Need an unlocked / world phone recommendation.

[fuzzybabybunny]

I feel absolutely bogged down by the phone selections and the $500+ price tags. I'm starting to get frustrated. Some unlocked phones don't get texts in certain countries, some only get EDGE and not the faster 3G/4G speeds, some only support dual band and not quad band, blah blah blah.

I've got a Sprint Samsung Epic 4G (Android Touchscreen) and at the end of the day, I want to be able to do everything I already do on my Epic 4G (or close to it), ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. At the very least be able to get very good data speeds so I can use VOIP/SIP services like Skype.

What are phones you guys recommend?

 

[zoiks]

Galaxy Nexus.

 

[Red Storm]

Galaxy Nexus.

This.

 

[hans007]

get a galaxy nexus.. though they are more like $700.

if you only have say $350-400 get an at&t band nexus S which probably should be fine for most of the world.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I don't get it. The Galaxy Nexus is going to be on Verizon and it doesn't seem to have both a GSM and CDMA chip? How is that a world phone?

 

[hans007]

I don't get it. The Galaxy Nexus is going to be on Verizon and it doesn't seem to have both a GSM and CDMA chip? How is that a world phone?

get the GSM version.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16875176322

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

get the GSM version.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16875176322

Uggg... it's hard to justify spending $700 + tax for a phone that I'll only be using maybe a month out of the entire year when I'm overseas.

 

[hans007]

Uggg... it's hard to justify spending $700 + tax for a phone that I'll only be using maybe a month out of the entire year when I'm overseas.

Yeah...

thats why i suggested the normal nexus S.

but newegg only has t-mobile ones right now. and iu think you need the at&T one for international.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

So the Galaxy Nexus has:

Compatible Carrier & Service: AT&T, AT&T 3G, T-Mobile, T-Mobile 3G, Rogers, Fido

Between AT&T 3G and T-Mobile 3G, which is more prevalent/important internationally? AT&T 3G? T-Mobile 3G doesn't really matter? I can get a phone without T-Mobile 3G and still be ok internationally?

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Are you talking about the BANDS or what? AT&T uses 850/1900 which is used in Canada, Latin America, Australia, and Thailand. Maybe a few other countries here and there, but every Asian and European country uses 2100.

Tmobile's 1700 AWS is used in like... well no one gives a fuck cuz it's AWS.

If you want world capabilities, you will *NEED* 2100 at the very minimum. 850/1900 is a bonus, but if you plan on using it in the US, you will NEED 850/1900 on AT&T for 3G speeds. I'd say quad band 3G will get you anywhere. Pentaband is a plus, but no one uses AWS so it's not a big loss (the SGS2 sells worldwide).

 

[ponyo]

Save your money and buy used Samsung Captivate or Vibrant from Craigslist or Ebay. You should be able to get one for $150 or less pretty easily. Both are Galaxy S phone like your Epic. You can unlock the phone using simple app like this after you root the phone. You can root the phone using something like superoneclick.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Sorry for all these stupid questions. As you can tell, I'm sorely confused on this phone issue.

So to sum up (let me know if I'm correct)

1. If you have a CDMA phone, each phone has an ESN number. If a CDMA carrier does not have that ESN number in their system, there is no way in hell that you can use that CDMA phone on their system. In effect, there is no such thing as an unlocked CDMA phone. All CDMA phones are tied to the carrier, and vice versa. No way to ask the carrier to add your ESN to their system so you can keep your phone and use their service?

2. Quad Band 3G - how do I tell?

Wireless Radio:
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
UMTS 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 MHz

The GSM has 4 frequencies, so I assume it's quad band and can use 3G. What's the UMTS then?

3. Even if I were to get a Verizon world phone with a keyboard, I'd be absolutely stuck using it on Verizon, huh? I'd have to ditch my cheaper Sprint service and go with Verizon. No way to use it on Sprint due to not having the ESN in their system?

4. Yeah, not a fan of Blackberry style keyboards

5. What's the purpose on an unlocked GSM phone? Aren't all GSM phones unlocked? Just swap in a different SIM card from XYZ carrier and you can use that phone on that carrier?

6. Carriers:

Compatible Carrier & Service: AT&T, AT&T 3G, T-Mobile, T-Mobile 3G, Rogers, Fido

I've never heard of Rogers and Fido - how prevalent are they?
If I had to choose between AT&T 3G and T-Mobile 3G compatibility, which one is more prevalent internationally? I'm going to take a wild guess and say AT&T.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Wireless Radio:
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
UMTS 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 MHz

The GSM has 4 frequencies, so I assume it's quad band and can use 3G. What's the UMTS then?

the gsm part typically refers to 2G coverage, and UMTS refers to 3G coverage. Practically every phone is quad band in 2G at least.[/quote]

3. Even if I were to get a Verizon world phone with a keyboard, I'd be absolutely stuck using it on Verizon, huh? I'd have to ditch my cheaper Sprint service and go with Verizon. No way to use it on Sprint due to not having the ESN in their system?

Yes. Fuck the American carriers

5. What's the purpose on an unlocked GSM phone? Aren't all GSM phones unlocked? Just swap in a different SIM card from XYZ carrier and you can use that phone on that carrier?

Practically every GSM phone worldwide is unlocked... The US phones, not so much. I'm not sure about the Android phones on AT&T, but the iPhone 4S is locked as a bitch in the US. But I believe they're sold unlocked elsewhere.

