Forgive my ignorance on this topic, but I've never used a phone with a SIM card. My wife is taking a solo trip to Hong Kong and China for a week and wants a phone for an "emergency" (I keep asking her who she is going to call in an emergency - me - what am I going to do in the middle of the night in San Francisco?) Anyway, she wants the phone.

So I based on the advice of this board, I was going to just buy a GSM phone on ebay and have her get a SIM card when she got to Hong Kong.

My question is, how does this SIM card work exactly? Is it easy to put in a phone? Do you somehow automatically get a phone number when you buy one of these cards that seem available all over? And can she use the same SIM card she gets in Hong Kong for when she travels up to the city of Huizhou in China or should she get a new SIM card for the three days she will be there?

Thanks for the help!

Once you get your phone here, check out how the SIM goes in. It's always in the back of the phone, behind the battery. Metal side faces down and it will only fit one way. If my parents can do it, your wife can do it too.

Each SIM is tied to one number. The number will be printed on the packaging of the SIM, but not the SIM itself. It's ready to use once you put it in.

Very cheap in Hong Kong. For example, my family members use the PWWC $48 card here:

http://www.pccwmobile.com/portal/com...p?fldr_id=8010

Calling back to the US with this SIM will cost more, but not excessive. Very convenient.

You can technically use this SIM to call from China (or anywhere outside HK) to anywhere in the world, but charges are high, and it requires some complicated dialing. When in China, she probably should get another local SIM, like the Shenzhouxing from China Mobile.

Another option would be to get your current provider to set up your home account with International Calling/SIM card. This way she doesn't have to change SIM cards when she arrives in HK or travels to China.

Thanks again rkkwan. sounds pretty straightforward. Can't set up our current phones, neither of us have GSM phones, but it looks like you can pick up a used one on eBay pretty cheaply.

I wasn't talking about setting up your current phone. You said you were buying a GSM phone so I didn't need to address that. I was telling you to get your service provider (T-Mobile for example) to update your account to enable International Calling. This way you don't have to change out SIM cards everywhere you go. I have SIM cards for where I live, but when I go to HK or China, I just use my T-Mobile SIM instead of buying separate SIM's for each country.

hmmm interesting option, thanks Bisbee