Unlocked phones offer the buyer a lot more choice. You’re able to switch carriers as you like, you get the phone exactly as the manufacturer intended and your new phone isn’t cluttered with carrier bloatware. If you travel a lot you’ll also benefit from not having to pay a carrier roaming fee, which can sometimes run to a few dollars a minute. With an unlocked phone you can buy a prepaid SIM for the country you’re visiting along with an international phone card and pay normal call charges for both local calls and calls back home.

Not every 4G phone offered by the main carriers is available as an unlocked device. Below are the best deals we’ve found online.

Motorola DROID RAZR
Comes with Android 2.3.5 out of the box and is upgradeable to Android 4.0. Fabulous high resolution 4.3″ Super-AMOLED Advanced display and 1.2GHz Dual-Core processor. Thinnest smartphone available, protected by Kevlar body and Gorilla Glass. Wireless streaming from PC to phone via MotoCast, 8MP camera with 1080p HD video capture.

Samsung Galaxy S II
Along with the iPhone 4S the Galaxy S II is the best-selling phone this year. That’s largely down to the best ever screen from Samsung. Other features include an 8-megapixel camera, dual-core 1.2GHz processor and support for A-GPS.

myTouch 4G
One of the cheapest unlocked 4G phones the myTouch is a 4G/3G-enabled Android 2.3 smartphone with excellent vide chat capabilities, HD video support and up to 12 days standby time. There’s a free 8GB microSD memory card in the box along with a hands-free stereo headset.

Other Unlocked 4g Phones
One of the best sources to buy unlocked phones online is Amazon – there’s a grown range of phones from Motorola, Samsung, Nokia and BlackBerry and many phones come with free same-day shipping.