[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

This might be a game changer: Democrats and Republicans in Congress just came together to pass legislation allowing mobile devices to be unlocked, and President Obama said he looks forward to signing it.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2...ress/13193247/

Not being locked down to At&T could be a big enticement to potential Fire Phone customers.

http://www.cnet.com/news/will-a-cell...really-matter/

Even though the new law is an easy one to rally around, mainly because it has little to do with the spirit behind the copyright law, it's not likely to have a major effect on the industry since most wireless operators unlock devices when asked by their customers anyway. Each carrier has their own criteria for unlocking. Most require that customer fully own their devices and have been in good financial standing with the operator for a given period of time.

These requirements aren't going away as part of this bill either. Wireless operators are only required to unlock devices that a customer fully owns. In other words, if you are still under contract with your carrier and you bought a device at a subsidized price, your wireless operator doesn't have to unlock your phone. In many instances, the carrier won't.