Need Help With Telus LG Optimus One Prepaid Phone - Futureshop | Phone/Device Issues and Features | Consumer forum

Good day all. Please do bare with me as I am quite new to the whole smart phone world. I have always just used Speakout 7 11 because I hardly ever need to use the phone. Anyways, now I need a smartphone to test mobile website design on, using wi-fi from my home. I have read so much that my head is spinning and I am really confused. I would greatly appreciate some input.

Is it possible to buy a smartphone and have it unlocked, so I can use it with the 7 11 speakout service? I currently have a phone I got through them. What would I do? Simply replace the chip inside my phone now with a new phone?

I don't understand how to go about doing this or where to look. If I buy the prepaid Telus LG Optimus One that I see being sold for around $119, does that mean I have to use a Telus prepaid plan - or does the prepaid simply mean I buy the phone outright with no plan?

Would the phone be able to be used on other networks as well? I'm so confused.

All I want is to be able to use a smartphone on the Speakout 7-11 network simply for talk and the odd text..... and to use the wi-fi capability at home for web browsing, without being charged for data.

**Edit: From what I have read and understood, these are the steps I would take - can someone please verify this for me?

1) Go to futureshop and buy the telus prepaid LG Optimus one.

2) Turn on the phone without the SIM card or with my speakout SIM Card.

3) Enter unlock code

4) Done?