Unlocked mobile phones are great for people needing freedom to use whatever SIM card they want.  Whether it’s traveling abroad or just more flexibility at home if they need to switch carriers, unlocked cell phones are great for many reasons.  While buying a cell phone new is always good, with money being as tight as it is for many people, there are many places where there are unlocked cell phone deals.

The main benefit of buying a discount unlocked cell phone is that you have the option to keep the phone whenever you change mobile phone carriers.  The reason why this is so beneficial is it saves you, the consumer, a lot of money because you don’t have to buy a new phone with your contract.  Plus, you can easily switch from a carrier that requires a two year contract to a carrier that requires absolutely no long term obligation.  This type of flexibility let’s you switch to any carrier, any time, without worrying about penalties and fees (assuming you’re not under contract).  For this reason alone, is it great to choose an unlocked phone.

If you’re a worldwide traveler, having an unlocked cell phone is great way to avoid paying international phone fees.  In a foreign country, with an unlocked wireless phone, you can simply purchase a prepaid SIM card and put it into your phone.  This saves you tons of money (hundreds of dollars usually) because you don’t end up having to by a foreign new phone.  Traveling abroad is the primary reason why unlocking mobile phones became popular originally.  Smart travelers learned that they could save tons of money both at home and away in foreign countries by doing this.

The cost of your unlocked wireless phone is probably the most important thing when making a buying decision.  While there are plenty of “new” cell phones that have been unlocked, the cheapest and most budget friendly way to get a cell phone deal is buying used.  Used unlocked cell phones are by far the cheapest and most reliable way to buy.  And if you’re someone that’s concerned that buying used will only get you phones that are 3 years old or more, you’re wrong!  In fact, most of the used unlocked phones on the market right now are only a year old or newer.  Because of this, there’s really no reason why you should be buying used.  Buying new is only for suckers who like paying full price.  Great places to look for used mobile phones are eBay and cell phone websites.

In the end, there are tons of different reasons why you should be buying an unlocked mobile phone.  You can save tons of money with unlocked cell phone deals (especially with used phones) plus you have a lot more freedom with the carriers you go with.  So, if you want to save tons of money, and be a smart shopper, buy a used unlocked cell phone.

The first group of people will be the people who rarely use their phone.  These are people that use their cell phone very seldom and often use maybe 30 minutes per month.  These people don’t text often and if they do, they might only send 5 or 10 texts per month.  In this category of people, you’d be most satisfied with a no contract cell phone service with a carrier like Tracfone.  These cheap pay as you go phones are great for the person who rarely texts are calls anyone.  Depending on your usage, you can sometimes end up spending less than 10 bucks per month (without ever worrying about overage fees or other sneaky penalties).

The second group of people are like myself and use their cell phone a lot but tend to major texters.  While I don’t text quite as much as I used to, I still send out at least 500 – 1000 texts per month.  My calling is fairly sporadic but I usually end up calling and getting calls during the night and on weekends.  Because of this, I usually end up using 200 minutes or maybe a bit more per month.  If you’re someone like me, you’ll find the best satisfaction out of plan from a company like Sprint or Verizon with unlimited messaging.  Since I don’t use a bunch of minutes, I chose a plan with 400 any time minutes and unlimited messaging (about $50 a month).  If you’re the opposite as me and end up using tons of minutes through calls and rarely do anything else (texting, web-surfing, etc.), there will be a mobile phone contract that falls into the category too in the $50 range.

Finally, the last group are the major data, minute, and messaging users.  These types of people seem to be always glued to their phone, either making a call, texting a friend, or surfing the web.  If you’re in this group, you’ll benefit the most from a “Simply Everything” plan.  These cell phone contracts are probably the most expensive (ranging over $100 per month), but can end up saving you tons of money in fees and overages (simply because there is no limits).  Whether you end up placing 2000 minutes of calls in a month or if you surf all day every day on your phone, you’ll discover these cell phone contracts are the best for you.

If you’re still unsure about what mobile phone contract you should do, investigate the websites of the major carriers in your area.  Figure out what type of usage you’re doing each month and find the plan that will fit your perfectly.  If you need help looking, there are 3rd party websites that can help you too.  Finally, if you don’t want to have to deal with more information on the web, go to your local cell phone store and talk with a sales rep there.  They can also help you find the best plan for your usage.

The iPhone has been at the center of attention in the cell phone world for quite some time.  While many other phones have come out to compete against the iPhone (some more successful than others), the iPhone has reigned supreme.  Featuring a state-of-the-art touch screen, tons and tons of user-made and professional apps, and of course a multimedia functions, the iPhone has stolen the hearts of techies around the world.

Getting an unlocked iPhone can prove to be a hard task however.  The new iPhone 3GS model has yet to be hacked through the means of software and so in order to unlock a preexisting iPhone you need to use 3rd part SIM cards or hardware.  Because of this set back, if you’re interested  in buying an unlocked iPhone, you have to result to websites selling them new in the box.

One of the most popular sites to buy an unlocked 3GS iPhone is eBay.  The prices of an unlocked iPhone are astronomically high and are almost twice as much as a one found obtained with a new contract.  Yes, people are paying over $800 for the unlocked 32 GB model.  The high demand and low availability of the unlocked version of the iPhone has a played a major role in the price.

If you don’t want to pay $800 for the unlocked model, you’ll have to consider other websites that sell 3rd party hardware that will unlock the phone for you.  These 3rd party devices either attach to existing SIM card in the phone or replaces the SIM card altogether and are able to unlock the iPhone.  As a disclaimer, some of these devices have been known to disable or damage the phone and so research should be done before using one these units.

Finally, if you don’t want to worry about damaging your iPhone or paying trumped up prices for a new unlocked iPhone, the best thing you can do is wait.  Within a few months, software hackers should come out with something that will allow you to unlock your phone.  While this isn’t the “best” way to unlock an iPhone, it will definitely lower the prices on eBay and other auction sites when it does happen.  So, even if you aren’t going to use the software yourself, you can at least buy a new one for hundreds of dollars less.

Buying from an auction site like eBay

Websites like eBay stand to give you the best deal possible on a new phone.  Sellers on their site often get their phones for very good deals and can pass those good deals to you.  Many times you can save a few dollars by choosing eBay over some of the other online retailers.  There is a catch to those great deals though, while eBay works hard to prevent this, there is always a chance you can end up purchasing a stolen or defective cellular phone.  While their site has set up ways to get your money back if you get a product like this, the inconvenience of having to wait a few more weeks for the problem to resolve may not be worth the hassle.

Buying from Amazon

Amazon is probably my most trusted site when it comes to finding good deals on electronics like cell phones.  Finding a new GSM unlocked cell phones can be easy and safe with Amazon.  Amazon actively tests and reviews its products (unlike eBay) to assure quality for their customers which I’ve noticed each and every time I order from them.  One complaint about Amazon, however, is that they’re not always the cheapest compared to some of the other guys.  But besides that complaint, I would never have an issue recommending Amazon.

Other Unlocked Cell Phone Sellers

In this group of sellers you’ll find many websites selling unlocked mobile phones.  This websites usually have extremely large inventories and fairly competitive prices.  These websites are typically very reputable and would include Pure Mobile and Cell Hut.  If you like to deal with websites who exclusively sell cell phones and have customer service knowledgeable about their products, purchasing from these sites would be my recommendation.  As with the complaint with Amazon, the only problem with buying from these “big” cell phone websites is their prices aren’t always the cheapest compared to eBay.  However, if you’re not just worried about  getting a cheap unlocked cell phone but would also like good customer service and convenient return policies, I would stick with Amazon or these other websites.