Business Week says good bye to free phones and hello to freedom thanks to unlocked phones

Ricky Davis is the kind of customer wireless carriers hate. On a recent visit to New York from Sydney, the film production assistant dropped into a wireless store and, bypassing phones with flashy names like BlackJack, RAZR, and Pearl, asked for a model for her husband that could be used with any number of service plans—just like her own $400 Nokia (NYSE: NOK) N70, purchased in Australia. Davis, 51, enjoys the freedom to travel almost anywhere without signing up for a two-year plan with one carrier that forces her to pay huge roaming charges on the road. "They factor the cost of the phone into the plan anyway, so you might as well just buy the phone you want," Davis says.

But the era of the freebie phone may be coming to an end. In late Novem ber the U.S. copyright office ruled that it is not illegal for consumers to "unlock" cell phones they purchase from a particular carrier. The three-year exemption from potential wireless industry lawsuits strengthens the hand of Nokia and other manufacturers, which have begun quietly opening flagship stores in New York, Chicago, and elsewhere to sell phones like Davis’ N70. Such moves risk alienating the wireless outfits, but cell-phone makers see the market shifting. Fewer than 5% of the 163 million handsets sold in the U.S. this year were unlocked versions.

Source: Business Week

This is exactly the kind of swift kick in the ass I talked about earlier. If Nokia actually put their guard down a little bit they could team up with Samsung, LG, Motorola (NYSE: MOT) and all of them could pour a lot of money into advertising and informing people to go unlocked. I would love to see this happen. Carriers vs. Handset makers. Nokia market share in the US is in the toilet right now because consumers choose what phone they want out a pallet the carrier designates. This has got to stop!