Interesting, maybe I misunderstood. I've had the horrible experience of trying to use a phone with a European carrier and finding that not only was it SIM-locke

Interesting, maybe I misunderstood. I've had the horrible experience of trying to use a phone with a European carrier and finding that not only was it SIM-locked, but there was basically nothing above-board that I could do to unlock it. I guess I assumed this was a standard practice. If Google's phones are not SIM-locked, that's great :) My main remaining gripe is that if I can save on the price of a phone by entering a contract with a carrier, I want to also be able to go the other way: get more favorable contract terms if I already have a phone. Or get month-to-month service at a reasonable price without the need for any contract at all. To the extent that these options are not available, the market for mobile internet service is not as open and efficient as it really ought to be.