Having a mobile phone account in New Zealand has become quite a bit less of a hassle than it was just a few years ago.
Young people talk on mobiles instead of texting only or chatting over landlines and it's possible now to fire up smartphone data connections without one eye on the usage meter - and with 4G everywhere, it's really quick data too.
With that in mind, it seems a shame that SIM locking has reared its ugly head again.
This is a feature in GSM networks that allows providers to restrict or lock phones bought from them so that only their SIM cards can be used in them. The idea here is that telcos will "subsidise" phones - or on some plans, include it for no money upfront - but you have to stay on their networks.
Having to pay less upfront for phones is an attractive proposition for many, especially when it comes to expensive smartphones.
However, telcos are not charities and they make up for the cost of the device in usage charges over the time it is locked to their networks. You're not going to save money in other words, and likely lose out over time as better deals and plans come online.
SIM locking is common overseas and it's now starting to creep back into New Zealand, after causing an uproar in 2008.
At that time, Vodafone, the dominant telco, threatened it would lock all its devices as Telecom launched its XT GSM network and 2degrees got going, but backed down in the end as the Commerce Commission expressed concern.
2degrees has been a vocal opponent of SIM locking, but now they say they'll have to start doing it too, to remain competitive with lower upfront handset prices ahead of the Christmas and back-to-school seasons.
Mathew Bolland, 2degrees' director of corporate affairs, agreed that SIM locking is a retrograde move in 2014 and that it wouldn't be a popular move.
Bolland said the telco has no option as Spark/Skinny and Vodafone are now both locking devices to a much greater degree than before.
The SIM lock isn't permanent - 2degrees customers can stump up $30 to unlock their phones, or wait nine months, and then shift to Spark or Vodafone.
You'd think that the Commerce Commission would frown upon telcos again trying to lock in customers with SIM locking to prevent "churn", or moving to other providers with more competitive deals, but no. The regulator has done a one-eighty on SIM locking lately.
"We don't believe SIM locking is anti-competitive. It's analogous to early termination provisions in post-pay contracts," a commission spokesperson told me.
"Customers have choices of buying handsets directly or honour some sort of undertaking if they accept a handset subsidy," the spokesperson added.
Those arguments are both flimsy though. First, a contract between a telco and a person or company doesn't stop customers from moving to other providers.
Sure, you'll have to honour the contract or pay termination fees (which can be exorbitant), but you can use your phone on another network if it's compatible with it.
Let's say Telco A's service in your area is bad but Telco B is good; you need phone service and will bite the bullet and switch providers. With an unlocked phone, you can.
Large multinational telcos can use their market power to hammer out exclusive deals with phone makers and offer handsets to customers at low initial cost, provided they agree to be locked in over a period of time.
They can also offer network features and services exclusively to locked-in customers - and refuse to connect customers who have bought handsets directly. Telcos may also be tempted to offer plans with more expensive local and roaming rates to customers who bring their own handsets so as to steer them towards locked ones with better deals for calling, texting and data.
What's more, locking cheaper handsets to prepaid SIMs targets lower-income earners and students who need a device but might struggle to buy one outright.
None of the above should come as news to the commission, which has had plenty of time to learn from telco shenanigans here and in overseas markets.
SIM locking is a tool for telcos to reduce competition, in other words. It's wildly unpopular with customers overseas, and some countries have banned either the practice or the sale of locked devices.
When the United States recognises that SIM locking is anticompetitive, and this year enacted a law "to promote consumer choice and wireless competition by permitting consumers to unlock mobile wireless devices, and for other purposes", it's surprising our telco regulator should hold the opposite view.
Chinese telco industry giant Huawei is also one of the world's largest smartphone makers, and has produced rather stylish looking Ascend Android devices lately, like the $699 RRP P7 that I looked at.
This is a well-made handset with an aluminium case, full HD 1920 by 1080 pixel 5-inch screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and is just 6.5mm thick.
The subtle design of the phone looks good and the P7 packs a good set of features for the price like fast Cat4 LTE broadband, a 13 megapixel "backside illumination" (that's the technical term) camera that takes good pictures and more.
Huawei's decided not to customise Android 4.4.2 too much and its Emotion 2.3 user interface works fine, and doesn't get in your way.
There's not much wrong with the P7. The biggest issue is the Huawei HiSilicon 910T quad-core system on a chip processor being on the slow side, despite running at 1.8GHz.
Animations and flipping between screens is a bit laggy and juddery on the P7, so try the phone first to see if it annoys you. Other than that, the P7 is very good value for money.
One less than ideal omission is that Huawei appears to have removed the option to encrypt the internal storage in case the phone falls into wrong hands. Make of that what you will.
Samsung meanwhile has clearly taken note of Apple's Phil Schiller threatening to kill off the compact camera market with the improved photographic abilities in the latest batch of iPhones, judging by the snazzily named Galaxy K Zoom smartphone.
This bulky device marries a powerful Android smartphone with compact camera that has a largish 1/ 2.3-inch 20.3 megapixel sensor and an f/3.1-6.3 24-240mm equivalent zoom which in theory means you get the best of both worlds in terms of image taking and mobile connectivity.
It's true, the Galaxy K Zoom does take good photos, far better than most smartphones (although the video is a bit average), and it's handy to have fast 4G LTE and Wi-Fi to upload pics instantly.
As a concept though, the Galaxy K Zoom doesn't work really work. It's almost as bulky as a compact camera with the lens protruding out of the case even when it's retracted making it feel clumsy as a smartphone.
Besides a shutter button, you don't get the usual image taking controls that cameras have, making the Galaxy K Zoom awkward and slow to use except for in full auto mode.
The Galaxy K Zoom is available from 2 Degrees Mobile and Noel Leemings for $799 RRP.
For that money, you may wish to check out Samsung's NX range instead, like the small mini model. These offer large APS-C and 1" size sensors, exchangeable lenses and generally better image quality.
Pick an NX camera with Wi-Fi, hook it up to a smartphone, and I think you'll be happier with that combo even if it means carrying two devices.
Direct to Cell service reaches 40% of the country not covered by land-based networks.