Unlocking phones in US illegal from Jan 26

[Elie]

I disagree. What you propose is enforcing your will on a contract that you entered into. It's a breach.

Like you can not own a car after you rented it for a while.

But phone are on a rent to own type contract, you don't return a phone once you own it after the contract is done which means, you paid full amount for your phone.

Now you can do whatever you want with it.

In Canada, carriers are starting to offer people contract fee, unlocked phones.

[Brian Ellis]

This is a nice example of where I feel that criminal persecution might be just. Not of you, Brian, but of the people producing that device.

I think prosecution would be more appropriate than persecution ... or maybe? The question is who makes it? There were at least 20 vendors in China and Hong Kong, and I suspect none were the makers. However, BlackBerries were selling at over 12 times what I paid for this and they, too, were made in China. There are differences: the O/S is not the same, especially as regards e-mailing; the two cams are 640x480; the Wi-Fi is less sensitive, although good enough; the TV reception is lousy; the "flash" is inadequate etc. Notwithstanding, the main functions are perfect (phone, SMS, MMS, etc.). I don't have a 3G subscription, so I don't know how it would perform, but it's fine on WiFi from my own router (~20 m range) and several free ones. The keyboard is easier to use than a friend's iPhone4, with my spade-like fingers, as I discovered when I tried to type in my WiFi password for him. It is very tactile.

To be fair, when it came, the fruity trade mark and logo on the back were masked by black tape, but this rapidly fell off and it was never sold under the name.

[paulw]

This will go down like a lead balloon in the US tech user. Guess the ever money hungry carrier have bribed enough people to get their way.

Thank here in NZ 3 of the 4 carriers have unlocked fones and the one that does only costs $35 to unlike inside 6 months and free after 12..