World phones

After much contemplation (see prior discussions about Cingular vs.
Verizon; GSM vs. CDMA), I am leaning toward renewing my contract with
Verizon. I really wanted an unlocked GSM phone so that when I travel
overseas, I could buy local SIM cards.

However, Cingular will cost more and offer less for a family share plan
(2 lines) than Verizon and the coverage seems to be worse (at least in
Chicago). What I'm hoping to do is get an unlocked Motorola A840 or
another GSM/CDMA phone (the Samsung A790 doesn't look too good) so I
can use GSM networks overseas. Has anyone already tried this with
another dual phone? Has anyone already got the Motorola A840? As far as
I know, it hasn't been released yet. The only thing it appears to be
missing that I would have wanted is bluetooth.

Many thanks to the many people who educated me about GSM networks, and
using phones as modems on Verizon/Cingular.

Wiggling

---

› See More: World phones

It is cheaper to buy an unlocked phone from a third party vendor and use a
two phone solution (a U.S. phone and a European phone).

Additionally, it is way cheaper to use a prepaid European SIM in the phone
rather than a Verizon roaming SIM. For a list of prepaid offerings, check
out prepaidgsm.net.


<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> After much contemplation (see prior discussions about Cingular vs.
> Verizon; GSM vs. CDMA), I am leaning toward renewing my contract with
> Verizon. I really wanted an unlocked GSM phone so that when I travel
> overseas, I could buy local SIM cards.
>
> However, Cingular will cost more and offer less for a family share plan
> (2 lines) than Verizon and the coverage seems to be worse (at least in
> Chicago). What I'm hoping to do is get an unlocked Motorola A840 or
> another GSM/CDMA phone (the Samsung A790 doesn't look too good) so I
> can use GSM networks overseas. Has anyone already tried this with
> another dual phone? Has anyone already got the Motorola A840? As far as
> I know, it hasn't been released yet. The only thing it appears to be
> missing that I would have wanted is bluetooth.
>
> Many thanks to the many people who educated me about GSM networks, and
> using phones as modems on Verizon/Cingular.
>
> Wiggling
>

I had planned to use a prepaid SIM which is why I wanted an unlocked
phone rather than a Verizon proprietary one.

Still not a 100% decided on this solution. Life would be easier if
Verizon actually had a decent phone collection.

Wiggling

You should look at Cingular again.
Remember that Cingular has rollover minutes so that you can start off with a
high price plan then move to a lower price plan after you accumulate
rollover minutes.
With Cingular, you can use all of your plan minutes, whereas with other
carriers you might be able to use only 90% of your minutes (since you have
to leave a cushion not to go over your plan minutes). I've calculated that
Cingular, over a period of 1 year, provides the lowest cost per minute of
any carrier.


<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> After much contemplation (see prior discussions about Cingular vs.
> Verizon; GSM vs. CDMA), I am leaning toward renewing my contract with
> Verizon. I really wanted an unlocked GSM phone so that when I travel
> overseas, I could buy local SIM cards.
>
> However, Cingular will cost more and offer less for a family share plan
> (2 lines) than Verizon and the coverage seems to be worse (at least in
> Chicago). What I'm hoping to do is get an unlocked Motorola A840 or
> another GSM/CDMA phone (the Samsung A790 doesn't look too good) so I
> can use GSM networks overseas. Has anyone already tried this with
> another dual phone? Has anyone already got the Motorola A840? As far as
> I know, it hasn't been released yet. The only thing it appears to be
> missing that I would have wanted is bluetooth.
>
> Many thanks to the many people who educated me about GSM networks, and
> using phones as modems on Verizon/Cingular.
>
> Wiggling
>

Originally Posted by [email protected]

After much contemplation (see prior discussions about Cingular vs.
Verizon; GSM vs. CDMA), I am leaning toward renewing my contract with
Verizon. I really wanted an unlocked GSM phone so that when I travel
overseas, I could buy local SIM cards.

However, Cingular will cost more and offer less for a family share plan
(2 lines) than Verizon and the coverage seems to be worse (at least in
Chicago). What I'm hoping to do is get an unlocked Motorola A840 or
another GSM/CDMA phone (the Samsung A790 doesn't look too good) so I
can use GSM networks overseas. Has anyone already tried this with
another dual phone? Has anyone already got the Motorola A840? As far as
I know, it hasn't been released yet. The only thing it appears to be
missing that I would have wanted is bluetooth.

