If you've never ventured into the world of unlocked cell phones, then this article is a good place to get you going. Not having a service contract is worth the extra cost you typically have to pay up front for your unlocked unit.

"But since that Neolithic age, a couple of things have changed: Mobile phone technology has become standardized, and phone makers have responded to a global demand for handsets with a blizzard of devices that offer far more than plain old wireless telephone service."