Weeks after Google introduced Android in tandem with its Open Handset Alliance industry coalition, Verizon Wireless closed out 2007 with a bombshell: In the year ahead, it will open its network and enable subscribers to use devices, software and applications not otherwise offered by the operator. At first blush, Verizon is effectively ceding control over the mobile experience, enabling subscribers to call their own shots and embrace whatever off-deck content and services they choose. It may seem like a huge gamble, but freedom isn't free, and with the demise of the walled garden will come a sharp decrease in handset subsidies, guaranteeing consumers will pay handsomely for their newfound independence.