first of all, verizon don't have sim card. it is a cdma phone. there no way you can move to t-mo, cingular and At&t. this service provider use sim on there phone and i can't see how they gonna do that. cdma( code division multiple accsess) gsm (global for system mobile)

I'm completely new to this cell phone thing, so please excuse me if I'm asking incredibly stupid questions:

A friend of mine cancelled her service through Verizon before her 2 year contract was up (she had the service 6 months or so) and ended up putting the whole thing on her bankruptcy. She gave me her 2 LG VX6100 phones.

My question is: Can or do wireless companies put some type of lock on the phones so they cannot be used? Is there a way to bypass it? If I set up a new account with Verizon, can I use these phones with them? Can I take them to a new provider, like T-Mobile, Cingular, or Sprint? Or if I decide to sell them, like say on eBay, will there be problems for the buyer in setting them up?

It seems a little crazy that a wireless carrier could lock out a phone, rendering it useless, especially after my friend paid somewhere between $150 and $200 for the pair of the phones. Ouch!

Also, I've glanced over several other postings and I'm completely in the dark as to what SIM cards are and how locks work, etc. I know how to recharge the battery and make a call and that's pretty much it. So, if you're kind enough to reply and happen to mention something technical, I'd appreciate it if you could explain things like this in just a little more detail. I promise I'll catch on fast.

Thanks so much!