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Because like all things, people love options. Consumerism would fail if everything was generic.

Surely I'd have more options if I could use any handset?

I'm a computer literate guy but I still end up carrying 2 handsets - one work, one personal - most of the time because the handsets aren't truly generic.

Don't you think the people that make the hardware and sell the contracts with shiny new phone bundled to justify the price would much rather you had 2 handsets?

If you were really determined to have an instantly portable number and contact list then there are VOIP apps which are accessible on most phones...

What do you mean generic? People like different screen sizes, are willing to pay different amounts for different amounts of storage, processor speeds, etc.

I mean pick up my wife's phone, log in and now it's mine.

Aaah, Android can do a lot of that. The latest versions support multiple user logins, so you can share a phone other than the (which you'd have to swap).

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