Used Cell Phone

Gary North - February 02, 2013

This was posted by a site member this week:

Ownership is shady when you get a cell phone on a heavily discounted price for committing to someone's cell network for two years.

Solution: Buy an unlocked phone before choosing a carrier. They do not own the phone, you do. Last I looked all cell network companies allow customers to use their pre-bought phones with their network.

Usually, unlocked phones are not that important to those who just need to use them. A huge advantage is the freedom to choose your cell carrier for a no-contract month-to-month plan. I love the freedom of firing my cell company, if they really mess up (something both ATT and Verizon had become notorious for several years ago).

This is why I went with Android over iPhone. Rooting an iPhone is not a straight-forward task, and it breaks warranties. I'd rather own the phone and do with it as I please. Also note, that Google App Market (now called Google Play) is full of tools for rooted phones. Apple would never allow that.