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cell phones that work internationally

Z

ZippyDan

Platinum Member
im looking for info on phones that work internationally, but i need quick responses cuz im looking to buy one today

i already have an old one but im looking to replace it, but i have no idea where to go for info on which phones work internationally and which dont.

it would be awesome if someone could recommend:

1. specific phones that work internationally (im looking anywhere from economic range to super cool range)
2. a website that would have information on various international phones

~Zippy!
 
T-mobile has phones that work internationally. I have a Samsung S105 that worked great when I went to Europe earlier this year, went to 7 countries, worked everywhere. Its a great phone, too.
 
Also, if you get the S105, make sure you call T-mobile and have them activate the international service.
 
Just make sure that the phone works on the GSM cell standard, which is what the world uses and you should be fine.
 
You want a Tri-band (900/1800/1900) GSM phone... there are TONS of tri-band phones out there, cant list all of them...
 
Originally posted by: tontod
Also, if you get the S105, make sure you call T-mobile and have them activate the international service.
Click to expand...

Or, if you're going to be overseas for a while, email T-Mobile at simunlock@tmobile.com to get your phone unlocked. Then, buy a prepaid SIM card once you're there. Also, make sure your phone has tri-band GSM (900, 1800, 1900). T-Mobile's int'l roaming rates are crazy - $1-$3 per minute while using a local provider to call within the country should cost only 10 - 50 cents a minutes or so.
 
AT&T service w a Seimens s46 phone worked fine for me in Europe. A little time with AT&T CS and we were good to go ,Internationally.
 
Originally posted by: Vaerilis
Don't all GSMs work internationally?
Click to expand...

No. The phone has to have a "band/frequency" that works in that country. There are three bands, 900/1800/1900.

You can use any tri-band GSM phone that is unlocked in any country that supports GSM. You usually buy a pre-paid SIM card which you insert into your phone. From there you can normally make local calls. I'm pretty sure international would just deduct more money/minutes from your card.

Here is a small list of tri-band phones:

Sony Ericsson T300
Motorola V66
Nokia 6610
Sony Ericsson T610
Nokia 3650
Motorola V300

The above mentioned phones are from T-Mobile. You do need to get them unlocked before being able to actually use them in another country.
 
well i sorta decided i wanted one that could also take pictures. i like the idea of taking pictures, but im not a camera person. having a phone with me at all times i feel like id take more pictures

anyway, that sentiment aside, everyone seems to have mentioned t-mobile so i checked them out, the only phone i could find that had a camera and works internationally was

http://www.t-mobile.com/products/overview.asp?phoneid=200553&class=phone

(actually there are two others with international + camera, but one is too big [like PDA size], and the other doesnt have a flash :/)

the only problem with that phone i linked to, is that its only dual band, and not triband. (it has 900mhz and 1900mhz, but not 1800mhz).

offhand, does anyone know of a better phone than this one? as far as features: camera, size, and bands? the only way id want a bulky phone is if it was actually a pda... whats the point of getting a phone the size of a pda if its not one 😛

also, offhand, does anyone know of anywhere (anywhere in the world) that would ONLY have 1800mhz service where i would be screwed with this phone? searching most of europe i found almost every country had equally comprehensive service in all three ranges

i was disappointed to find that T-mobile service does not include japan. they just added japan to their list of compatible countries, but you supposedly have to rent a japan-only-compatible phone cuz no current ones work (and rental fee is ridiculous and hassle contrary to what im trying to achieve). so whats so special about japanese cell infastucture?

finally, where can i get more info on these prepaid sim cards?

thx

~Zippy!
 
Japan uses some fancy version of CDMA (the technology used in the US by Verizon & Sprint) but I am pretty sure Verizon & Sprint phones wont work over there either.

Other GSM providers to look into are Cingular & AT&T Wireless. Of the three (including T-Mobile), Cingular has the best coverage nationwide, but each provider has different strengths and weakness as far as specific areas are concerned. Cingular is unique though because in many of their areas, they use coverage at the 800/850 band (same thing) for GSM. AT&T is adding 800 coverage in the areas they hold the license for it. So to get the most out of Cingular coverage nationwide, you would want a phone that supports both the 850 and 1900 bands. In additional, for Europe, you would want a phone that has 900 & 1800. Therefore you would need a quadband phone..there aren't any of those currently available and being sold by Cingular, but the Motorola V400 (sweet phone, including a camera) should come out within the next month. (It has already been delayed once, was supposed to be out Dec 19th).
 
Any Cell phone carrier that supports GSM will work.


AT&T MLife and Tmobile come to mine. All you need to do to use your phone outside is get it unlocked. Tmobile will do that with a request. I have looked into this. Once it is unlocked you can purchased pre paid sim cards and have a phone with a local number. Just dont loose your original sim card.
 
900 Mhz is the standard GSM band - I don't know of any GSM equipped country that doesn't have a 900 MHz network (except for the proprietary installations in the US). The only caveat is that if you are using a US SIM that your provider may not have roaming agreements with all the networks in a country - in this case you may be stranded on 900 MHz only. Additionally, if you buy a local SIM card you will need to find out which band their network operates on.

For a totally, hassle free system, then tri-band is the best answer.

Japan uses a proprietary system which is not comaptible with systems used in other countries.

Don't forget the Nokia 7250 (includes camera, and tri-band and is pretty slim).

Prepaid SIM cards are readily available in most countries - they can be bought over the counter from phone shops, or even supermarkets. In the UK they cost as little as £5. When your card runs out of credit, just buy a 'top-up' card from a supermarket/gas station/post office and type the code into your phone to recharge it.

Note that when you buy a SIM card, the network are usually keen on some contact details (i.e. a local address) - in many cases you don't need to give them (you'll just miss-out on some free air-time), but in some countries (e.g. France) you will need to give a local address before they will give you the card.

The disadvantage of using local SIM cards is that you get a local phone number - this means that you won't be contactable on your original number. One workround is to swap SIMs to check your messages, another is to leave a message on your answering service giving your current number. Neither are particularly elegant, but they work.

A selection of UK Prepaid SIM cards. Google will help you get more information.
 
Originally posted by: thomsbrain
Originally posted by: axelfox
Motorola v60
Click to expand...

dude that's not even a GSM phone.
Click to expand...

You do realize the motorola v60 has both a CDMA and a GSM version, right?

Both the v60g and my v60i are tri-band 900/1800/1900 GSM... the motorola v60c is the CDMA version...

why dont you get your facts straight before opening your mouth...
 
T-Mobile has a few.
I have the Motorola V66 (I think that's the name) and it's a tri-band phone and will work in Europe. It has to be unlocked to be used with other carriers.
 
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