Evil!
Carriers need to stick to providing service and stay the hell out of the cellphone business. They should only be selling SERVICE not mucking up cellphones!
All phones should be running on universal GSM networks so that anyone can buy any GSM phone and use it on any carrier.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
GSM used everywhere else, CDMA is anomaly in US
maybe you would find it some other countries, but majority of the world use GSM.
But phone market is not so worse as digital cable TV service market (atleast in europe), service provides used less avabilty of hardware at begining to lock people in there boxes. DVB-T is open with hardware... now most TV has it that are in sale
DVB-S is like DSL internet providers, they may push you locked box but you can sue your own hardware if you which, some even provide DVB-IC cards (since there few encryption types that decoder does not support by default, DVB-IC is PCMCIA card that extence digital tuner that deals with it)... but on DVB-C they give they not thinking even telling you about it, you need to use there box... hopefully this wil change then more TV with DVB-C will start to show up... CDMA by it's nature even not giving you that hope
DVB-IC was made specially for paid TV providers to work on any digital TV tuner across all DVB standards, but only DVB-T and partly DVB-S trully use it
Conclusion: Service Providers whatever type want you to lock you in there service in all cost.
I personally use pre-paid, you by any phone in electronic store, you can buy it on rates if you like... it's not different from what carriers doing by selling you phone, you can buy sim card even in kiosk without any contract and you ready to go, when you charge they give you time to charge another card if you wont do that you wont abel to do calls, but you still got time to charge until you lose your number, you at leats need to charge around 15$ (50zł) once a ear to not lose the number. There also data pre-paid option for modems and more internet centric phone users (but call prices are not that bad), with data depending what prepaid you use(50zł card gives 3GB that i was not able to use in 3 months of validy, some carriers give even more). But my carrier what me to lure for contract or mix (contracted pre-paid, which is illusion you having pre-paid, but you in contract and diffrence is you just paying with pre-paids instead of using bank
im not sure if there something like that in US) so badly that they even calling me for that for time to time about it, telling me "oh but we give you fancy new phone"... yeah right
I know for intense phone users this option might not be optimal solution, but hey you got freedom to not sign any contracts and use any hardware as you like.... in you think about it you can hardly find such services in other markets, other then stores and pro version of free services
Ahh as always i write to much on simple matter lol XD