If the carriers give you crippled phones, make crippled-phones-ade. Verizon's crippled v265 angered a young man so much that he posted a bit 'o' info on how to uncripple the Media Center dealie that allows you to copy images to and from the phone. The process requires a data cable (not included), some hot warez, and a willingness to be a phone hax0r.
hacking the motorola v265 [OriginofStorms]