A blog all about cell phones!

Unlocked cell phones are now mandatory in Chile. As 2012 rolled in, so did a requirement that service providers could no longer but software on phones inhibiting their use on other carrier networks.

The new unlocked cell phone law is also retroactive: all current cell phones have to be given their unlock code by the service provider so that users can have the choice of true mobility.

Locked cell phones are a way for carriers to subsidize cell phones—your phone isn’t really free, you’re signing a contract. Most carriers prefer this method, although Europe has unlocked cell phones (the customer paying full price for the cell phone instead), and some other countries have mandated unlocked cell phones in an effort toimprove customer rights.

In the US, there are only a few carroers that sell unlocked cell phones. It’s actually to the cutomer’s advantage, since it broadens the options in the market. Carriers still want you on a contract—but if you come to them with an unlocked cell phone, you can stay off a contract, and they’ll often offer you a secret, better price to keep you with them.

Of course, there are US movements to give customers similar rights, but the carriers would likely not respond favorably.

You may have heard of the iPPeel, a new device the puts a cell phone on the back of your iPhone. It’s designed to hold 2 extra SIM cards for people who travel a lot and want to avoid roaming charges by easily switching from one carrier to the next.

The thing is, there’s an easier (cheaper!) way. Unlocked cell phones work in a very similar way, you just have to change the SIM card yourself.

Unlocked cell phones are phones whose software has been unlocked so that you can use the SIM card of any network with the phone (Sprint is the only major American cell phone company that does not rely on SIM cards, although an unlocked cell phone originally sold by Sprint works on everything).

So, the upside to unlocked cell phones is that you don’t have to pay $70, and you can make calls with your own phone and phonebook without having a silly looking extra phone strapped to the back that elicits silly jokes.

The downside is that you have to keep track of SIM cards and physically switch them in and out of your unlocked cell phone, rather than having them ready to go, as the iPPeel lets you have two extra at all times. Of course, if you’re travelling so much you actually need such a device, there may be a better chance that two isn’t enough.

In any case, unlocked cell phones may be a better option for many people.

Beginning with the proposal from AT&T to buy T-Mobile, both companies have eperienced many ups and downs, and not without affect on the customers. To avoid the confusion, and the uncertain future, rather than renew contracts, get the freedom of unlocked cell phones.

When the merger was first proposed, T-Mobile halted many of its practices, some of which benefitted T-Mobile customers, like getting rid of their collections department. Of course, they’ve also stopped practices that would better service (for example, unless you have an unlocked cell phone, iPhone 4S isn’t on T-Mobile).

For AT&Ts part, the governments no vote on the merger has made them act a little crazy. The largest network, trying to shrink to a permissable size meant selling off spectrum, i.e., your phones service & roaming quality.

Furthermore, if the deal doesn’t go through, AT&T, per the deal, has to give even more spectrum to T-Mobile, as well as billions of dollars in penalties.

If you’re a customer of either company, it would be well worth while to switch to an unlocked cell phone that you can take with you if service tanks, the company sells into unfavorable terms, or something new and (probably) worse happens.

Unlocked cell phones also give you the ability to exist without a contract, meaning you can walk away easily. With the current ups and down the leading and third leading mobile companies are going through, the freedom of unlocked cell phones is doubtless worthwhile!

Now Google's Turning Your Phone Into A Credit Card

Most people already appreciate that unlocked cell phones help you switch carriers more easily. You can buy unlocked cell phones cheaply online (no fees or contracts), and then you can switch carriers, if, say, they change policies and limit data to 2GB/month!

But a new assortment of data shows that there may be other concerns when choosing a carrier, or deciding when to leave one using your unlocked cell phone.

It turns out, carriers store different amounts of information about you for different periods of time. Verizon seems to be the worst offender, actually storing the content of text messages, and keep IP data the longest.

T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint all keep data for differing lengths of time. If you’re concerned, make sure you have unlocked cell phones so that you can change to the best carrier for your needs/prefrences, and since unlocked cell phones = jailbroken cell phones usually, if there’s ever an app (like Tor for phones or something) that can help ensure privacy, it probably won’t be available in official app stores so best have unlocked cell phones!

What tips do you have for ensuring privacy when using cell phones? How do you adapt unlocked cell phones to enhance your privacy? Share your cell phone tips in the comments!

Stick together...if the DOJ lets you!

Now that the DOJ has sued AT&T over its planned merger with T-Mobile, they’ll head to court later this month to try and prove why the merger would be good for cell phone users.

Will it?

If you use unlocked cell phones, the merger matters a bit. One of the joys of unlocked cell phones is switching between GSM networks (networks with a sim card) to find the right data, text, and minutes plan.

With fewer US carriers on GSM networks, then the merger would be a bad thing. While competition between the two companies may be colored by other things (apps like skype, google or facebook chat, and free wifi in many places) the bottom line is that unless you want to go pre-pay, or wifi only your unlocked cell phones need to be on some sort of a plan.

There are other concerns besides the merger. Many manufacturers and carriers are choosing to sell “unlocked cell phones” directly to consumers, in an attempt to keep them in-network. Of course, unlocked cell phones mean many things, and being able to add third party software is one of them. Not all cell phones sold by companies as unlocked cell phones meet this definition, and may still need to be jailbroken.

In any case, keep an eye on the T-Mobile merger, because it could affect not just your unlocked cell phone usage, but your wallet!