> "Since the carriers largely lock down their networks, you can't just buy a generic smartphone from cheapphones.com and have it work (at least not on the 3G/4G

> "Since the carriers largely lock down their networks, you can't just buy a generic smartphone from cheapphones.com and have it work (at least not on the 3G/4G networks" I believe that's a temporary situation with a clear end in sight. LTE is rolling out with a unified SIM standard, right? 4G should finally bring the US a market where you can consider phone and carrier separately.