Question about unlocked/unlocking phones

[AutoDocs]

Hello,

I'm pretty much a newbie with smart phones, so I'm willing to sound stupid on this one :) One thing I see a lot of is "unlocked treo 650" or "how to unlock a cingular treo 650." What exactly does this do? What does it mean when a phone is locked?

[chris]

I'm pretty much a newbie with smart phones, so I'm willing to sound stupid on this one One thing I see a lot of is "unlocked treo 650" or "how to unlock a cingular treo 650." What exactly does this do? What does it mean when a phone is locked?

Cingular phones are GSM phones which use a tiny card called a SIM card. If you buy a Treo for use on the Cingular network, it's "locked" to that network. That basically means that you can only use Cingular SIM cards. You can unlock a Treo from Cingular and it can often be accomplished by a phone call to Cingular. Many people who travel internationally prefer "unlocked" phones, so they can purchase a cheap SIM card overseas rather than pay high international rates. There are also a fair share of folks who would like to use the Treo 650 on T-Mobile networks. Since T-Mobile never released a Treo 650, the only choice is to use an "unlocked" Treo 650.

Hope that clears it up. We are giving away an unlocked Treo 650 -- so, basically you can use it on any GSM network AND you won't to sign up for a long term contract. Simply call up the GSM provider of choice, insert SIM card and away you go. Unlocked phones sell for $549 and are considerably more expensive than unlocked.

-Chris

[AutoDocs]

Originally Posted by chris

Cingular phones are GSM phones which use a tiny card called a SIM card. If you buy a Treo for use on the Cingular network, it's "locked" to that network. That basically means that you can only use Cingular SIM cards. You can unlock a Treo from Cingular and it can often be accomplished by a phone call to Cingular. Many people who travel internationally prefer "unlocked" phones, so they can purchase a cheap SIM card overseas rather than pay high international rates. There are also a fair share of folks who would like to use the Treo 650 on T-Mobile networks. Since T-Mobile never released a Treo 650, the only choice is to use an "unlocked" Treo 650.

Chris,

Thanks for the reply. If it's locked, does that mean you can't roam onto say a verizon network? Here in DC, Verizon is the only provider that has cell recepters in the metro (our subway) so I get no service. Is this tied into the locking? Or is locking only referring to what sim card you can use?

[Antoine of MMM]

Originally Posted by AutoDocs

Chris,

Thanks for the reply. If it's locked, does that mean you can't roam onto say a verizon network? Here in DC, Verizon is the only provider that has cell recepters in the metro (our subway) so I get no service. Is this tied into the locking? Or is locking only referring to what sim card you can use?

Ah, DC Metro, I just moved down here last year at this time and found that out too.

Locking and unlocking a phone only applies to GSM phones, basically those from Cingular and Tmobile. VZW and Sprint phones use a different network tecnology and they are not able to be locked and unlocked. If you need to get service while in the Metro (my fav time to listen to music on my then T5 and sleep) then a VZW Treo 650 would be best for you. If you can handle being disconnected for a while, ad maybe spending that time writing a doc, reading an ebook, etc. Then go for a Treo on any other network.

[AutoDocs]

Originally Posted by Antoine of MMM

Ah, DC Metro, I just moved down here last year at this time and found that out too.

Locking and unlocking a phone only applies to GSM phones, basically those from Cingular and Tmobile. VZW and Sprint phones use a different network tecnology and they are not able to be locked and unlocked. If you need to get service while in the Metro (my fav time to listen to music on my then T5 and sleep) then a VZW Treo 650 would be best for you. If you can handle being disconnected for a while, ad maybe spending that time writing a doc, reading an ebook, etc. Then go for a Treo on any other network.

I don't mind being disconnected, but I figured if unlocking a phone had that added bonus I'd go for it, heh. It'd be nice if cingular got some recievers in there too. I'm not too fond of verizon (may be silly, but eh) so I'd rather not support them if I can avoid it. Is there a benefit to the technology sprint/verizon use?

[Antoine of MMM]

Originally Posted by AutoDocs

I don't mind being disconnected, but I figured if unlocking a phone had that added bonus I'd go for it, heh. It'd be nice if cingular got some recievers in there too. I'm not too fond of verizon (may be silly, but eh) so I'd rather not support them if I can avoid it. Is there a benefit to the technology sprint/verizon use?

I am a Cingular guy and can say that I feel the same way. I liked the disconnect time. The only benefit right now is that teh EVDO connection protocol for CDMA phones (the ones by Sprint and VZW) is quite a bit faster than the EDGE speeds offered by Cingular. EVDO maxes out at 500k while EDGE maxes at 144k. On my Treo 600, it seems to use the EDGE and it is plenty fast for the mainly email that I use my data connection for.

[JJZehr1984]

Hello all. I recently read through the meaning of locked and unlocked. But i was wondering, which is better or does it really matter? My guess would be unlocked? simply because of the fact that you can use any provider? Or would it be locked since its strictly with that one provider? If anyone could clear this up for me I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

[Antoine of MMM]

Originally Posted by JJZehr1984

Hello all. I recently read through the meaning of locked and unlocked. But i was wondering, which is better or does it really matter? My guess would be unlocked? simply because of the fact that you can use any provider? Or would it be locked since its strictly with that one provider? If anyone could clear this up for me I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

Basically there are a few reasons why one would want an unlocked phone.

Reason 1: they want to use the phone in another country. Seeing that most other countries have GSM phones, all you would have to do in going to a new country is to purchase a pre-paid SIM card, and place it in your phone. A much better proposition than looking for a new phone and then trying to get that prepaid as well.

Reason 2: they want to be able to move to another carrier at some point and keep their phone. With Sprint and VZW phones, the process of moving from one to the other almost always means that one has to get a new phone. Of course, if you arent buying the cheapest phones (free) then that could be an issue. Also you have to deal with porting your numbers into that new phone from the old one.

With Cingular and tMobile, if you have an unlocked phone, you could go from one to the other and just add a SIM card for the newer network service. And then your phone numbers and other data would reamain in the phone. This gives you more "ownership" of the phone and usually makes for a better value with phones as they can be handed down or gift given when you upgrade.

Hope that helps some.

For the most part, many phones are locked to one carrier. Carriers do this so that the customer is under the impression that they cannot move to another carrier if they want to as it would be harder for them to do so. Thankfully, rules are in place that basically say that if you want your phone unlocked, that all you have to do is asked. This is more of an issue of course with higher end phones as folks that buy those are more likely to hold on to them longer. Also, if the phone is not a world phone (meaning able to be used on another network already), then unlocking it only gives reason #2 for a reason to unlock.

[JJZehr1984]

Thanks for that information. It makes much clearer sense to me now. I didnt even really know about locked or unlocked phones till today when I started reading posts. That and the fact that you can have your phone un locked. Thanks again for that info ;-)

[JJZehr1984]

I would just like to know what a SIM-card is and what it does? What is the purpose of having one and do all phones carry them or just the phones within certain providers?