Dual Band Cell Phone Purchase
Feb 14th, 2005, 04:59 AM
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Dual Band Cell Phone Purchase
Say I purchase a dual band cell phone on Ebay for traveling in the U.K. in May. Is one phone better than another? Motorola vs. Nokia, etc?
Once I purchase an unlocked phone and a SIM card, are there any specifications I should be looking for to make sure the phone actually works in the U.K.? Some phones seem to indicate that you actually "insert" a SIM card (and seem to have a little slot on top of the phone for that purpose.) Is this the procedure rather than dialing an access number, entering a PIN, dialing the phone number? Thanks!
Once I purchase an unlocked phone and a SIM card, are there any specifications I should be looking for to make sure the phone actually works in the U.K.? Some phones seem to indicate that you actually "insert" a SIM card (and seem to have a little slot on top of the phone for that purpose.) Is this the procedure rather than dialing an access number, entering a PIN, dialing the phone number? Thanks!
Feb 14th, 2005, 05:22 AM
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Be careful and when they say world phone or dual band, it is 900/1800 and not say 90-/1900....not all that many on ebay US but if you shop on ebay.co.uk you will find some although the price of tri bands has really dropped and it might pay to get a tri band but just make sure it is 900/1800/1900 and not 850/1800/1900 if using it in Europe is your primary purpose.
Once you have an unlocked GSM phone with the proper frequencies, as soon as you insert the SIM card that is usually it but there are some companies that you have to register on which the dealer will do for you sometimes...in the UK the asiest is Virgin Mobile; they run sales from time to time. The list price of the sim pack is £10 with £5 worth of credit but the instant you insert the SIM card, and all GSM phones have a place to insert SIM cards but they vary by model (normally you have to open up the battery cover and insert it under the battery in a plainly marked slot) you are done and in. No call backs no thing...calling to the US you would press the + key on your phone followed by 1 the country code for the US and Canada and then dial the number i.e. +12125551212....voila done....
Once you have an unlocked GSM phone with the proper frequencies, as soon as you insert the SIM card that is usually it but there are some companies that you have to register on which the dealer will do for you sometimes...in the UK the asiest is Virgin Mobile; they run sales from time to time. The list price of the sim pack is £10 with £5 worth of credit but the instant you insert the SIM card, and all GSM phones have a place to insert SIM cards but they vary by model (normally you have to open up the battery cover and insert it under the battery in a plainly marked slot) you are done and in. No call backs no thing...calling to the US you would press the + key on your phone followed by 1 the country code for the US and Canada and then dial the number i.e. +12125551212....voila done....
Feb 14th, 2005, 06:30 AM
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xyz123,
Thanks for the info. I've noticed what you warned about - that some people who are selling a "dual" band phone don't seem to really know what bands are or have the wrong bands for where I'm going.
Thanks for the info. I've noticed what you warned about - that some people who are selling a "dual" band phone don't seem to really know what bands are or have the wrong bands for where I'm going.
Mar 5th, 2005, 08:59 AM
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So, let me get this straight... I'm looking at GSM unlocked tri-band (900/1800/1900) phones on ebay. This is what I need to be able to use it in UK and Europe?
And I can easily buy a UK sim card when I get to London? Are any of the mobile companies better than the others (rates, service, etc...)? And I can top up the phones easily with more minutes?
I have a Treo 650 (Sprint PCS) here in the US but it is not a GSM phone (business phone so I have no choice.) So I don't know a lot about GSM phones.
And I can easily buy a UK sim card when I get to London? Are any of the mobile companies better than the others (rates, service, etc...)? And I can top up the phones easily with more minutes?
I have a Treo 650 (Sprint PCS) here in the US but it is not a GSM phone (business phone so I have no choice.) So I don't know a lot about GSM phones.
Mar 5th, 2005, 09:28 AM
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The easiest to buy and set up with the best rates to North America is Virgin Mobile....when I was in London a couple of weeks ago I bought a sim pack for my friend for £10 which included £10 worth of calls...do the math....
Virgin mobile requires no registration, as soon as you insert the sim card you are in. The phone number is in the sim pack, it will be a British number something in the form 07986xxxx09.....for somebody to call you while within the UK they would dial the number. Somebody calling you from outside the UK would dial the international access code (011) from the US followed by the country code for the UK (44) followed by the number omitting the leading zero...011 44 798xxxxx09....receiving calls is free; calls to North America are 20p/minute timed to the second. Calls within the UK cost 15p/minute timed to the second for the first 5 minutes of use each day and drop to 5p/minute the rest of the day. All calls are timed to the second with a minimum charge of 5p per call and the calls to North America count towards the 5 minute period after which calls within the UK become cheaper. Voicemail is included and is free as well as a swipe card to top off your time. Simply walk into most any large grocery, mobile phone store, gas station, present the swipe card tell them how much credit you wish to buy and they will take care of the rest.
The next best choice for a North American is Orange UK, same rate to North America, sim pack is somewhat more expensive (not overly so) but it requires registration which might or might not be a problem (you have to call a central Orange number and give them your name and address in the UK; sometimes they accept the hotel address sometimes they don't)....also comes with only £1 of credit.
Now both Orange and Virgin mobile only charge 20p/minute to North America; other British mobile phone companies charge somewhat (actually much more) but have similar domestic rates. On all carriers, receiving calls is always free.
The one caveat is that it is claimed that once you leave the London area, Virgin mobile service which uses T mobile UK towers in a word stinks. Orange is somewhat better but it is claimed both Vodafone UK and O2 are much better for coverage but then you have to make other arrangements to make calls such as a callback service.
Think or at least I hope that answers your question.
Virgin mobile requires no registration, as soon as you insert the sim card you are in. The phone number is in the sim pack, it will be a British number something in the form 07986xxxx09.....for somebody to call you while within the UK they would dial the number. Somebody calling you from outside the UK would dial the international access code (011) from the US followed by the country code for the UK (44) followed by the number omitting the leading zero...011 44 798xxxxx09....receiving calls is free; calls to North America are 20p/minute timed to the second. Calls within the UK cost 15p/minute timed to the second for the first 5 minutes of use each day and drop to 5p/minute the rest of the day. All calls are timed to the second with a minimum charge of 5p per call and the calls to North America count towards the 5 minute period after which calls within the UK become cheaper. Voicemail is included and is free as well as a swipe card to top off your time. Simply walk into most any large grocery, mobile phone store, gas station, present the swipe card tell them how much credit you wish to buy and they will take care of the rest.
The next best choice for a North American is Orange UK, same rate to North America, sim pack is somewhat more expensive (not overly so) but it requires registration which might or might not be a problem (you have to call a central Orange number and give them your name and address in the UK; sometimes they accept the hotel address sometimes they don't)....also comes with only £1 of credit.
Now both Orange and Virgin mobile only charge 20p/minute to North America; other British mobile phone companies charge somewhat (actually much more) but have similar domestic rates. On all carriers, receiving calls is always free.
The one caveat is that it is claimed that once you leave the London area, Virgin mobile service which uses T mobile UK towers in a word stinks. Orange is somewhat better but it is claimed both Vodafone UK and O2 are much better for coverage but then you have to make other arrangements to make calls such as a callback service.
Think or at least I hope that answers your question.
