A lot of reviews say that the iPhone is the best smartphone in the market. Not only does it have access to a very good application store, it also has a lot of features that you can find nowhere else. iPhones are also designed to look and feel sleeker, which is just what most customers want in their cellphones. However, the huge problem with iPhones is the fact that you need to get a contract from a service carrier just to own it. There are very few vendors who sell the iPhone unlocked and without a contract.

If you’re a techie who wants to check the iPhone out or if you don’t like the plan that the service provider is offering, getting a contract from them simply to have an iPhone is irritating and useless. The best way to go is to get an iPhone and get it unlocked. Unlocking a phone is just like jailbreaking it because once unlocked or jailbroken, you are free to use any service provider and any operating system on it. The main difference is that an unlocked iPhone will have all the basic features of the phone like the operating system and the built-in apps while jailbreaking it will make the iPhone a tabula rasa—a blank slate. You can install a new operating system, new apps and other stuff on it. An iPhone, unlocked, will allow you to use all service providers. Jailbreaking would mean that you will be able to install third-party software into the phone, even if that application is not available in the Apple App Store. However, jailbreaking invalidates the warranty of the cellphone.

Most cell phones, when you buy them from stores, will have an accompanying contract that “ties” or “locks” it to the network. If you buy an iPhone from AT&T, for example, you will not be able to use a SIM card provided by Verizon. This also holds true for phones that are not bought from the service provider’s store. If you buy an iPhone from RadioShack or BestBuy, you will not get an iPhone unlocked. Instead, you will be required to sign up for an account with a cellphone carrier.

In many ways, getting a phone that is locked into a certain network makes sense because you are going to need their service anyway. You can also get a discount whenever you sign into a contract with your service provider. Signing up with a service provider also means that you will always have service for either data or voice (that is, as long as you pay your bill).

However, getting a contract may not be what you want, especially if you’re just a techie who wants to try the phone and have the freedom to do anything with it. It also doesn’t make sense to have a phone contract if you frequently travel overseas. Using a local service provider for overseas charges will be expensive. Some local carriers do not even provide international services, so travelling with a locked cellphone will not be practical.

Getting an iPhone unlocked may not be possible in most local stores, but this is definitely something you can buy online. Just make sure that you are buying from reliable sources.

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