Pre-paid phone or SIM card with time
 

Is the only difference between going to UK and buy a pre-paid phone with $ verses a SIM card only with $ - the cost of the phone?

If I buy a phone in UK that is usable in the US - can I use it as my NEW Cingular Phone by swapping out my SIM card in my current US Cingular cell phone's SIM card?

Yes. But the package deals are cheaper than a phone plus SIM in most cases.

Yes. But not many UK phones operate on the bands used in North America.

Here's the scoop on the cingular issue...

Cingular in the USA uses both 850 and 1900 for its gsm network which is unfortunate because most tri band phones sold in the UK have 900/1800/1900 frequencies...there are places you will be able to use the phone with cingular but a lot of the time you won't.

T Mobile USA is a different matter...for the most part since T Mobile USA uses 1900 for its network you will be fine. However note T Mobile US to supplement its coverage does have roaming agreements with some carriers that operate on 850...for that reason, recent tri bands being sold by T Mobile USA are 850/1800/1900 which are next to useless for Europe.

Again, one of the problems we have in the USA for its non conformity (although in this case it's not all anybody's fault) with worldwide standards (and no, that's not a knock, just a statement of fact)...it also penalizes to a degree visitors to the USA whose mobile roaming is restricted to T Mobile USA and large areas of the USA, especially rural areas, will not have coverage on their tri bands (900/1800/1900)....

Quad bands, I hear you say...the biggest issuer of quad bands is motorola, rarely are they sold in Europe and the general consensous is motorla phones stink (in terms of range mostly).

My daughter and I both have Cingular service and we both could get new phones. (Daughter is not going to UK). My husband's phone is through his company so change mess with that setup.

So I was thinking (dangerous sometimes).

I could go down to the Cingular store. By 2 new phones that will work in Europe. Have the cingular people set my new phone up. Then get to London and swap out my USCingular SIM card and buy a prepaid SIM card at a Carphone Warehouse. As for the second NEW Cingular phone - I was hoping I could NOT change the SIM card out of my daughter's current phone, but let my husband use it in Europe (UK and Germany)- buying prepaid SIM cards in each country. Then when he returns, have my daughter's old phone switched to the new phone that my husband was "borrowing" in Europe.

Will that work or am I missing something?

Broadly speaking, you have the idea but there are several issues, not insurmountable, you have to be aware of.

1. The phones you purchase from Cingular will most likely be sim locked that is they will only use cingular sim cards...you have to get the phones unlocked. Cingular may be willing to do it if you promise it's only being used to swap sim cards or you might have to go to a commercial phone unlocker, easy to find in the UK (I wander down Oxford Street all the time and find signs in the windows of these kiosks advertising phone unlocking for as little as 8 quid) but impossible, according to some of our German friends here, in Germany as apparently it is considered unethical there.

2. The other issue with Cingular phones is the frequency issue I alluded to above. You can get quad bands and not have any frequency issues but mostly they are motorolas which don't have great reputations among mobile phone geeks (some people swear by them others swear at them)...most other phones sold by Cingular are tri band but for reasons we alluded to above, they lack 900 frequency to make way for the 850 frequency.

Lacking the 900 frequency, you will find there are many areas outside of the big cities where you will be up the creek without a paddle or at least without a serviceable mobile phone...in addition your choice of carriers will be limited to those that operate on 1800 and you will have to check that out...I know virgin mobile operates on 1800 so you would be okay in the UK on 1800 only but I'm not sure which is which in Germany...you'll have to check on www.prepaidgsm.net for that information. If you're roaming on cingular's nternational roaming plan, the phone will select the carrier that its frequencies will accommodate but as noted there will be areas of Europe with no 1800 service and only 900 service and you'll be out of luck there.

But, as I noted, broadly speaking your plans will work with the above to bear in mind.

Okay this doesn't sound too bad. I was thinking about buy the Sony Ericsson Z520a - 850/900/1800/1900 MHz - Quad-band

I could order online $99 minus a online $49 discount then minus a $50 mail-in rebate. Then I guess I could take it to the Cingular phone store and have them Unlock - showing them my airline ticket if necessary.

One more thing. I have the Europe power adapters so there would be no need for me to buy any "special" phone charger cord - right?????

Correct although the plug adapter might be either for the continent or the UK...you will need a plug adapter for the other.

Nancy03,
We were in the same boat few months back while travelling to India where the band used is 900. No tribands sold in USA has that. Me and my spouse also had a phone upgrade due from Cingular. Here is what we did:
1) We bought 2 Motorola quadband GSM phones from cingular.com
2) Applied via email to [email protected] to unlock the phones for use with overseas carrier's SIM; since we were old/loyal Cingular customers they did it for free.
3)they emailed back the unlock codes
4)bought 2 prepaid SIM cards after reaching India
5)used the unlock code when phone prompted for it while changing to the newly bought SIM
6) Bingo! we used the phones without any problem while in India
7) After coming back replaced the SIM cards with the Cingular SIMS which we had saved;We are still using the same phones without any problem.

Hope that helps. I am planning to do the 'SIM-switch' again during a trip to Switzerland in September. It does save money (Cingular International roaming rates are attrocious).

>not sure which is which in Germany
E-Plus is working on 1800 only
O2 is working on 1800 in the cities, but has no trsnsmitters in rural areas, they have a roaming agreement with T-Mobile, using their 900 Mhz stations there.

Kalpana Kar

So do I need to have my new phones in hand when I request these codes?

If not, do I need to know the Manufacture/Model before requesting the codes?

You need the manufacturer, model number and the IMEI number, a serial number so to speak. There is a code that displays the imei # (I have forgotten it unfortunately)...

>Manufacture/Model before requesting the codes?
You need to give the that info plus the IMEI serial number of your phone. Dial *#06# and it will show on the display.

Open the battery of the phone; IMEI number is written there

To be sure, the phone isn't manipulated, compare the number under the battery with the one dialing *#06#. They both must be the same. If the numbers differ or the sicker is missing the phone has most likely been stolen. Phone companies can ban those phones fom their networks and localize your position. It's a nice safety feature. Also, if you have it unlocked at a street corner, check your imei hasn't changed after unlocking.

Btw the phone unlocking via Cingular website can take up to 4 weeks. Mine took about 10days. So plan in advance.

I didn't plan far enough. We leave in 9 days. Don't want to upgrade and then not be able to use it.

I agree. You are probably better off buying a prepaid phone when you get there. But you might want to call Cingular customer service explain the urgency and see how they react. I have always had good experience with them. Goodluck and bon voyage.

I just remembered something. The quadband phones that Cingular carries comes with 'International Roaming' activated. So in case your unlock code does not arrive in time you still can use the phone in emergencies.

Buy a cheap pay as you go phone in the UK. I usually phone or text people and get them to phone me back on their cheap long distance.

Carolena