can i bring an iphone 5 bought in the apple store in new york, work in the uk on O2.

They are not selling unlocked phones in the US yet, so no. The phone would need to be unlocked to work in the UK. Also, any warranty service would need to be accomplished in the US as well. Not a good idea to purchase.

If officially unlocked, yes. However, that model is currently not for sale in the US. While the phone will work, your warranty will only be valid in the US, & there will be no LTE support in Europe. You're better off purchasing in the UK.

Currenty, there are no iPhones for sale in the US, that will work in the UK, without hacking the phone...voiding all warranty/support. Buy your phone in the UK.

An officially unlocked phone is not available yet in the US. You mention getting someone in the UK to unlock the phone. The only way to officially unlock the phone is to get the carrier it is locked to to unlock it. Any other method is hacking and will void everything as wjosten stated.

tuityfruity wrote:

approximately how much would it cost to unlock an iphone 5? how much would it cost to buy one on say AT&T ?

Currently, you cannot buy an unlocked iPhone 5 in the U.S. When they do become available, you will only be able to buy them directly from Apple. AT&T will not be selling them.

Generally, unlocked phones cost the same as no contract phones and would start at $650 USD.

The carriers in the US do not charge for unlocking phones. However, you do have to be a subscriber to their network. Here is the information on unlocking an AT&T phone from their website. http://www.att.com/esupport/article.jsp?sid=KB414532&cv=820#fbid=6d7EKuCF_dr

tuityfruity wrote:

if i bought one in the apple store how much does it cost because on the website it says its $299?

That is the price of a 32 gig phone with a contract. In the U.S., the carriers subsidize the cost of the phone in exchange for you signing a (generally) 2 year contract.