Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Unlock that Cellphone!

Ever seen a really cool-looking cellphone and then heard the dreaded "available exclusively from (insert wireless carrier here)". You're bummed, man...you dig that phone but you know that Verizon doesn't work in your apartment. Or that T-Mobile's coverage stinks in your office. Or that Cingular really screwed you over when they bought your AT&T Wireless service.

Well, apparently you don't need to worry about that anymore! CNN is reporting that the US Librarian of Congress James H. Billington approved new rules that allow owners to break software locks on their handsets in order to use them with competing carriers. It should also allow certain features that may be inherent to a phone, like MP3 playback, to be unlocked if the wireless carrier (or the RIAA) decided that they didn't want you to have that feature.

The rules were announced on Wednesday Nov.22 and are in effect for the next three years, at least. Call up your cellphone provider and demand the unlock codes today!

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