Unlocked cellular Phone

When considering purchasing an unlocked cell phone, it’s important to understand the difference between a “locked” and an “unlocked” cell phone. The term locked means that the cell phone software is programmed to operate only with a specific cellular carrier. Usually the carrier it will work for is branded on the phone, for example T-Mobile, Sprint, Cingular etc. Unlocked means the cell phone is able to be used for a variety of different carriers even though it may be branded with a specific carriers name or originally intended to operate with a certain cellular carrier.

There are two basic types of mobile phones which are GSM and CDMA. GSM networks in the United States usually operate in the 900 MHz or 1800 MHz bands although some areas use 850 MHz and 1900 MHz bands. GSM cell phones will require a SIM card whereas CDMA phones do not. CDMA phones are typically used by the Sprint Network and are just as common in the United States as GSM phones. The most important difference between the two is the GSM phone can be unlocked to work on more than one carrier, but the CDMA type of cell phone cannot be unlocked.

Unlocked phones are often hot sellers because they can be bought for low prices and work well with any GSM cellular carrier such as T-Mobile, Cingular and AT&T etc. It is legal to unlock your cell phone and use it with whatever carrier you desire, and actually quite easy to do. There are many professional unlocking services available online, and can be done yourself with the right software and know-how.

Usually cellular dealers will unlock cell phones because it can automatically increase the value by %15 to %20 and make the cell phone available to a larger market. If you’re buying an unlocked phone make sure you purchase from a reputable dealer. You can find out if your cell phone is unlocked by either putting a different SIM card in the phone, that’s not the same as what the cell phone is branded to, and seeing if the cell phone will accept the SIM card or typing in a specific code for that phone which will return a message stating whether or not the cell phone is unlocked.