Moto sells locked Cingular branded Phones

[luxmbrgus]

Check out the response I got from Moto when I asked them where I could buy the MPX220 without a contract. Apparently, they sell the Cingular branded phone but it is locked:

Dear Tom S,

Thank you for contacting Motorola e-mail support, we appreciate your request.

Thank you very much for your considerations and interest in our products.

Regarding your concern, we are glad to inform you that the Motorola MPx220 cellular phone is available for purchase directly through Motorola without a contract, however, the phone is locked and programmed for use through Cingular Wireless. At this moment, we do not have any software upgrade available for any of our phones. Please note that Motorola stands behind our products by offering a minimum one-year warranty issued from the date of purchase.

We hope that you find this information useful and we remain at your entire disposal for future questions you may wish to ask.

If you have further questions or need additional assistance, please contact our Cellular Information Center at 1-800-331-6456. Our business hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM until 7:00 PM CST.

For information about Motorola products and services, please locate http://www.motorola.com/
If you cannot hipper link, please copy/paste the link into your browser.

Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to be of service to you.

Best Regards,

[Kris Kumar]

Well as far I know the MPx220 is Cingular "branded" but is not "locked" to Cingular.

The phone is unlocked and can be used on any network. However it does have the Cingular logo under the keypad. The packaging has Cingular all over it. And the software it says Cingular only on the home screen. All of these are not a hassle.

As for where you can buy the phone without contract:
Amazon
Best Buy

[Kris Kumar]

Many of our readers have bought the Cingular branded MPx220 and are using it without any modification on T-Mobile. I am one of them. :-)

It seems (as always) that the customer support does not know the facts.