Many thanks to the many people who educated me about GSM networks, and
using phones as modems on Verizon/Cingular.

Wiggling

go with cingular! choose nokia phone. email me and i'll give you the code. make sure that you getting is 800, 1800, 1900mhz not 850, 1800, 1900mhz. 800-900mhz (asia) 1800mhz (europe) 1900mhz (canada and u.s) 850mhz (some part of u.s and caribbean ) if you choose 850 and you go to asia your not gonna get a signal.

Too bad they don't have analog on any of their phones. That is still
useful in the US. IF they did, I would have switched.


--
Thomas M. Goethe

"Richie" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> You should look at Cingular again.
> Remember that Cingular has rollover minutes so that you can start off with
> a high price plan then move to a lower price plan after you accumulate
> rollover minutes.
> With Cingular, you can use all of your plan minutes, whereas with other
> carriers you might be able to use only 90% of your minutes (since you have
> to leave a cushion not to go over your plan minutes). I've calculated
> that Cingular, over a period of 1 year, provides the lowest cost per
> minute of any carrier.
>
>
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> After much contemplation (see prior discussions about Cingular vs.
>> Verizon; GSM vs. CDMA), I am leaning toward renewing my contract with
>> Verizon. I really wanted an unlocked GSM phone so that when I travel
>> overseas, I could buy local SIM cards.
>>
>> However, Cingular will cost more and offer less for a family share plan
>> (2 lines) than Verizon and the coverage seems to be worse (at least in
>> Chicago). What I'm hoping to do is get an unlocked Motorola A840 or
>> another GSM/CDMA phone (the Samsung A790 doesn't look too good) so I
>> can use GSM networks overseas. Has anyone already tried this with
>> another dual phone? Has anyone already got the Motorola A840? As far as
>> I know, it hasn't been released yet. The only thing it appears to be
>> missing that I would have wanted is bluetooth.
>>
>> Many thanks to the many people who educated me about GSM networks, and
>> using phones as modems on Verizon/Cingular.
>>
>> Wiggling
>>
>
>

On Mon, 4 Apr 2005 23:29:17 -0500, erwin 10-4
<[email protected]> wrote:

> make sure that you getting is 800, 1800, 1900mhz not 850, 1800,
> 1900mhz. 800-900mhz (asia) 1800mhz (europe) 1900mhz (canada and u.s)
> 850mhz (some part of u.s and caribbean ) if you choose 850 and you go
> to asia your not gonna get a signal.

According to PhoneScoop, 800 and 850 are the same thing:

GSM 850 is simply GSM technology operating in the Cellular (800 MHz /
850 MHz) frequency band. Both the technology and frequency band have
been around for a long time, but only in 2002 were they combined. In
the U.S. prior to 2002, GSM technology only operated in the PCS (1900
MHz) frequency band. GSM 850 addresses the needs of carriers with
Cellular licenses switching from other technologies to GSM.

Before the existence of GSM 850, the Cellular band was commonly
referred to as the "800 MHz" band. "850 MHz" implies a different
frequency band, but this is not the case. "800 MHz" and "850 MHz"
refer to the exact same frequency band. 850 is technically a more
accurate description of the frequency range, but 800 is the original,
and more common term.

http://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/popup.php?gid=115

Richie wrote:
> Remember that Cingular has rollover minutes so that you can start off
with a
> high price plan then move to a lower price plan after you accumulate
> rollover minutes.

Did Cingular change their policy? Used to be that when you changed
plans you'd lose accumulated rollover minutes.

tg.

No, you can change price plan at any time. It does not even change the
length of your contract. You have to change price plan at the beginning of
a billing cycle.


"tom glaab" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Richie wrote:
>> Remember that Cingular has rollover minutes so that you can start off
> with a
>> high price plan then move to a lower price plan after you accumulate
>> rollover minutes.
>
> Did Cingular change their policy? Used to be that when you changed
> plans you'd lose accumulated rollover minutes.
>
> tg.
>

with cingular, you never lost your rollover minutes as long as you changed to another rollover plan. period. even if you relocate from another market, they will transfer your rollover...

also yes, 800 and 850 are the same thing...its just a frequency range...some people may say one or the other, but its the same.

