It's not thaaaaat bad. If you're a customer of TMobile or A&TT for over 3 months you can ask customer service to unlock your phone if you have a good excuse like if you need a phone for another country.
Yes, I would rather not deal with this but it does keep my phone prices low. The 20 minutes on the phone is worth it. Of course this doesn't work with all phones. The SideKick and the iPhone are the first to come to mind.
Not only that, but the phones offered by carriers are utterly SUCKED and they really avoid giving us great phones such as Symbian based phones. Right now, on AT&T store, they only have Nokia N75 is S60 Symbian based because they know, S60 devices can easily be flashed back to the stock firmware after the phone is unlocked... Many people has done this, asked AT&T to unlock the phone and flash it back to the regular ol' Nokia firmware to dump all the junk AT&T gave us on the phone... The process itself is super simple, involving lying to AT&T and tell AT&T you're going overseas and need an unlock code and after it's unlocked, you simply use 2 simple software (one is 3rd party and one is OFFICIAL Nokia firmware updater) to flash the software back to Nokia firmware and FREE FROM AT&T JUNK
They hate it if we do this because we will start using the abundance of S60 3rd part software and stop using their shitty crippled pay-to-use applications such as SMS-based IM as opposed to Data-based IM which should be way cheaper.
If you notice, the S60 symbian based phones that were sold from the carriers can be counted by your finger because it's not much at all. Partly because the carriers do not want us to start flashing the firmware back easily to the stock firmware and throw away all their junk branded software, and the 2nd part is mainly due to the fact that many people are just cheap and wanting a free RAZR phones.
My cable provider subsidized my monster 72inch 1080P DLP TV (with cable card, duel HDMI and PC input along with all the other goodies) and I only had to pay $989.00! The catch? I had to sign up for a 2 year subscription. Is that bad? Did I get ripped off? I don't know, I don't feel like I did. I'm just saying. http://www.eternal-champions.com/images/den_football_madness.jpg
Oh, the 4 side 20's (with PC and AV inputs) and the HTPC with the ATI single and Matrox quad head cards that tie it all together on the PC side, I built with all the loot I saved on the TV subsidy. So I ask you who came out ahead here? You tell me ;^)...
PS Let me know if any of you (my tech pals) will be in the NYC area on a Sunday during Football season. You are more than welcomed to stop by. Just bring the Brewski...
I think you're missing his point. It's not so much about sim-locks as it is about how carriers restrict how you USE the network. Take, for example, AT&T's lockdown of the Blackjack ... I STILL can't use the Java GMail client because AT&T decided to lock it down.
But does your TV work with other providers? If now you were to move that TV to another place with a different cable company, it would work right? It is not "locked". The complaint is not the subsidy, it's the lock. It pisses me off that I buy a phone and THEY tell me with which company I can use it...
Mossy gets it but a lot of people just really don't. The argument that baffles me most is this one: If it weren't for subsidies, phones would be _expensive_!
So you really think that subsidies are a gift to you from father christmas? That they are free of charge? WOW! Free stuff!!
A subsidy is not a gift. It's a delayed payment plan. A subsidy is (a nearly free phone + an expensive cell plan). In the carrier's internal calculations, it's (a nearly free phone + a credit to be paid off over the length of the contract at a monthly cost + a normally priced mobile service plan).
If you take out the subsidy, you have more choice: Pay your phone upfront. Use any phone you like. Finance your phone any way you want. Choose any normally priced mobile plan you want.
The operators have a vested interest in also being the people providing the financing so they don't even offer normally priced mobile plans, thereby locking customers into their scheme. It needs to be broken up.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of people is just too dense to get this. They see "NEW PHONE FOR $0" and not only do they believe it, they also see it as a shining example of what capitalism can do for them. You have just been scammed.
"The point is that you should not have to ask the carrier for permission to use the phone you purchased."
You didn't outright purchase the phone. You purchased a phone contract and a phone as part of a bundle deal. If you didn't like the contract, why did you sign it? Just buy the phone unlocked and you won't have these issues.
mossberg misses the point - as do most of those commenting here - phone service became a commodity because it had gone as far as the technology would go.
Cell phone technology has NOT gone any way near as far as it will go. Ever hear of WiFi vs WiMax? There are different technologies, cellphone via satellite, etc. Who's to say what technology we will be using in 10 years
Same with network - backbones; as applications get added each may require backbone - server applications to support a phone app. This is the core of apple iPhone's tie-ins that the apps on it and apps to come require a network with servers to support the non-phone functions.
and wait ... how long do you think it will take for HDtv on phones: you can already get an HD tuner on a USB plugin, just how big do you think it is and can it fit in a iPhone sized device?
The whole concept that phones are only a 20 or so button talk - talk only device that is a commodity is sooooooo incompetent and not related to reality. Get a clue - its not about talk-talk phones being unlocked, people are expecting services to be unlocked and that ain't happenin'
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
It's not thaaaaat bad. If you're a customer of TMobile or A&TT for over 3 months you can ask customer service to unlock your phone if you have a good excuse like if you need a phone for another country.
Yes, I would rather not deal with this but it does keep my phone prices low. The 20 minutes on the phone is worth it. Of course this doesn't work with all phones. The SideKick and the iPhone are the first to come to mind.
