I need someone who knows about mobile phones and travel. UK->USA.

Flippy_D

Hello hello.

I am invading your country and I will need a phone. I have questions:


1) I have currently got an old RAZR (woo), bought in the UK and on a UK network. I believe that if I take it to the US, I will still be charged as 'phoning abroad'. Correct?

2) I am tempted to buy a spiffy phone that will support maps and music for my travels. Would the country in which I purchased it affect me in any way? I have a sneaking suspicion that buying one in the UK would be a bad idea for some reason.

3) Another option would be to buy an el cheapo phone over there and get a pay-as-you-go plan. What sort of deals might I take advantage of?

Thanks very much.

I'd Fuck Chuck Lidell Up

just get a prepaid. net 10 phone is 10c a minute and costs $30 for a phone (you also get 300 free minutes) so the phone is pretty much free

RUNN1NGMAN

I'd Fuck Chuck Lidell Up wrote: »

just get a prepaid. net 10 phone is 10c a minute and costs $30 for a phone (you also get 300 free minutes) so the phone is pretty much free

Yeah, you can't buy SIM cards in US the way you can in Europe (or pretty much anywhere else), so a throw-away phone on a pre-paid plan is your best bet.

Flippy_D

Can't you?

That is weird as hell.

So what if I were to buy a spiffy phone here, or indeed take over my current one - would I have problems using it in 'Murca?

Daxon

RUNN1NGMAN wrote: »

I'd Fuck Chuck Lidell Up wrote: »

just get a prepaid. net 10 phone is 10c a minute and costs $30 for a phone (you also get 300 free minutes) so the phone is pretty much free

Yeah, you can't buy SIM cards in US the way you can in Europe (or pretty much anywhere else), so a throw-away phone on a pre-paid plan is your best bet.

What?! O.o that makes no sense...

PeregrineFalcon

RUNN1NGMAN wrote: »

I'd Fuck Chuck Lidell Up wrote: »

just get a prepaid. net 10 phone is 10c a minute and costs $30 for a phone (you also get 300 free minutes) so the phone is pretty much free

Yeah, you can't buy SIM cards in US the way you can in Europe (or pretty much anywhere else), so a throw-away phone on a pre-paid plan is your best bet.

Uh, yes you can. You just need to specifically ask for one, they don't generally advertise that they're available.

But since you can get a prepaid phone with $50 of airtime for about $50, just get one of those, drop the SIM card into your unlocked UK phone, and keep the shitty prepaid hardware as a souvenier of LOLAMERICA.

Oh, and you'll have to make sure you're buying from a GSM provider. There's CDMA in the USA as well, and they have no SIM cards.

Flippy_D

drop the SIM card into your unlocked UK phone, and keep the shitty prepaid hardware as a souvenier of LOLAMERICA.

Oh, and you'll have to make sure you're buying from a GSM provider. There's CDMA in the USA as well, and they have no SIM cards.

Could you just write an idiot's guide to what you just said, Falcon? I may be good with computers but for some reasons phones have always confused the heck out of me.

Thanks.

Fuzzywhale

I think you need to take into account frequency range as well.

For example I bought a quad band k750i unlocked, and when in america I am only able to use Tmobile, as Cingular, the other gsm provider, broadcasts on something around 800mhz, which I have found was not covered my many phones bought elsewhere in the world.

googling your particular phone should set you up if you don't already know.

Doc

Flippy_D wrote: »

drop the SIM card into your unlocked UK phone, and keep the shitty prepaid hardware as a souvenier of LOLAMERICA.

Oh, and you'll have to make sure you're buying from a GSM provider. There's CDMA in the USA as well, and they have no SIM cards.

Could you just write an idiot's guide to what you just said, Falcon? I may be good with computers but for some reasons phones have always confused the heck out of me.

Thanks.

1. Go to a store and buy a prepaid cell phone
2. Take the SIM out of your Razr and put it in a safe place
3. Take the SIM card out of the prepaid phone and put it in your Razr
4. See if it works
5. If it doesn't, just put the SIM back in the prepaid phone and use that one.
6. When you go home, put the original SIM back in your Razr

Doc

Fuzzywhale wrote: »

I think you need to take into account frequency range as well.

For example I bought a quad band k750i unlocked, and when in america I am only able to use Tmobile, as Cingular, the other gsm provider, broadcasts on something around 800mhz, which I have found was not covered my many phones bought elsewhere in the world.

googling your particular phone should set you up if you don't already know.

I have the international version of the Nokia E71, and ran into a bit of the same problem. I switched from AT&T to T-Mobile, and suddenly 3G stopped working because they use a different frequency than my phone could.

