I have read a few posts which seem to suggest that if I unlock my phone I will loose any programs i have loaded (NAV, Voice Command, Total Command, etc). I wish to unlock the phone as I understand that is the only way I can get into the registry code and make changes.
Is this so, will I loose all loaded programs that initial time I unlock the phone?
If you do decide to update your aku, please do some research before attempting it. You can avoid many problems people are having by doing the whole procedure correctly. The two biggest problems are people not upgrading to the latest official rom before 3.3, and people not putting the device into bootloader mode before updating. Read a few pages of the aku 3.3 thread before attempting it.
Also remember that it is near impossible to brick this phone. If you make a mistake you can fix it. Dont panic if you think you bricked it. It is always fixable. I doubt you will have any problems though, as it is very easy to do.
To answer your question, a ROM update will wipe your unit to a brand new state. You will loose all your programs and will have to reinstall them. To me the update it worth it. Overall faster device, some problems fixed, and a few new features like built in a2dp.