I don't think there is really much of a difference for the person buying the device, except they have some degree of recourse. 1. I unknowingly buy a stolen de

I don't think there is really much of a difference for the person buying the device, except they have some degree of recourse. 1. I unknowingly buy a stolen device. 2. I connect it to it's associated network. 3. The device is reported back to some central authority which then black-lists/bricks the device making it fairly useless. The only difference I see is that Samsung will allow your to provide proof of purchase, and it will function without being connected to that networked system.