To explain what an unlocked cell phone is, it may be better to describe a "locked" cell phone. Normally, when you purchase a cellular phone and a particular plan for that phone – through service providers like Cingular, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile – your cell phone will remain "locked" within their network. If you try to change carriers for your cellular phone service, your particular cell phone will not work. So, someone using Cingular who wishes to change plans and become a T-Mobile customer will also have to purchase a brand new phone.

Cell phone service providers have been competing aggressively for years and trying to tempt other company's customers to their network with cheaper plans and more "free" minutes. Before unlocked cell phones, this was a huge hassle. Not only did you have to buy a new phone when you changed cellular services, but you had to replace a fully-functional phone!

Most U.S. service providers for cellular service work off of individual networks, so when you go to transfer your service and change your phone, it can be a big challenge. Well, that is…up until recently! An unlocked cell phone gives you a lot more freedom of choice in your cellular service provider. When you have an unlocked cell phone, you can switch providers without the need for purchasing a whole new phone!

Thank goodness you can now buy an unlocked cell phone! This opens up so many possibilities when you go to buy cellular service. If you don't like one service provider, you can switch providers (once your service agreement has been completed) and keep the same cell phone, complete with your phone book and all other programmed extras.

In some cases, when you didn't buy an unlocked cell phone to start, you can have your current carrier unlock your cell phone. Just call the customer service department of your current carrier and ask if they would be willing to unlock the cell phone you have with them.

Buying a GSM unlocked cell phone would be a good investment if you have any future plans to travel overseas. GSM, which means Global System for Mobile Communications, will give you the knowledge that your cell phone will work with overseas networks.

Having an unlocked cell phone is much more convenient when you go to change carriers. An unlocked cell phone allows you to insert any kind of SIM card, or Subscriber Identity Module, into the cell phone. Then, that phone will be able to pick up local network service.

By Jereme Thomas - GadgetFind.com Editor

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