Unlocked Cell Phones Now At Wirefly

Switch carriers without switching your cell phone handset

We get this question a lot from cell phone shoppers: "Why am I stuck with a certain carrier's limited cell phone selection? Can't I just buy the phone I want and use it with whichever carrier best fits my needs?"

The answer generally is no. In the United States, cell phone providers typically "lock" their handsets so they only work with that carrier's service. That's why you're encouraged to get a new cell phone when you switch carriers, even if you're happy with your old phone. It's also why so many cell phones are available at low prices when you sign a long-term contract with a carrier – the carriers are happy to subsidize the cost of your phone in order to acquire a new customer.

However, savvy cell phone shoppers know that "unlocked" phones will accept any compatible SIM card (the small identification chip generally found behind your phone's battery). And now, for the holiday season, Wirefly has some great deals on unlocked phones. An unlocked phone will allow you to switch between GSM carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile) by simply swapping out your SIM card. The trade-off for this kind of flexibility? Unlocked phones tend to be significantly more expensive than locked phones, because there's no carrier subsidy to offset the cost.

Still, though, the freedom of an unlocked cell phone comes in very handy for people who travel abroad frequently, since it is cheaper to buy a local SIM in a foreign country, rather than pay a U.S. provider's roaming and international fees. Even if you don't travel overseas frequently, you may still want the flexibility of an unlocked phone – some people just don't like being tied to any particular provider for a full two years.

Wirefly currently has a special sale on three hot unlocked phone models. These unlocked cell phones will work with any GSM carrier around the world.

Three Hot Unlocked Phones at Great Prices

The unlocked Motorola A1200 (a.k.a. the Ming) is an ultra-chic PDA smart phone that fully integrates all the features a busy professional needs – and does so with style. The Moto Ming boasts a 2.4" 262K vivid color touch-screen protected by a transparent flip cover, an integrated 2-megapixel camera, a Real Player music player for songs on the go, a video recorder, even a business card reader and a data storage device(up to 1GB). Go anywhere in the world with this Linux-powered, quad-band smart phone.

Motorola KRZR K1g builds on the popularity of Motorola's razor-thin and iconic RAZR phone line, and kicks it up a notch. The KRZR is even slimmer than the RAZR, measuring in at a mere 16mm thin X 42mm wide X 103mm long and weighing a scant 3.6 ounces, but packs in a ton of rich functionality including a 2-megapixel camera with 8x zoom, video capture and playback capabilities, built-in MP3 player and Stereo Bluetooth headset support. With removable MicroSD card slot, there's always room for all your favorite music files.

For those who want a phone to have it all, and look slick at the same time, we've got the Samsung D900 Black Carbon, a super-thin slider packed with great technology. We don't know how they fit it all into a slider phone measuring only half an inch thick, but this Samsung cell phone has a 3 megapixel camera with autofocus and exposure controls, an built-in music player with similar advanced functions as a stand-alone MP3 device, expandable memory, configurable "My Menu", connectivity capabilities geared toward multimedia users, and more. You can even view documents like Office files – not bad for a phone that isn't technically a "smart phone."

How to Get a Deal on Your New Unlocked Phone

To review our current selection of unlocked cell phones, please visit http://www.wirefly.com/autocontent.aspx?pageid=2480.

Whether you're buying one of these phones for yourself to show off this holiday or as a stocking stuffer for a loved one, your new unlocked phone is sure to be an envy-inducing hit!

An "unlocked" cell phone from Wirefly is a cell phone that operates on the GSM wireless network and uses a removable SIM card to store subscriber data. "Unlocked" phones are not pre-programmed to work exclusively with a specific GSM carrier (AT&T, T-Mobile), and will function with any compatible SIM card – in other words, these cell phones may be used with any carrier that uses GSM technology. Cell phones designed for use on the CDMA network (phones intended for use with Verizon Wireless, Sprint and Nextel) cannot be "unlocked" in this fashion, and are not available through this promotion.

About Wirefly

Wirefly (www.wirefly.com) is the online leader in one-stop comparison shopping for cell phones, wireless service plans and wireless accessories. Wirefly is an authorized dealer for every major cellular carrier in the U.S. Wirefly also offers discounts and services not available in retail wireless stores, including real-time online order status and tracking, and the guaranteed lowest price – online or anywhere else -- on cell phone devices from Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, LG, BlackBerry and many other cell phone handset manufacturers. Wirefly.com has been named Best of the Web by Forbes magazine as the “best all-around number portability portal” and “Best in Overall Customer Experience” by Keynote Performance Systems. For more information on Wirefly, its wireless products and its services, visit www.wirefly.com.