How (and how well) do Wireless "Worldphones" Work? 70
Milo_Mindbender asks: "I've seen a number of new phones (like the Sony T616) advertised as 'worldphones' that handle three or four GSM bands. As someone who travels to Japan and Europe occasionally I'm wondering how (and how well) these actually work. Can you get a temporary or prepaid SIM with a local carrier and just swap it or are the US carriers 'service locking' phones so you have to do international roaming with them even in foreign countries?"
Re:US mobile phones don't have removable SIM cards (Score:1)
Re:US mobile phones don't have removable SIM cards (Score:1, Informative)
My Sony-Ericcson T616, bought from AT&T Wireless, has a SIM card. In fact, I've never seen a US-sold GSM phone *without* a SIM card.
Maybe you're thinking of older CMDA/TMDA phones.
Re:US mobile phones don't have removable SIM cards (Score:1)
Re:US mobile phones don't have removable SIM cards (Score:5, Informative)
Re:US mobile phones don't have removable SIM cards (Score:2)
Re:US mobile phones don't have removable SIM cards (Score:2)
Unlock your phone on eBay (Score:1)
Also, from my experience, all of the the GSM phones from ATT have SIM cards that you can swap freely (if the phone is unlocked). Most U.S. carriers' phones have removable SIM cards (except some legacy types, those aren't world
Re:US mobile phones don't have removable SIM cards (Score:4, Informative)
TMobile has pretty much always had removable sim cards. Why? Because it is one of the few cell phone companies selling in the US market with a large worldwide romaing plan. How did this come about? Because TMobile is actually an international company.
And to think you got moderated informative. Too bad there isn't a misinformative option.
Re:US mobile phones don't have removable SIM cards (Score:2, Informative)
Cingular
AT&T Wireless
T-Mobile
Nextel (the original walkie-talkie cellphone people) has been using SIM chips in the last two generations of their phones, the i35sx thru i95cl (now being phased out) and the newer, 'Condor-series' phones, the i205 thru the i730; but, these phones do not work on *any* G
Re:US mobile phones don't have removable SIM cards (Score:3, Informative)
PCS is the name that Sprint operates under and the name for the 1900 MHz band that they operate in.
Sprint PCS is CDMA 1xRTT or CdmaOne (the slower, 2G predecessor to 1xRTT) like Verizon.
But you are right in that neither the CDMA (IS-95) nor the TDMA (IS-136) standards include the notion of a SIM card in the standard, so nobody has one.
Re:US mobile phones don't have removable SIM cards (Score:1)
Re:US mobile phones don't have removable SIM cards (Score:2)
Other countries [telusmobility.com] in which my PCS phone provides PCS servies include Hong Kong, Mexico, Bermuda, Dominican Republic, etc...
As an aside, I designed one of the digital baseband circuit boards in a particular model of those Sprint PCS basestations.
Dave
Re:US mobile phones don't have removable SIM cards (Score:3, Informative)
I went to Ireland earlier this month and so I picked up a T-Mobile T610 and away I went. I didn't have it long enough to experiment with swapping the SIM with a prepaid, but all of T-Mobile's phones have the SIM card.
Apparently if you call 611 after having had the phone at least 2 weeks (I hadn't when I went) there are people who report online that T-Mobile will unlock your phone so that you can use a pre-paid.
I was a
Re:US mobile phones don't have removable SIM cards (Score:1)
The T610 should be a GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
Re:US mobile phones don't have removable SIM cards (Score:2, Informative)
the t616 and t610 are basically the exact same phone, except the frequencies they operate on. the t616, sold only by at&t and maybe cingular is 850/1800/1900. whereas the t610 is 900/1800/1900
Re:US mobile phones don't have removable SIM cards (Score:1)
What do you think? (Score:4, Informative)
You next need a phone company to service you - if in a foreign country this means either your service provider has a roaming agreement with a foreign service provider, or you stick a new SIM in the phone from a new service provider.
the latter option will change your phone number.
Fairly simple, really - just ask your phone company.
Re:What do you think? (Score:1)
850MHz or 1900MHz - USA
900MHz or 1800MHz - Europe, middle east + ??
Re:What do you think? (Score:1)
Re:What do you think? (Score:2)
Re:What do you think? (Score:1)
Re:What do you think? (Score:2)
Re:What do you think? (Score:1)
Depends on the Carrier (Score:4, Informative)
Second, if you buy the phone from the carrier, it will be locked and will not allow you to use a SIM card from another carrier. However, you can usually get the unlock code after you have had the phone awhile - T-mobile has been known to give out the unlock codes after 90 days.
You could also buy an unlocked phone from an independent dealer, but understand that this will cost significantly more. Unlocked phones *will* work with US carrier SIMs.
Jeff
Re:Depends on the Carrier (Score:2)
Re:Depends on the Carrier (Score:2)
Otherwise me using my Ericsson R520m would be just an illusion.
