Hi ralphb,

You don't say what country you're in, but in any case you need to look at it on a case-by-case basis.

Orange has been known to cripple the functionality of some phones. With some models, they replace the menu system with their own, to make it hard for you to get music, games or ringtones without buying it from the Orange store.

Also, they sometimes sell the phones locked to their own network. In the UK, they will unlock it on request for a fee (£20?), but if you're on a pay-as-you-go tariff they will only do this if you have been registered with them for a certain time (6 months I think). If you didn't bother to register your full details with them, and you want to unlock your phone to use with another carrier on an overseas trip, tough luck.

In the UK it's legal to get your phone unlocked at a shady-looking back-street shop, provided they don't change the IMEI code. But then if you need warranty repairs from the carrier you may be out of luck.

Personally I would never buy a carrier-locked or carrier-crippled phone. Sometimes freedom is worth more than a superficially-attractive deal.

In any case, there's no indication that Orange will be offering a good deal on the N900, unless you know something that I don't.

Regards,
Roger