I have a GSM telephone by T-Mobile and when I went overseas this time I took it with me figuring I could pop a sim card into it and use it in the country I was visiting. Turned out since the phone was a branded one it was locked out from being able to be used in another country. I found a unlock code for it on a website and weighed using it but decided against it.
Instead I bought a cheap phone and will use that on future travels. The true test will be when I get back and try the Sim from T-Mobile in the new phone. It seems a group of consumers are pissed of about this lockout feature and are suing to force companies to unlock the phones we buy.
I must admit that in the United States I do not see cell phones for-sale stand-alone seems most are branded. As consumers become more educated this will change. [Boing Boing] [Popular Science] [Unlock Me] [GSM Software]