On the financial front, carriers often heavily subsidize locked phones, offering enticing discounts or "free" phones if you commit to a long contract or payment plan. With an unlocked phone ...

And in some cases, like with Verizon, you’ll have your phone unlocked within 90 days whether it is paid over or not. You give up a lot of freedom with carrier-locked phones, both from the ...

However the big difference between a locked and unlocked cell phone is the price you could receive should ... to swap your SIM card for one provided by a local service provider for cheap international ...