Beware of Locks Cellular Carriers Place on Expensive Smart Phones, Warns META Group; Phones Are Locked Against Use on Any Other Network to Prevent Users From Switching.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 6, 2004 To protect their capital investment, organizations that plan on purchasing relatively expensive smart phones should ensure that such devices are unlocked and movable to other carriers, advises META Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: METG METG Military Effects Test Group ). Many organizations and individual users are now considering buying smart phones that provide key personal information management features (e.g., calendar, e-mail, Web browsing See browse. ). These phones range from $300 to more than $500, and many purchasers fail to realize that phones procured for use on one vendor's network are locked against use on any other network by a firmware A category of memory chips that hold their content without electrical power. Firmware includes flash, ROM, PROM, EPROM and EEPROM technologies. When holding program instructions, firmware can be thought of as "hard software." See flash memory, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM and FOTA. security code. "Enterprises exploring the purchase of high-end smart devices should force terms into the contract that require the carrier to unlock the phones on demand for the end user, or to supply completely unlocked phones," says Jack Gold, vice president with META Group's Technology Research Services. "This is important because many high-end feature phones are expensive and could have a life of more than three years -- longer than most carrier contract terms." The locking mechanism is built into the phone's firmware during the manufacture of the device and is programmed to work only on the specific carrier's network. Carriers generally refuse to unlock the phone, assuming that locking the phone will force users to stay on the network and thus limit churn churn: see butter. . META Group believes that forcing users to endure their current carrier choice for the life of a device -- or change carriers and purchase a new device -- is not acceptable to enterprise users of smart devices. "Companies must be aware of all policies governing gov·ern v. gov·erned, gov·ern·ing, gov·erns v.tr. 1. To make and administer the public policy and affairs of; exercise sovereign authority in. 2. cell phone usage, particularly as they move into a more complex usage environment for smart phone devices," says Gold. "Failure to understand all terms and conditions of cell phone contracts can result in additional cost totaling millions of dollars per year, as well as limited flexibility in migration." About META Group META Group is a leading provider of information technology research, advisory services advisory services advisory services provided to the public, in their capacity as owners and managers of animals, are an important part of veterinary science. They may be provided by government bureaux, by commercial companies who deal in pharmaceuticals or animals or animal , and strategic consulting. Delivering objective and actionable Giving sufficient legal grounds for a lawsuit; giving rise to a Cause of Action. An act, event, or occurrence is said to be actionable when there are legal grounds for basing a lawsuit on it. guidance, META Group's experienced analysts and consultants are trusted advisors to IT and business executives around the world. Our unique collaborative models In psycholinguistics, the collaborative model(or conversational model) is a theory for explaining how speaking and understanding work in conversation, specifically how people in conversation coordinate to determine definite references. and dedicated customer service help clients be more efficient, effective, and timely in their use of IT to achieve their business goals. Visit metagroup.com for more details on our high-value approach. |
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