The only other issue I would raise to Shawnski (and I can't argue with anything else you have said) is that if you did get an unlocked phone, you are pretty much stuck with Rogers of Fido. I'm sure many of the telcom companies subsidise the phones, but even if I did go to eBay and buy an unlocked phone, I would still be severely limited by the carriers. Telus won't accept unlocked phones on their CDMA network. I'm not sure about any of the other CDMA carriers, but they appear to be the same way. I would like to be able to have an unlocked phone AND the ability to change telco services to suit my need when I desire.
From my understanding, Canadian (and perhaps North American) wireless providers do not want to be seen as bandwidth carriers, they want to be able to supply the phone, any/all services on the phone along with the contract charges. If people can put their own ringtones and portable games on the phones, Telus/Bell/etc don't get a cut (good for them, bad for me).
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