Benefit of unlocking my cellphone

[Heeter]

Hi all,

I use a HTC Dream, with Android 1.6 on it. Runs really well, and I use it to it's fullest extent (I think).

A friend suggested that I get it unlocked.

I asked him how that benefits me, he said that I can use it overseas. That's the best answer he could come up with.

What is the benefit of unlocking my phone?

There is an app on the android market that will unlock this phone for $12, wondering if that is the way to go?

If unlocked, will I be able to update to Android ver2?

I am tied down right now to a plan for 2 years, should I still unlock the phone?


Thanks

Heeter

 

[Admiral Michael]

AFAIK unlocking a phone means you can the phone on any carrier. Not sure about the upgrade part, it will prob allow you to upgrade but it may re-lock the phone.

From what you have stated I see no reason to unlock the phone.

 

[Xie]

Unlocking will NOT allow you to upgrade if there is no ROM of v2.x for your Dream. Also don't confuse unlocking with rooting. 😉 All and unlock does for you is allow you to change carriers, but in the US that is a bit tricky since we have 2 different technologies that aren't compatible.

Also I would never pay to unlock, most unlocks can be had for free. 🙂

-edit- for info on anything you wanna do w/ your Android phone I'd check out: xda-developers

 

[Heeter]

Awesome, Thanks for your input guys,

Didn't think that this would benefit me at all.

What is rooted mean?


Heeter

 

[Xie]

Awesome, Thanks for your input guys,

Didn't think that this would benefit me at all.

What is rooted mean?


Heeter

rooted = have "root" access on your phone (same as "jailbreak" on an iPhone). It's the same as having "root" on *nix or "admin" on Windows. Gives you more control over what you can do.

Why should you root your Dream/G1?

You can install a full Linux distribution, like Debian.
You can run applications that require root, like Screenshot and Browser Auto Rotate or any other application.
You can install the latest Android build directly from the Android source tree.
Customize your boot image.
Create full backups of the state of your phone.
Create custom ROMs.
Install Applications to your SD Card to save space.
Use your phone as a tether to connect your computer/laptop to the internet.

-edit- Dream wiki

 

[Heeter]

Great find, Xie

Thanks a million,

I think I will do that instead. I run quite a few opensuse workstations, I should of known what rooted meant. Oh well.

Thanks again,

Heeter