Excellent question about the monthly charge. I went to their website to look for the fine print. Lo and behold they appear to be offering holiday deals right now and it says the phone I want is free. Okay then. I logged in and started to check out but the "free" part disappeared, it said the cost was $17 per month. I started to poke around looking for more information, like when the deal expires, so I can call during business hours to ask if it's free or not. Can't find any details. Somehow manage to put a second phone in the shopping cart. This one is free AND has another deal of 50% off accessories. So if I replace an old phone there's no deal but if I "add a device" it's free? Poke around more, still can't find any details.

So now I'm angry. I used to work in direct marketing before e-commerce existed. These idiots are violating rule #1: give the potential customer all the information needed to make a decision. And they are wasting my time making me try to figure out how much the damn phone will cost.

It's now highly likely that I will be getting an unlocked phone.

Re: the antennas, I think the situation with the iphones make sense. If you buy from a carrier, they would figure you wouldn't need a phone that's capable if working on other networks. But if I get the unlocked phone I will ask before I buy (I'd be getting it at Micro-Center, most likely, and they have good tech support.)

Thanks!