what does "unlocked" cell phone mean?
 

does that mean if it is a cingular unlocked phone
i can just put my sim card from my old phone into that one and be good to go ?

I dont want to pay full price for a new phone and only way i can get a " good deal " is when i renew my contract with cingular and that isnt up for 10 more months

fucking annoying
they kiss your ass to get your biz and when you are a customer they dont give you any fucking deals :/

Thats how they make thier money. They Fuck you with the cell pone bills. They Fuck with the charges, they Fuck you with the phones.

use it on almost any GSM network.

and what is a gsm network?

helllpppp

i dont think you can just swap sim cards/cell phones , but im not a phone phreak.

But if a phone is unlocked it means you can change carriers , if its locked you can't

If you travel a lot you want a "Tri-Band, unlocked" phone. This will let you swap out chips any where there is a GSM network.

Yes unlocked phone, means any GSM card will work. When you go for tmobile locked phone for example, only Tmobile cards will work..

unlocked means: when ya bought it they gave ya the keys to open it...

:thumbsup

I thought unlocked means it's not locked down to a single network?

Ah, you americans, so behind in mobile phones ;)
It's cute, really.

There are different levels of locking, SIM locking and NETWORK locking.

SIM locking is when a SIM card is locked to a particular handset - IE, you can place that SIM in any other phone, and it will not work.

NETWORK locking is when a handset will not function unless it is on a certain carrier.

Most SIM locks can be removed by entering a code into your phone (same w/ network unlocking, but you need a code that is based on your IMEI # - you phone's ID)

Over here, and even more so in europe, you can get a phone unlocked for about $5.

There's heaps of free software to do it.

ehhh.. they already gave you the fucking deal by sponsoring your phone..

What is unlocking?
Unlocking is a procedure by which you can make a GSM phone accept another provider's SIM card.

Why are phones locked anyway?
GSM by it's nature is a very "portable" technology, allowing you to change handsets in a flash. Because of this I can get a handset from company A, and a SIM from company B and be able to be a cell phone user in a snap. Usually phones are subsidized, which means you get them for less than they are actually worth in the market. It's a way for the provider to make it easier for you to come onto their network and become a customer. Since phones are subsidized, the provider of the services is putting a trust in you, the consumer, to not get the cheap phone from them, and then immediatelly jump ship and go to another provider, so phones are locked to prevent fraud.

It's not fraud, it's freedom of choice.
That's like a car that you can only drive on certain roads.

Ok, I think this one cleared some inquiries already.

You just have to unlocked your cellphone!

suncom is the same way fucking sucks