to cut your SIM card the same size as Nano SIM with perfect accuracy,” the site claims. “This patented cutter is made of stainless steel, and can handle thousands of cuts without any deformation,” it adds.

And when you buy the cutter, which the site is retailing for $23.99 apiece, you will also get three SIM adapters free of charge to restore your SIM to original size – Nano-SIM to Micro SIM, Nano SIM to standard and Micro SIM to Standard SIM. That’s in case you decide to dump your iPhone 5 for the Nokia Lumia 920 or the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4.

Sounds good, but isn’t the Nano-SIM also thinner than the ordinary SIM? The site does offer a solution to that. “As a Nano-SIM card is about 15 per cent, thinner you will need a couple of swipes with a sandpaper and you are ready to go,” it suggests.

Alright, then, where’s my toolbox?

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