Vodafone Tests New iPhone Unlocking Utility

Arun Sarin’s low opinion of Apple’s iPhone is apparently so low that the Vodafone CEO doesn’t want anyone selling them–in Germany, anyway.

Vodafone Deutschland has managed to convince a German court to issue a restraining order against Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile unit prohibiting it from selling the iPhone in Germany. Seems Vodafone (which began selling an iPhone competitor, the Samsung-manufactured Qbowl, this month) is none too pleased about Apple’s policy of tethering the iPhone to one carrier per country–especially if it’s Telekom.

“It is not right that our clients can only get an iPhone by signing a long-term contract with Telekom,” Vodafone Deutschland boss Friedrich Joussen told Bild Zeitung. “We want a rapid judicial clarification to know if the iPhone should be available to all or only to some.” Joussen claims he’s not seeking an all-out ban on iPhones, just a ban on iPhones that don’t work on competitors’ networks. “We want it to be available to buyers without a mandatory calling plan,” he said in a statement. “If I had wanted to halt sales, I could have, but I didn’t.”