US is different (Score:4, Informative)
* the frequency bands allocated (the 4 bands supported by these GSM phones) and
* the encoding (GSM, CDMA, TDMA)
GSM is gaussian shift keying (overlapping gaussian shaped pulses)
CDMA is code-division mux'ing (using the real & imaginary parts of the signal as bits)
TDMA is time-division mux'ing (splitting up the signals into time slots)
US GSM coverage (Score:3, Informative)
CDMA networks (like Sprint and Verizon)
GSM/GPRS networks (like T-Mobile and Cingular)
Nort America Coverage Map [gsmcoverage.co.uk]
Typical US markets are a mix of the following: (800=800 MHz; 1900=1900 MHz)
800 AMPS
800 TDMA
800 CDMA (verizon)
800 iDen (nextel)
1900 CDMA (sprint pcs)
1900 GSM (at&t, cingular, t-mobile)
1900 TDMA (at&t)
Re:US GSM coverage (Score:5, Informative)
One killer app with GSM is that it roams seamlessly between operators that have mutual agreements. Hence, as long as you use a reliable operator, there is no need to swap SIM cards when you travel abroad.
While in Norway last week I discovered that even GPRS roams perfectly, much to my surprise. I was able to use my cell phone for internet service through my Swedish operator, without changing any settings. Talk about mobile internet!
This is why it will take many years before GSM will lose its position as king of cell phone services - it just works, and is _reliable_ as hell. Audio quality is not optimal, but it's good enough. Data throughput is limited, at least without EDGE, but it's good enough for email, and it's _reliable_.
Re:US GSM coverage (Score:2)
I was in Norway last week too and I had exactly the same experience with my Danish GSM/GPRS phone. No setup changes needed, just call up and check the email. I've used GPRS in France, Germany and Great Britain without problems and I fully expect it to work when I go to Italy n
Re:US GSM coverage (Score:2)
CDMA coverage is far better, however, largely due to the nature of the technology (larger cells).
Re:US GSM coverage (Score:2)
Since I have had my GPRS enabled Sony Ericsson T68i I travelled to France and South Africa. In both these countries my GPRS data worked extremely well and without any configuration or hassle. Expensive though, I think it cost 15 Euro's per MB in South Africa....
GP
Re:US is different (Score:2)
Re:US is different (Score:2)
CDMA is Code Division Multiple Access, and doesn't have anything to do with "real & imaginary parts of the signal." Real and imaginary are useful ways to denote things in math and physics, but there's no such distinction in the real world. You can't broadcast a "real" or "imaginary" radio wave; it's just a radio wave.
TDMA is Time Division Multiple Access.
This page [arcx.com] has a brief explanation of the two.
Dupe (Score:2, Informative)
What I post every time when this question comes up:
1. Get a cheap cell phone that works in the local area that you go to.
2. Get a temporary SIM card at your local 7-11.
World phones are overpriced both in initial cost and service. Do NOT proceed.
Enjoy!
Maybe a dupe, but that was bad advice. (Score:2)
I've been roaming within europe since mid 90's, and I've used tri-band phone in europe and the us since late 90's; no problems at all.
Re:Maybe a dupe, but that was bad advice. (Score:2)
juxtaposition is oxymoronopoetic.
Re:Dupe (Score:2)
around here roaming comes as standard from every operator, and most phones are too starting to be 'world phones'(tri-band) as well.
all phones are sim unlocked here as well.
so the question here becomes how long you are going to be in that foreign country, and which country is it(because 'roaming' is sometimes actually fucking cheap)? if spending long times in a country where it would be expensive to use the homeland operator then buy a local prepaid card from there.
i
Re:Dupe (Score:2)
Get a clue and a sense of humor
X.
Some don't even work well where they're sold! (Score:3, Interesting)
Switching was a royal pain in the ass, since they had totally replicated everything staffing-wise and billing-wise and all that, for the new network, and at that point, folks still weren't very clear on where to forward existing customers who wanted to switch. Eventually, though, I got a nice shiny Nokia 3650 (at no small expense).
At that point in time, I was told up front that GSM was pretty much available only in and around the biggest town in the area (where, conveniently, I live), and that service would be coming soon further out (where TDMA service already was, and had been, available). Okay, no problem.
10 months passed. I noticed that there my coverage wasn't nearly as good as it had been. More than about 10 miles from town in any direction and I had no service. I went for a long bike ride, spent 7 hours incommunicado, and my wife was calling hospitals to see if my body had been brought in.
Why did all this happen? Simple. The Nokia 3650 is a 900/1800/1900MHz "World Phone." Here in town, ATT's tower has GSM on 850/1900MHz... everywhere outside town it's 850MHz only. Whoops, ATT.
Oh, and of course you can go to any ATT kiosk or store in town and buy a 3650 to this day. The new 3620 (850/1900MHz, yay!) isn't yet available in stores... but it will be, soon... I hope...
