I mostly lurk on this group to just to check out the latest news on
phones, and I keep seeing references to unlocking a phone. Does this
have something to do with buying a phone that's not specifically from
the carrier's plan, or am I not understanding it?

That's correct, some carriers "lock" a phone and it can't be used on a
different carrier. They can be "unlocked" and will work on any carrier that
uses the same technology. Also some of the features, of the phone, are
locked out by some carriers.

Hope this helps......bamp

If anyone can explain this or point me to a link on more information,
I'd appreciate it.