Mobal Cell Phone
Sep 3rd, 2005, 11:23 AM
#61
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Revisiting this thread with great interest. A couple of questions: does each European country have a different SIM card? We will be on a Med cruise and visiting several countries within one week.
Also, doing a similar cruise in South America this winter. Would I have to buy a different SIM card for each country visited?
In my case (cruising) maybe it's best to just purcase a Cingular Quad Band phone here in the USA and pay the per minute rates since I will be calling the USA sparingly. Thanks for sharing such knowledge with the tech challanged like myself.
Also, doing a similar cruise in South America this winter. Would I have to buy a different SIM card for each country visited?
In my case (cruising) maybe it's best to just purcase a Cingular Quad Band phone here in the USA and pay the per minute rates since I will be calling the USA sparingly. Thanks for sharing such knowledge with the tech challanged like myself.
Sep 3rd, 2005, 11:31 AM
#62
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You may be a perfect candidate for riiing. To answer your question, generally before riiing you would have to buy a separate sim card for each country you were visiting if you wanted to maintain contact but once you leave a country with a particular country's sim card, you are roaming and subject to very high rate including the thought, heaven forbid, of paying to receive a call.
That's where riiing comes in...I and others have posted lots of stuff about riiing. Go to www.riiing.com to see which country's are in riiing's zone 1 (almost all of Western, Central and Eastern Europe) and I know I just had a friend who did a cruise and was able to remain in touch with him through almost all of the cruise.
As far as South America is concerned, a complicating factor may be frequencies of their gsm carriers. I am not up on that and I don't know which South American countries are considered zone 1 by riiing. That information is on their web site.
Cingular international roaming might be an alternative but remember you will always be roaming and always be paying an arm and a leg (well maybe only an arm) to receive calls.
That's where riiing comes in...I and others have posted lots of stuff about riiing. Go to www.riiing.com to see which country's are in riiing's zone 1 (almost all of Western, Central and Eastern Europe) and I know I just had a friend who did a cruise and was able to remain in touch with him through almost all of the cruise.
As far as South America is concerned, a complicating factor may be frequencies of their gsm carriers. I am not up on that and I don't know which South American countries are considered zone 1 by riiing. That information is on their web site.
Cingular international roaming might be an alternative but remember you will always be roaming and always be paying an arm and a leg (well maybe only an arm) to receive calls.
Sep 3rd, 2005, 11:52 AM
#65
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Yes, maybe the Mobal is a better option. I just read on www.riiing.com and if I read it correctly it sounds like I would have a different incoming phone number for each country visited. This would not be useful in case of an emergency.
Sep 4th, 2005, 12:15 PM
#69
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I read this thread and learned a lot. I leave for France in two weeks. Does anyone have a phone they want to sell? Mobal or an unlocked dual band one. Answer here or email me at [email protected]. Jerry
Sep 5th, 2005, 08:58 AM
#70
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Well, I think it's on to short notice. I am looking for a canadian telus pay&talk kit. Sold with a nokia phone, new for about $100CAD plus tax. I could buy any phone lock or unlocked at about the same value in Germany and we could swap phones.
Maybe... [email protected]
Maybe... [email protected]
Sep 6th, 2005, 04:46 PM
#72
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Can anyone clarify something for me? The unlocked phones available on ebay- if it says they are cingular or tmobile unlocked does that refer to USA or Europe? Can I use any SIM card in an unlocked phone?
Sep 6th, 2005, 05:01 PM
#73
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If the phone is unlocked, you can use any sim card in it but here's where you have to be careful and knowledgeable.
If the ebay seller says it is a tri band cingular phone, it is not all that good for Europe as it will surely be lacking 900 frequency as cingular phones in the US need both 850 and 1900 and hence will only provide 1800. Not that big a deal in most of the big cities but there are carriers throughout Europe that operate exclusively on 900.
Up till now, T mobile unlocked phones, tri band phones that is, were 900/1800/1900 but increasingly t mobile is beginning to have roaming agreements with US companies that operate on 850 and some of their phones are tri band 850/1800/1900 which again means you lack 900.
Make sure, if you are getting the phone for use in Europe, that it is tri band 900/1800/1900 and it will operate on tmobile US fine too but not necessarily cingular US>
If the ebay seller says it is a tri band cingular phone, it is not all that good for Europe as it will surely be lacking 900 frequency as cingular phones in the US need both 850 and 1900 and hence will only provide 1800. Not that big a deal in most of the big cities but there are carriers throughout Europe that operate exclusively on 900.
Up till now, T mobile unlocked phones, tri band phones that is, were 900/1800/1900 but increasingly t mobile is beginning to have roaming agreements with US companies that operate on 850 and some of their phones are tri band 850/1800/1900 which again means you lack 900.
Make sure, if you are getting the phone for use in Europe, that it is tri band 900/1800/1900 and it will operate on tmobile US fine too but not necessarily cingular US>
