Travelling from USA to Brazil : Need cell phone

Hello

I have a Nokia CDMA phone that I currently use with Verizon in USA.

I will be visiting Brazil in the next couple of weeks, and then Thailand in
September and would like to have the use of a cell phone while I am in
those countries.

My understanding is that I need to get hold of an 'unlocked' quad band cell
phone and then, when I am in those countries, buy a SIM card from a local
provider.

Is this correct ?

If it is, how can I get hold of an unlockedquad band cell phone ?

Thanks.

"Frugal Sam" <frugalsam@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:BcudnStzzpP1eBffRVn-2g@comcast.com...
> Hello
>
> I have a Nokia CDMA phone that I currently use with Verizon in USA.
>
> I will be visiting Brazil in the next couple of weeks, and then Thailand
> in
> September and would like to have the use of a cell phone while I am in
> those countries.
>
> My understanding is that I need to get hold of an 'unlocked' quad band
> cell
> phone and then, when I am in those countries, buy a SIM card from a local
> provider.
>
> Is this correct ?
>
> If it is, how can I get hold of an unlockedquad band cell phone ?
>
> Thanks.


Yup you would need a quad or triband unlocked

Couple of points:

1. For a price, Verizon will give you a GSM SIM keyed to your Vz
number to be used in a GSM phone. I believe they have an arrangement
w. Vodafone to handle the roaming. (I could be wrong on some of the
details.)
2. You could sign up w. a GSM carrier here, Cingular or T-Mobile,
and roam overseas w. a phone that will operate at 900 and 1800 in
addition to the 1900 band used here. Roaming rates are high.
3. You could get a phone that operates on the 900 and 1800 bands and
buy a prepaid SIM when you land. Disadvantage of that is you wouldn't
know your phone number til you land. There are a couple companies here
that will, for a 50 to 100% premium, sell you a prepaid before you
leave.
4. If you buy a phone before you leave, make sure it is "unlocked"
meaning it can accept any SIM from any carrier. A phone that has 1800
in addition to 900, while not absolutely necessary, would be useful in
Brazil where they seem to have a lot of 1800 only carriers. They do
have a few 900 carriers as well. In Thailand, a 900 only phone would
probably do. You should be able to find either a 900/1800 or more
likely, a 900/1800/1900 phone for about $50 on Ebay.
5. You could get a "worldwide" prepaid from Riiing.com or
hopmobile.com. Hop doesn't work in Brazil but incoming in Thailand is
about 50 cents and outgoing (like back to U.S.) is about $1.20 cents.
Hop doesn't have a VM system - but says they are planning on it.
Riiing claims to have VM, but as I and others have discovered, it is
useless. I think Riiing is prohibitive for use in Thailand anyway.

Downside in using these companies (or any prepaid with a "foreign"
number is the large premium callers will pay to call a cel number
rather than a foreign land line. Eg. To call a UK landline is about 3
cents/min. To call a UK mobile is over 25 cents/min. Riiing is in
Lichtenstein - premium paid by callers ranges from 20 to 50 cents
depending on the LD carrier. Hop is in Monaco, which is slightly less
on some carriers.

...mike



Frugal Sam Wrote:
> Hello
>
> I have a Nokia CDMA phone that I currently use with Verizon in USA.
>
> I will be visiting Brazil in the next couple of weeks, and then
> Thailand in
> September and would like to have the use of a cell phone while I am in
> those countries.
>
> My understanding is that I need to get hold of an 'unlocked' quad band
> cell
> phone and then, when I am in those countries, buy a SIM card from a
> local
> provider.
>
> Is this correct ?
>
> If it is, how can I get hold of an unlockedquad band cell phone ?
>
> Thanks.


--
snidely

Yes, you are correct. You need an unlocked quadband(in some cases triband
will work) GSM phone. You can buy unlocked quadband phones on the internet
from e-bay or some other websites. I bought mine from www.myworldphone.com.
To the best of my knowledge, Motorola makes most of the quadband phones. You
can get any of them online.

Thanks
Imran
http://www.mobileisgood.com

"Frugal Sam" <frugalsam@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:BcudnStzzpP1eBffRVn-2g@comcast.com...
> Hello
>
> I have a Nokia CDMA phone that I currently use with Verizon in USA.
>
> I will be visiting Brazil in the next couple of weeks, and then Thailand
in
> September and would like to have the use of a cell phone while I am in
> those countries.
>
> My understanding is that I need to get hold of an 'unlocked' quad band
cell
> phone and then, when I am in those countries, buy a SIM card from a local
> provider.
>
> Is this correct ?
>
> If it is, how can I get hold of an unlockedquad band cell phone ?
>
> Thanks.

The 850mhz band is being used in South America and Latin America more
and more. If this individual travels there with any regularity, it
might be worth the extra money. Roaming agreements with South American
GSM providers are all over the map. Sometimes the carrier you can
roam on does not match the carrier who supports your band.

For Brazil, you might also want to look at riiing.com. They have fee
incoming calls in Brazil. The carrier is based out of Lichtenstein,
but that number can be called on many international phone plans at
$US0.20 a minute. You can also setup a US call forwarding number to
ring the riiing sim for $US0.22 (apx) a minute from stanaphone.com