It was. This new device could very possibly be free with 2 year contract if it only costs $300-$350. The unlocked angle is mostly for the international markets where more carrier competition exists and there's a real incentive to go contract free. In the US, due to incompatible 3G frequencies on GSM phones and little real competition, there's not a huge market for these unlocked phones.

If this new iPhone 4-ish device was a CDMA/GSM hybrid with a healthy frequency selection it could shake things up in the US. At minimum you really need at least 2 fully functional carriers to choose from to bother with an unlocked phone. As a hybrid they could (in theory at least) support all 4 carriers on one device and push the US market closer to the international model where the consumer has an incentive to spend the money up front on hardware.