Against T-Mobile's formal protests, the California Supreme Court cleared the way for a class-action lawsuit that seeks to stop the carrier from collecting early service termination fees of $200. According to Wired:
The plaintiffs also seek an order requiring T-Mobile to disclose the existence and effect of the software locks it places on the phones it sells, and to offer to unlock the handsets so consumers can switch to a different carrier without buying a new phone.
Finally, someone is making real headway in finding out whether these restrictions are legal or fair. We've lived with them for so long, they seem like a permanent reality, but this raises the prospect of free and unfettered mobile-phone choice—at least among four giant, greedy corporations. [Wired]