Works for me (Score:3, Informative)
You can get your phone unlocked at a lot of places here in Toronto, you should be able to get your phone unlocked if you live at any urban place as well. If you are lucky to have a Nokia you can get a DCT4 calculator [unlockme.co.uk] (googled "free DCT4 calculator") and unlock the phone yourself, I've done that with my Nokia 6600 and my mom's Nokia 6610 as well.
My parents get international roaming on their Sim cards when they come to Canada (safe place as it is) and use their existing cell phones (all Nokia world phones) from the Philippines, works pretty well.
Re:Works for me (Score:2)
I've unlocked at least 8 cellphones now (only myself and another needed it) just on general principal.
Only thing to watch out for is which code to use (the first one works on most, but 7 seems to do better with T-Mobile). Also, there's some gotchas to the 3650s (my phone), but that website tells you all you n
Tmobile (Score:2)
We chose the Motorola V66 [t-mobile.com] phones because of their triband functionality.
After activating the TMobile Worldclass [t-mobile.com] service (free to activate) I have traveled to Europe without a problem. I switch to the local band, and I'm on in most cases. Only once have I had to call local customer service.
There is a list [t-mobile.com] available online. I do know that m
Re:Tmobile (Score:2)
T-Mobile: mobile service for geeks. (Score:3, Informative)
Oh yeah...phone sound quality and coverage rocks here in
Re:T-Mobile: mobile service for geeks. (Score:2)
World Phone Information (Score:4, Informative)
On my latest trip, I purchased a Vodaphone NL [vodaphone.nl] from the cell phone kiosk at Schipol airport (the Netherlands) for about 20 Euro. It came with a number that is good for at least a year, and included 5 euros of credit. To top up the service, I only had to go to any of a number of outlets wherever I was in Holland, or if I could read and write Nederlands a little better, could refill the service from the internet site. Oh yes; all incoming calls (including international ones) were free. The in-country rate was less than I pay for my contracted Alltel phone here in the states.
I had the same experience in Greece and Beligum with different carriers.
I like the GSM system because it doesn't because of the flexibility it offers. If my phone dies, I can simply remove the SIM card from it and put it in another phone. I haven't verified this, but heard while I was in Europe that the EU has mandated that all phones sold in EU countries are requried to be unlocked.
GSM is a standard throughout the world (except for the US, Iraq, Afganistan and I believe, Argentina). An excellent site for finding out about prepaid GSM services is http://www.prepaidgsm.net/ [prepaidgsm.net],
Don't be fooled by "word phones" offered by various US carriers. These phones are locked tri-band phones that roam on European GSM networks, but which are charged at outrageous rates by the US company.
Re:World Phone Information (Score:2)
Re:World Phone Information (Score:2)
> These phones are locked tri-band phones that roam on European
> GSM networks, but which are charged at outrageous rates by the
> US company.
Best bet in the US is to buy an unlocked or never-locked European import of some last-year model. The prices are much better, the phone is most likely tri-band (since it obviously has to work in the US), and it's not locked. The US GSM phone market is still in its infancy. People are not used
Temporary SIM problems (Score:2)
Re:Temporary SIM problems (Score:1)
Or, at least, not in Paris, if you're white.
Why? (Score:2)
Why do you want pre-paid for a few weeks? I'm sure it makes sense, for some, but why? Personally I'd tell my friends to only call in emergency's, and use my Tmobile sim over there. Sure you pay roaming, way to much, but you also get one number that you can give everyone, and can always be reached in emergencies. Use the hotel phone.
If you really will make a lot of calls over there, to others over there, pick up a prepaid phone there, they are cheap enough.
BTW, while you are at it, call your carrie
Re:Why? (Score:1)
Japan (Score:2)
-molo
International GSM phones don't work in japan... (Score:2, Informative)
Roaming and Unlocked Phones (Score:2)
Re:Roaming and Unlocked Phones (Score:2)
No, there isn't. It's FUD to make you buy a locked phone.
Most newer GSM phones will let you create a list of preferred networks - my now rather old Ericsson R520m has this option - so you just make sure your service provider is on the only entry on that list.
I use this function when I'm abroad to sele
Re:Roaming and Unlocked Phones (Score:2)
Now, AT&T firmware phones have a tendency to hold onto a crappy digital signal well below usable levels when a perfectly good analog signal or roaming partnet was available. (Old non-GSM phones)
Unlocking a GSM phone will also NOT void your warranty, make your phone run slower, require you to pay an early termination fee, or any other form of FUD.
AT&T will never unlock your phone... trust me, I tried wh
tri-band GSM works great (but not in Japan) (Score:1)
T-Mob's phone are locked so that you can't put another company's SIM card in the phone, but you can find sites on the internet with instructions to unlock phones (I leave locating the sites as an exercise for the reader) . . . or m
Re:tri-band GSM works great (but not in Japan) (Score:1)
Cingular sell unlocked World Phones now (Score:1)
Cool, huh?