and also, i really am sick of people that think analog is worth anything. the only time analog is worth ANYTHING is when you have a old analog car phone, and only because they put out more wattage than handsets do (3 watts). If you try to use analog on a handset...the signal is horrendous, in most cases you can't make/complete a call, or you can't hear what the other person is saying. Not only that, but if you take your verizon phone in one of their analog ONLY areas on their coveted coverage map...watch your battery life...it will drain extremely fast...analog is a huge battery hog...another reason the only thing that effectively uses analog is the old school car phones. analog? pleeeeease.

just noticed you said you can only change plan at beginning of a cycle. just to clear this up, you can change your plan in the middle of a cycle...in some cases, i have had to do this for a customer (for example when they are adding a new line and converting to a familytalk). The problem with this is you get a prorated bill....which most people don't understand (sometimes the proration confuses the heck outta me, and i work for them!). Proration just makes the bills a lot messier....so if you aren't over your minutes or something and have the option of changing on next bill cycle, it is a better choice.

On Tue, 5 Apr 2005 18:59:40 -0500, FLyGTi
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>just noticed you said you can only change plan at beginning of a cycle.
>just to clear this up, you can change your plan in the middle of a
>cycle...in some cases, i have had to do this for a customer (for
>example when they are adding a new line and converting to a
>familytalk). The problem with this is you get a prorated bill....which
>most people don't understand (sometimes the proration confuses the heck
>outta me, and i work for them!). Proration just makes the bills a lot
>messier....so if you aren't over your minutes or something and have the
>option of changing on next bill cycle, it is a better choice.


It is always easier to change at the beginning of your cycle but
pro-rated bills and minutes is actually simple to figure out.

All they do is divide the new plan and minutes by 30 and then multiply
it by how many days are left in your cycle to determine how many
minutes you have coming to you and how much cost of the new plan you
are charged besides the month in advance that you will get in your new
bill.

The arithmetic that leads me to verizon goes as follows:

Verizon: $60, 2 lines America's Choice, unlimited N&W, 500 mins. I also
get a tiny 6% discount with my company.

Plus the ability to use the phone as a modem for my laptop using voice
minutes (I'm assuming this will continue to work).

Disadvantages: crappy phones (no decent bluetooth) . Need a separate
phone for international travel or a dual GSM/CDMA phone.

Cingular: $60, 2 lines, 5000 N&W, 450 mins. I get an essentially
irrelevant 5% of the first line ($40).

Plus rollover, and a better collection of phones. If I buy an unlocked
GSM phone then no need for a separate international travel phone.

Disadvantages: no net access. Slightly more expensive for a plan that
offers less. Worse coverage in Chicago.

Which would you choose?

Wiggling

500 min with no rollover = 450 min because you need cushion no to go over
minutes.

Cingular does have Wireless Internet for $3.99. This will allow you to
connect to Internet by using your minutes -- but it's slow.

Cingular will unlock your world phone after 90 days. I have a friend who
lives in Chicago and uses Cingular with no problems. Cingular now has GSM
850MHz (in addition to 1900MHz) with better coverage. You should have
excellent coverage in Chicago.

I would go with Cingular because for the time you're away traveling around
the world, the minutes would rollover for when you come back and tell your
friends about how much fun you had. Your phone usage is probably not
evenly spread throughout the year. The rollover plan allows you to equalize
your usage over 1 year = lower cost per minute.


<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> The arithmetic that leads me to verizon goes as follows:
>
> Verizon: $60, 2 lines America's Choice, unlimited N&W, 500 mins. I also
> get a tiny 6% discount with my company.
>
> Plus the ability to use the phone as a modem for my laptop using voice
> minutes (I'm assuming this will continue to work).
>
> Disadvantages: crappy phones (no decent bluetooth) . Need a separate
> phone for international travel or a dual GSM/CDMA phone.
>
> Cingular: $60, 2 lines, 5000 N&W, 450 mins. I get an essentially
> irrelevant 5% of the first line ($40).
>
> Plus rollover, and a better collection of phones. If I buy an unlocked
> GSM phone then no need for a separate international travel phone.
>
> Disadvantages: no net access. Slightly more expensive for a plan that
> offers less. Worse coverage in Chicago.
>
> Which would you choose?
>
> Wiggling
>

Doesn't your amount of rollover minutes available change every month,
sometimes up and sometimes down, because they only last 12 months?
Therefore a change to a smaller plan might start out with a lot of
rollover minutes, but they would decrease by about one twelfth every
month?