Awhile back MS had the ChevronWP7 (lulz stargate ftw) guys pull their device unlocking app since it was causing issues with WP7 updates. Now MS is officially allowing it but it now costs a "small fee" Interesting to say the least.
They are desperate to push phones into the market. I think they are subsidizing W7 phones on EVERY carrier for FREE. You buy it and Microsoft comps you the purchase price. I played around with W7, it's good, and a lot better than their previous stuff. But there is just nothing exceptional to warrant switching.
@Supersonic Exactly. This seems like a move done out of desperation because no one is buying these phones. MS wants their platform to seem open like Android. The reality is that while WP7 is fine, and way better than the crap MS had dumped on the mobile market in the past, it was about two years too late to market to have any impact.
It's happening at their own store too. http://phones.microsoftstore.com/mobile/ The Mango update will be huge for them since they can actually say something about the x360 integration now rather than just stupid account updates. They'll also have their own navigation now (Bing Navigation) and OCR integrated into the OS.
Fair play for them actually doing it. people are going to do it regardless so why not charge a small price for them doing it.