Picking Out an 'Unlocked' Smartphone
The first question you may be asking is what exactly is an "unlocked" smartphone? The second is probably "Why should I care?" The answer to the second question is that you could save hundreds of dollars per year on your phone bill by using an unlocked phone on a smaller carrier. The first question is a bit more complicated. If you're like most Americans with a smartphone, you probably have an Apple or Android device that you got for free (or less than $200) when you signed a two year contract with one of the "Big Three" American network providers. These providers subsidize an expensive phone for you, and in return you are obligated to pay their (costly) monthly talk and data fees. An unlocked phone is one that is not tied to any carrier and thus can be activated for a much cheaper monthly fee , or pay-per-minute prices. Note that this is different from "jailbreaking" (iPhone) or "rooting" (Android). That process is used to...