How convenient would that be? All carriers should follow suit and make it easy to unlock a phone. Man, just push a button and...ZAP!..your phone is unlocked. Do you think this will become available with all carriers in the coming years?
The thing is, not everyone cares about unlocking their devices. I'd argue that the majority do not care. As long as carriers allow customers to purchase phones on a subsidy, they have every right to lock the devices to their network until they've recouped the full price of the device, in my opinion. Customers who are willing to pay full price for their device upfront can already get their devices unlocked if they want to. Having said that, making the unlock method easier is definitely a welcomed thing....
You're absolutely right, D. It looks more of a marketing ploy than anything. As much as we hear about unlocking phones on iMore, most people don't even know what that means.