unlocked smartphone?

[matc]

Hi,

what is an 'unlocked' smartphone?

If you buy a smartphone that is SIM-free, can it be used with ANY SIM card on any network?

What if you buy a smartphone on a contract then later decide to sell it but keep the SIM card? Would this smartphone be 'unlocked' and available for anyone to then put in their SIM card without any problems?

I presently have an i-mate Jam but I may want to sell it at some point if a better one comes out (e.g. Samsung i730 or MPx) but I am happy to keep my present contract.

Thanks.

[DaveLFC]

Generally 'sim free' is just that, able to be used with almost any provider that you have a sim card for.

The easiest way to test if your phone is 'sim free' is to beg steal or borrow a sim card from someone that is different to your providers sim. If it works then you know the phone is in fact sim free.

In any case there are many people out there that will unlock your phone if in fact it is locked to one particular provider, although how much they charge is anyones guess.

Good luck.