EDIT: I heard from someone in the industry that Windows Phone 7 devices issued in Asia are not SIM locked. So I tested it. It’s true: a telco issued WP7 device is “open line” and not locked to a provider (i.e. you can stick a SUN Cellular SIM into the SMART-issued WP7 device and it will run just fine). This is actually very interesting news.
It’s been almost a week with the HTC Mozart, the very first Windows Phone 7 in the country. Unlike others who have appropriated their WP7 devices outside the telcos, this is actually the very first official release in the country. If you open the battery, there’s a SMART Communications sticker pasted onto the circuit board. I purchased the phone under my retention plan with SMART under my regular plan 2500 but had to shell out a bit of cash (with a discount). Apparently I am the first customer in the country who has availed of this via retention. Total cash out: PHP 5750.00 not bad considering the unit costs about PHP 30,000.00. Well, that’s the price you pay for being an “early adopter.” I’m sure in the coming months we will see much cheaper handsets in the same way Android phones are releasing units at a 10k price point.