Apple on Tuesday began selling unlocked iPhone 4 handsets in the U.S. a day earlier than expected. The smartphone is now available in 16GB for $649 or 32GB for $749, and both models come in black or white. Other manufacturers, most notably Nokia and Sony, have sold unlocked smartphones in the U.S. for quite some time. Neither company has seen much success with unlocked handsets thus far, though Apple’s approach is somewhat different. Apple’s primary sales channels in the U.S. are undoubtedly carriers, a...

With rumors of something new being cooked up at U.S. Apple Stores later this week, widespread speculation swept the Web suggesting Apple would finally take the wraps off its updated Sandy Bridge-powered MacBook Air notebooks. According to well-known and well-sourced iOS developer Chronic, that won’t be the case. Instead, for the first time, Apple plans to offer unlocked iPhone 4 models directly to consumers beginning Wednesday. Part numbers break down as follows: MC603 (16GB, Black) MC604 (16GB, White) MC60...