What's so great about unlocked phones?
In general, locked phones benefit the carriers at the expense of the consumers. But unlocked phones can provide a huge range of benefits.
An unlocked phone is handy for, say, traveling abroad, where you can buy a local, prepaid SIM card to use in your regular phone.
Unlocked phones and carriers that support them provide users with far more handset choice. This is especially appealing in the U.S., where phone locking has encouraged carriers to get away with offering very limited range and quality of handsets. Do you want to use Casio's rugged G'zOne phone? If you're not on Verizon, forget it. But in an unlocked world, you could choose practically any phone and use it on almost any carrier.
Also: New gadgets are coming out that aren't mobile phones per se, but use SIM cards anyway -- everything from listening devices to security cameras.
The mobile phone world is changing fast. The era of one phone and one SIM card for each user should soon come to an end.
A new age of unlocked phones
Over the next five years, we'll see single phones that support multiple carriers and two mobile phone numbers. We'll also see people with more than one mobile phone, preferably all tied to a single phone number and user account.
Samsung plans to start selling a new phone called the DuoS D880 in November in some European markets. The "DuoS" refers to the phone's capacity for two simultaneous SIM cards, even from two different carriers. Software installed on the phone tells you which phone number is ringing and which you're using to dial calls. You can use them simultaneously and even assign unique ring tones to each number.
Dual SIM cards can be useful because you can use both work and personal numbers without carrying two phones. When you get a new job, you can just swap in a new SIM card and keep carrying your own phone and using your own personal number. If you visit a foreign country a lot, you can buy one SIM card for that country and another one for home.
The DuoS D880 isn't the first mobile phone to support two simultaneous SIM cards. Plus, there are hacks and adapters available online for do-it-yourself enthusiasts. But dual SIM cards are rare. I think that's about to change.
So is the number of mobile phones people will carry.
As handset makers provide increasing choice, people will want it all. For example, if you pay hundreds of dollars for a beautiful, large media phone, like the iPhone or HTC Touch, do you really want to carry that to the beach or while you're training for a marathon? The ideal scenario would be to have two or three phones and just grab the one appropriate for the occasion without worrying about what number or carrier account you're using.
Personally, I'd love to own three phones -- a giant media phone, a tiny-as-possible phone, plus a ruggedized phone like the G'zOne when I'm hiking, sailing or otherwise putting the phone at risk.
I should be able to do this without paying for three already-overpriced accounts and managing three different phone numbers.
Phone hackers and creepy cell phone stalkers use a technique called SIM cloning to copy SIM cards in order to use another person's mobile phone account. Carriers could provide authorized and registered cloned SIM cards -- or second and unique SIM cards that access the same phone number and user account.
I don't care how they do it, as long as they do it. Sure, they can charge a little more for this service, but not as much as full additional accounts.
We mobile phone users should demand fully unlocked cell phones and reward carriers who provide unlocked phones with our business.
And carriers need to prepare for the future. Nonphone SIM card devices, widespread use of multiple-SIM phones and multiple phone SIMS are all coming. And customers will demand freedom and choice.
As for the iPhone? Well, Apple always thinks different. The iPhone may someday be the last locked cell phone you can buy. Unless you live in France.
Mike Elgan writes about technology and global tech culture. Contact him at mike.elgan@elgan.com or his blog, The Raw Feed.