We’ve all had the same experience when they were not paying attention and we randomly drop our cell phone, it falls in a puddle of water or we got pissed off over something and smashed it against the wall.

The typical solution is to go back to her phone provider and purchase a new phone to work with their network. The good news is that there are other options that you should consider that are in fact cheaper and offers you more flexibility in the future.

Here is an option for your replacement cell phone, buying an unlocked phone allows you the flexibility to use the phone with any phone carrier that supports GSM technology and Sim card.

When your mobile phone plan is up for renewal you’ll then have the luxury of changing your plan to another carrier and keep your existing phone to be used with the new plan. In addition, you can easily find an unlocked phone online at a fraction of the cost compared to going into your mobile phone provider store and purchasing one off the shelf.

I recently purchased the Blackberry 8520 unlocked and have since switched carriers and signed up to a new one on a month by month plan. I now have the ability to move around and find the best cell phone plans for me without being bogged down with a long-term commitment.

So when you’re looking for replacement cell phone, do your homework and check around online for an unlocked mobile phone that is compatible with your phone carrier.