FeaturesStreakSmart

Thoughts on off-contract Dell Streak not being unlocked

Lock

I didn't think this would have warranted a separate post but since a bunch of sites and people seem to be making an enormous deal about it, I wanted to comment on it too.

The off-contract Dell Streak that sells for $549.99 is still locked to AT&T.

What exactly is the problem there? I understand that many want the device to be unlocked, which I think is a separate issue, but why are people so outraged that an off-contract phone is locked to a carrier? I see so many comments across the net basically saying the same thing: "$550 for a phone that isn't unlocked? Fail."

But why? The HTC EVO, Droid X, Samsung Captivate, Samsung Vibrant, Apple iPhone 4, Samsung Epic, and countless others are all available without a contract for around $500, give or take about $50 or so. And all of these full price phones are still locked to their respective US carriers.

Why aren't there stories on every tech site about these off-contract phones not being unlocked? I don't think it's right that US carriers lock their phones like this, not at all, but I don't understand why the Streak is the only device being slammed for it. Any thoughts?

Update: There seems to be some confusion in the comments. The question is not "Why are people outraged that the Streak is not unlocked?" I know the answer to that. The question is "Why is the Streak being singled out for a common practice (off-contract phones priced at ~$500 but still being locked) in the US?"

Pocketables does not accept targeted advertising, phony guest posts, paid reviews, etc. Help us keep this way with support on Patreon!
Become a patron at Patreon!

Jenn K. Lee

Jenn K. Lee is the founder of Pocketables. She loves gadgets the way most women love shoes and purses. The pieces in her tech wardrobe that go with everything are currently the Samsung Galaxy Note II, Sony Tablet P, and Nexus 7, but there are still a couple of vintage UMPCs/MIDs in the back of her closet.

More posts by Jenn | Subscribe to Jenn's posts

Avatar of Jenn K. Lee