Before you decide to buy a mobile phone, you must decide whether you want an unlocked phone or a carried locked phone. Both offer distinct advantages and disadvantages. It is up to you to decide which one works in your favour. Most people generally visit their local cellular carrier when they have to buy a phone.

Cellular carriers generally offer mobiles at reduced prices, but there’s a catch. The phones are locked to that particular carrier. Thus, you can’t use the device with any other SIM card. Furthermore, carrier locked devices also come with subscriber contracts, which might not be the best option for you. The debate between unlocked phones and locked devices has been raging for many years now. However, almost every avid mobile phone user agrees that unlocked devices are significantly better than locked ones. Here are a few reasons why:

Helps You Save Money

How do unlocked mobile phones, which retail at a higher price than a locked one, help you save money? While unlocked devices appear expensive at first, they can actually help you save a lot of money in the long run. For starters, unlocked phones don’t come with subscriber contracts that you must honour for the next year or so. They aren’t even locked to a particular network so you can easily switch to another network whenever you want.

In case your network decides to hike up prices, you can simply cancel your subscription. You won’t have to pay any early termination fees or wait for your previous contract to expire. If you want to keep your telephone expenses to a bare minimum, you can also purchase a prepaid SIM card. SIM cards have significantly cheaper calling and messaging charges.

No Roaming Charges

If you have an unlocked phone, you don’t have to worry about paying any roaming charges. When you place a call through a carrier locked device from a foreign country, you will be charged a roaming fee. Depending upon the destination, the roaming charges vary. Remember, the roaming charges are separate from the monthly subscriber fee. Ultimately, this could add up to a pretty hefty amount in no time.

Having an unlocked phone solves this problem. When you travel to another country with an unlocked device, all you have to do is purchase a localized SIM card and place as many calls as you want. Since it’s a local number, you will only be charged local rates for the calls and messaging.

A Greater Variety of Phone Models

Most cellular carriers only offer a few devices. However, the unlocked phone market is teeming with new mobiles. Several companies have introduced newer smartphones. In order to maximize their profits, cellular carriers only offer the most popular devices.

Unfortunately, not all popular devices are good. What if you want greater battery life over an improved camera? The unlocked mobile market offers you a wide variety of options. Depending upon your budget and preferences, you can purchase any device you want.