I would say "its only benefit".  The purpose of the so-called subsidy lock
is to prevent the user from switching carriers.  All it does is prevent you
from inserting a SIM from a different carrier.  It has nothing to do with
your ability to access the services of other carriers that have roaming
agreements with your carrier.

Personally, I always pay a little more and get an unlocked phone.  In Europe
I insert a local pre-paid SIM card and have a local number very cheaply.
Then I change my home voicemail message to mention the temporary number.
Also I didn't have to sign a long-term contract with T-Mobile when I
switched from AT&T.

I'm on my third unlocked phone, a HP6340 which replaced my Sony-Ericsson
P800 which replaced my S-E T68i.  Now I'm thinking about going to a Windows
Mobile Smartphone, mostly based on Jeffrey's enthusiasm.  I never enter much
data on my h6340 PDA phone.  What think, Jeffrey?

Hal

[This E-mail was scanned for viruses.]

Well, there are some other unlocking advantages for developers but you're
right; for normal end-users, it is the only benefit.

I've carried around a Palm device since 1995/96 when I bought the original
Palm Pilot.  Heck, I actually even have an Apple Newton that I still show at
presentations but I honestly never carried it around.  Since then I've
always preferred Palm devices.  I've had just about every one.  I also have
about 4 Pocket PC devices right now.  I've always preferred Palm but I can
easily see what people like about Pocket PC's (it's like a Mac vs. Windows
thing).  Still, it was always a Palm that I carried around in my real
(non-developer) life, especially for boating.  In 2001, Palm awarded me a
really nice 3 foot glass and marble statue for Best Enterprise Product and
Best Overall Product of the year (it cost $80 for me to ship it home from
the conference!).  To be honest, I've been emotionally attached to Palm
since then.

Given that background, I found myself working for the last 8 months with the
new Windows Smartphone platform.  When I finally got real hardware (Audiovox
SMT5600), I was blown away.  To make a long story short, my Palm is now
(sadly) sitting in its cradle, eager to be called into action.  My Audiovox
is clipped to my belt.  I've managed to get everything that I need for my
boat onto the Audiovox except a tide prediction program.  I have the source
code to Palm's Tide Tool and Pocket PC's cTide and it's on my list of
to-do's to port it to the Smartphone but I just don't have the time right
now.

Motorola has a new Windows Smartphone too (MPx220).  It's a clamshell design
and is very nice.  I recently met with Motorola in Ft. Lauderdale and got to
talk to them about their future plans and their new device.  Like I've said
in a previous posting, it's an exciting time to be a geek.

None of this should be misinterpreted as a dislike for the Treo 650.  I
think it's an excellent device and there are many customers of my software
who are using it today.  As soon as Verizon has their version, I'm buying
it.  It will be used for development and will replace my wife's cell phone
when we're cruising.  While cruising we keep a GSM phone and a CDMA phone so
we can usually connect anywhere.  I don't think you can go wrong with the
Treo 650.  My wife has always had a Palm so it's a good fit for her.

By the way, here are a couple of things that I do with my Audiovox that most
people are surprised about:

• Watch DVD's.  Put a DVD into your PC for conversion to the smaller format.
  Then transfer the movie to the phone.  A 256 MB card can hold about 2 full
  movies.  Good for planes and traveling.

• Watch live TV.  Honest.  Live TV.  Well, it's delayed by about 10 seconds.
  Not all channels are on it.  You can definitely get news (MSNBC) and weather
  (Weather Channel) among maybe 15 other channels.  I'd consider it to be a
  nice safety advantage to be able to receive The Weather Channel when out and
  about.

• Still camera and video camera.  Not as good as my digital camera but when
  I was visiting my mom in Ft. Lauderdale I didn't have my camera with me when
  we came across an alligator.  My Smartphone caught a dozen pictures of him.

• MP3 player.

• Internet browsing.  You can get to any web page.  Many, like Google, have
  special handling for small screens and make it easier to interact with.

• Street navigation.  It talks to you and tells you when to turn, where gas
  stations are located, and automatically re-routes you if you make a wrong
  turn or need to take a detour.  Most people I've shown it to while driving
  somewhere in the car are surprised about how good it is.

• Integration with Outlook.  I currently have 1017 contacts perfectly
  synchronized between my PC and Smartphone.  Change any number or contact on
  one and it automatically updates the other.  Calendar scheduling is
  similarly done.

• Databases.  I maintain 6 databases of my Vessel Management System that I
  ported from the Palm.  When I needed to order a new blower for my engine
  room this week, I selected Vessel Management/Parts/Blowers and it had the
  Jabsco part number that I needed.

• Chartplotter.

• And of course, it's a very nice cell phone.  Tap Contacts, then 4-3-7-7
  and it shows only "Herrington Harbor".  Tap send and I'm calling them.
  [4-3-7-7 is H-E-R-R - you ignore the fact that the keys have multiple
  letters - it narrows down the list to all strings that match]

All in all, this is the biggest change of technology that I've seen in many
years...

================
Jeffrey Siegel
M/V aCappella
DeFever 53PH
W1ACA/WDB4350
Castine, Maine