6. Carriers:

Compatible Carrier & Service: AT&T, AT&T 3G, T-Mobile, T-Mobile 3G, Rogers, Fido

I've never heard of Rogers and Fido - how prevalent are they?
If I had to choose between AT&T 3G and T-Mobile 3G compatibility, which one is more prevalent internationally? I'm going to take a wild guess and say AT&T.

read my post above about bands.

 

[hans007]

yeah sorry in my original post i put the i9023 which is t-mobile.

if you want to get a nexus S unlocked with the world bands, its the i9020 which newegg no longer carries. but other places have it.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

yeah sorry in my original post i put the i9023 which is t-mobile.

if you want to get a nexus S unlocked with the world bands, its the i9020 which newegg no longer carries. but other places have it.

i9020T = T-Mobile. This is sold worldwide practically. It has 900/1700/2100 I believe.

The i9020a is the 850/1900/2100 version which you would want worldwide. I think you gain more with 2100 than you lose with 900.

9023 is the SLCD version.

 

[ponyo]

No need to get Nexus S. It's more expensive than Captivate and Vibrant and is practically the same phone. Captivate is AT&T GSM phone so it'll be compatible with GSM 3g in other countries. Vibrant is T-Mobile GSM phone but it's unique in that it also has 1900 band so you can use it on AT&T and get 3g in most places. Vibrant has 1700/1900/2100 3g so you can use the phone pretty much anywhere in the world and get 3g just like the Captivate. I would suggest Captivate first, but Vibrant is good alternative if you can find it cheaper. Both phones should be less than $150 on the used market and it's a piece of cake to unlock the phone using a simple free app you download from the Google Android Market. Other phones you're going to have to pay someone to unlock the phone if you don't buy it already unlocked. US carrier GSM phones are all locked. That's why Captivate or Vibrant is the way to go for cheap good unlocked GSM phone.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Man, f*ck phones and this locking shit, and screw American carriers. This is some serious BS going on down here.

Grrrrrrrrrr....

I wish we could just get one frickin' awesome phone like the Galaxy II and use it everywhere on any carrier.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I think the lack of 850 is an issue for AT&T though unless you're sure you're in a 1900 area. I am in a 1900 area though.

Man, f*ck phones and this locking shit, and screw American carriers. This is some serious BS going on down here.

Grrrrrrrrrr....

I wish we could just get one frickin' awesome phone like the Galaxy II and use it everywhere on any carrier.

So use AT&T. The SGS2 works on AT&T and anywhere around the world. I laugh at Verizon folks always waiting for a phone to land on their carrier. However this LTE fragmentation is only gonna make things worse.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

No need to get Nexus S. It's more expensive than Captivate and Vibrant and is practically the same phone. Captivate is AT&T GSM phone so it'll be compatible with GSM 3g in other countries. Vibrant is T-Mobile GSM phone but it's unique in that it also has 1900 band so you can use it on AT&T and get 3g in most places. Vibrant has 1700/1900/2100 3g so you can use the phone pretty much anywhere in the world and get 3g just like the Captivate. I would suggest Captivate first, but Vibrant is good alternative if you can find it cheaper. Both phones should be less than $150 on the used market and it's a piece of cake to unlock the phone using a simple free app you download from the Google Android Market. Other phones you're going to have to pay someone to unlock the phone if you don't buy it already unlocked. US carrier GSM phones are all locked. That's why Captivate or Vibrant is the way to go for cheap good unlocked GSM phone.

Nice! So it looks like a $150, self-unlocked, Samsung Captivate is going to be my second phone just for international travel, eh?

Why do you suggest Captivate first? Doesn't the Vibrant have just as much coverage or more than the Captivate?

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I think the lack of 850 is an issue for AT&T though unless you're sure you're in a 1900 area. I am in a 1900 area though.



So use AT&T. The SGS2 works on AT&T and anywhere around the world. I laugh at Verizon folks always waiting for a phone to land on their carrier. However this LTE fragmentation is only gonna make things worse.

From all my iPhone friends, AT&T is by far the worst in the Bay Area. I don't even like calling my AT&T friends because their call quality is always shitty and drops.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

BTW, are there phones like the Samsung Captivate or Vibrant that are just as easy to unlock and support lots of bands, but have a slide out keyboard?

 

[ponyo]

Nice! So it looks like a $150, self-unlocked, Samsung Captivate is going to be my second phone just for international travel, eh?

Why do you suggest Captivate first? Doesn't the Vibrant have just as much coverage or more than the Captivate?

Captivate is the closest hardware wise to the international i9000 Galaxy S. i9000 is where all the development occurs and gets passed down to other Galaxy S models. Captivate custom rom development is still going strong. Vibrant is almost dead and has been officially abandoned by both Samsung and T-Mobile. Even CM has abandoned Vibrant so while Captivate will get CM9, Vibrant won't. So try to get the Captivate but if you can get a deal on Vibrant, get that. Both will work for your purpose but Captivate has better community support.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Captivate is the closest hardware wise to the international i9000 Galaxy S. i9000 is where all the development occurs and gets passed down to other Galaxy S models. Captivate custom rom development is still going strong. Vibrant is almost dead and has been officially abandoned by both Samsung and T-Mobile. Even CM has abandoned Vibrant so while Captivate will get CM9, Vibrant won't. So try to get the Captivate but if you can get a deal on Vibrant, get that. Both will work for your purpose but Captivate has better community support.

Uggg... thank you for narrowing down my search! Is there something just like the Captivate, with community support, but with a slider keyboard?

EDIT: Oooo ooooo, Samsung Captivate Glide???

http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones/SGH-I927ZKAATT

 

[ponyo]

not that I know of.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

not that I know of.

Oooo ooooo, Samsung Captivate Glide???