In any case, it's going to be hard to figure out if his phone will work ahead of time because of the ridiculous number of versions the Razr came in. If he gets a prepaid phone here, that will at least work if his Razr doesn't.

wunderbar

yea, you also want to stick with AT&T if you want any kind of 3G access. T-Mobile uses some Voodoo 3G on a different spectrum that pretty much no one else uses(UMTS on 1700MHz for those keeping score)

PeregrineFalcon

Doc wrote: »

Flippy_D wrote: »

drop the SIM card into your unlocked UK phone, and keep the shitty prepaid hardware as a souvenier of LOLAMERICA.

Oh, and you'll have to make sure you're buying from a GSM provider. There's CDMA in the USA as well, and they have no SIM cards.

Could you just write an idiot's guide to what you just said, Falcon? I may be good with computers but for some reasons phones have always confused the heck out of me.

Thanks.

0. Find a cell phone provider that specifies that they use the "GSM" standard for cell phones. "CDMA" or other standards do not have SIM cards, so you won't be able to use them.
1. Go to a store and buy a prepaid cell phone
2. Take the SIM out of your Razr and put it in a safe place
3. Take the SIM card out of the prepaid phone and put it in your Razr
4. See if it works
5. If it doesn't, just put the SIM back in the prepaid phone and use that one.
6. When you go home, put the original SIM back in your Razr

Thanks Doc, but I added the very important Step 0 in there. :P

Regarding frequencies, I'm pretty sure all of the RAZRs are quad-band, aka "world phones" that should have no issues grabbing a signal on whatever continent Flippy's flopping on to.

Pure Din

My friend has a Razr with a sim card. She uses T-mobile prepaid at home, but she also used the same phone in the UK. I dunno if it's the same Razr as yours though.

japan

Get the RAZR unlocked before you travel. As long as you didn't buy the phone recently UK providers are obliged to do so on request (they tend to make it as difficult as they can, though. Alternatively any independent phone shop will probably do it for you for less than a tenner.

cmsamo

I have 2 phones

- first is a work phone - Nokia on Vodafone
- second is personal phone - iPhone on 02

I took both of them to Canada many times, and they both worked just fine as they were. Of course, you get charged 'roaming fees' for making calls that are VERY expensive.

I think both O2 *and* Vodafone will offer you bolt on services to make overseas calls cheaper.

RUNN1NGMAN

PeregrineFalcon wrote: »

RUNN1NGMAN wrote: »

I'd Fuck Chuck Lidell Up wrote: »

just get a prepaid. net 10 phone is 10c a minute and costs $30 for a phone (you also get 300 free minutes) so the phone is pretty much free

Yeah, you can't buy SIM cards in US the way you can in Europe (or pretty much anywhere else), so a throw-away phone on a pre-paid plan is your best bet.

Uh, yes you can. You just need to specifically ask for one, they don't generally advertise that they're available.

But since you can get a prepaid phone with $50 of airtime for about $50, just get one of those, drop the SIM card into your unlocked UK phone, and keep the shitty prepaid hardware as a souvenier of LOLAMERICA.

Oh, and you'll have to make sure you're buying from a GSM provider. There's CDMA in the USA as well, and they have no SIM cards.

What I meant was you can't walk into a 7-11 anywhere in the US and buy a pre-paid SIM card. Yes, you can find them, but it can be a pain in the ass depending on where you are, and they are nowhere near as ubiquitous or commonplace as in other countries.

Trillian

RUNN1NGMAN wrote: »

PeregrineFalcon wrote: »

RUNN1NGMAN wrote: »

I'd Fuck Chuck Lidell Up wrote: »

just get a prepaid. net 10 phone is 10c a minute and costs $30 for a phone (you also get 300 free minutes) so the phone is pretty much free

Yeah, you can't buy SIM cards in US the way you can in Europe (or pretty much anywhere else), so a throw-away phone on a pre-paid plan is your best bet.

Uh, yes you can. You just need to specifically ask for one, they don't generally advertise that they're available.

But since you can get a prepaid phone with $50 of airtime for about $50, just get one of those, drop the SIM card into your unlocked UK phone, and keep the shitty prepaid hardware as a souvenier of LOLAMERICA.

Oh, and you'll have to make sure you're buying from a GSM provider. There's CDMA in the USA as well, and they have no SIM cards.

What I meant was you can't walk into a 7-11 anywhere in the US and buy a pre-paid SIM card. Yes, you can find them, but it can be a pain in the ass depending on where you are, and they are nowhere near as ubiquitous or commonplace as in other countries.

Yeah you can.
There are SpeakOUT SIM cards at 7-11s everywhere. Also AT&T stores are almost more common than 7-11s so finding one isn't difficult.

illig

all of you are assuming his phone is unlocked... it might not be...

OP, make sure your phone is unlocked (i.e. can use SIM cards from different providers) before coming here, or your phone will be no more than a paperweight while in the US