Not only that, but the phones offered by carriers are utterly SUCKED and they really avoid giving us great phones such as Symbian based phones. Right now, on AT&T store, they only have Nokia N75 is S60 Symbian based because they know, S60 devices can easily be flashed back to the stock firmware after the phone is unlocked... Many people has done this, asked AT&T to unlock the phone and flash it back to the regular ol' Nokia firmware to dump all the junk AT&T gave us on the phone... The process itself is super simple, involving lying to AT&T and tell AT&T you're going overseas and need an unlock code and after it's unlocked, you simply use 2 simple software (one is 3rd party and one is OFFICIAL Nokia firmware updater) to flash the software back to Nokia firmware and FREE FROM AT&T JUNK
They hate it if we do this because we will start using the abundance of S60 3rd part software and stop using their shitty crippled pay-to-use applications such as SMS-based IM as opposed to Data-based IM which should be way cheaper.
If you notice, the S60 symbian based phones that were sold from the carriers can be counted by your finger because it's not much at all. Partly because the carriers do not want us to start flashing the firmware back easily to the stock firmware and throw away all their junk branded software, and the 2nd part is mainly due to the fact that many people are just cheap and wanting a free RAZR phones.
The point is that you should not have to ask the carrier for permission to use the phone you purchased.
Imagine if your cable provider told you which TVs you could use with their service.
Or if your ISP dictated which browsers could connect to its network.
That's what we have now in cellular service.
My cable provider subsidized my monster 72inch 1080P DLP TV (with cable card, duel HDMI and PC input along with all the other goodies) and I only had to pay $989.00! The catch? I had to sign up for a 2 year subscription. Is that bad? Did I get ripped off? I don't know, I don't feel like I did. I'm just saying.
http://www.eternal-champions.com/images/den_football_madness.jpg
Oh, the 4 side 20's (with PC and AV inputs) and the HTPC with the ATI single and Matrox quad head cards that tie it all together on the PC side, I built with all the loot I saved on the TV subsidy. So I ask you who came out ahead here? You tell me ;^)...
PS Let me know if any of you (my tech pals) will be in the NYC area on a Sunday during Football season. You are more than welcomed to stop by. Just bring the Brewski...
Oh and don't mind Hannibal! He wont bite ;^), at least not that hard, lol...
I think you're missing his point. It's not so much about sim-locks as it is about how carriers restrict how you USE the network. Take, for example, AT&T's lockdown of the Blackjack ... I STILL can't use the Java GMail client because AT&T decided to lock it down.
Here's his article: http://mossblog.allthingsd.com/20071021/free-my-phone/
@ Frankenstein Black
But does your TV work with other providers? If now you were to move that TV to another place with a different cable company, it would work right? It is not "locked". The complaint is not the subsidy, it's the lock. It pisses me off that I buy a phone and THEY tell me with which company I can use it...
I just wanted to respond back and say all of you changed this consumer's mind on the subject.
"Or if your ISP dictated which browsers could connect to its network."
The letters A.O.L come to mind... :-)
Mossy gets it but a lot of people just really don't. The argument that baffles me most is this one: If it weren't for subsidies, phones would be _expensive_!
So you really think that subsidies are a gift to you from father christmas? That they are free of charge? WOW! Free stuff!!
A subsidy is not a gift. It's a delayed payment plan. A subsidy is (a nearly free phone + an expensive cell plan). In the carrier's internal calculations, it's (a nearly free phone + a credit to be paid off over the length of the contract at a monthly cost + a normally priced mobile service plan).
If you take out the subsidy, you have more choice: Pay your phone upfront. Use any phone you like. Finance your phone any way you want. Choose any normally priced mobile plan you want.
The operators have a vested interest in also being the people providing the financing so they don't even offer normally priced mobile plans, thereby locking customers into their scheme. It needs to be broken up.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of people is just too dense to get this. They see "NEW PHONE FOR $0" and not only do they believe it, they also see it as a shining example of what capitalism can do for them. You have just been scammed.
"The point is that you should not have to ask the carrier for permission to use the phone you purchased."
You didn't outright purchase the phone. You purchased a phone contract and a phone as part of a bundle deal. If you didn't like the contract, why did you sign it? Just buy the phone unlocked and you won't have these issues.
mossberg misses the point - as do most of those commenting here - phone service became a commodity because it had gone as far as the technology would go.
Cell phone technology has NOT gone any way near as far as it will go. Ever hear of WiFi vs WiMax? There are different technologies, cellphone via satellite, etc. Who's to say what technology we will be using in 10 years
Same with network - backbones; as applications get added each may require backbone - server applications to support a phone app. This is the core of apple iPhone's tie-ins that the apps on it and apps to come require a network with servers to support the non-phone functions.
and wait ... how long do you think it will take for HDtv on phones: you can already get an HD tuner on a USB plugin, just how big do you think it is and can it fit in a iPhone sized device?
The whole concept that phones are only a 20 or so button talk - talk only device that is a commodity is sooooooo incompetent and not related to reality. Get a clue - its not about talk-talk phones being unlocked, people are expecting services to be unlocked and that ain't happenin'