[zyonasan]

I was doing some searching and I was really thinking of importing this vodafone that looks really nice (I know I should probably start out small). But then I was doing some more research and it seems like its not as easy as buying any old phone

So, let me get this straight. There are only certain phones you can buy in your area of the world that only work in your region, right? If so, is there anyway to make an imported phone (say, a Vodafone) work in the U.S.?

The reason why I'm looking elsewhere for a phone is because everybody in my region of the world (Northern California) seems to have the same ol' Motorola or Nokia phone.

[haydeno]

well the phone would have to be unlocked and to be used would need 1900mhz and 850 if u are gonna use cingular

[zyonasan]

Originally Posted by haydeno

well the phone would have to be unlocked and to be used would need 1900mhz and 850 if u are gonna use cingular

hm, unlockings illegal though isn't it?

If its against the rules of this site to talk about unlocking, i'm sure I can find a site somewhere that discusses it.

also I get the 1900mhz but 850?.....850 what?

[Shrocat]

Unlocking is not illegal. Carriers lock the phones that they sell so that the consumer will be forced to use the phone on their networks. After the consumer has fulfilled the contract or paid the early termination fee the phone is his to do with as he wants. He can then get the phone unlocked. As far as the unlocking goes, you need to enter a code depending upon the imei number of the phone.
And that oftentimes requires special equiptment to determine, or a phone call to the carriers customer service department.
The 850 mhz and 1900 mhz refers to the frequencies that the U.S. carriers use. Europe uses 900 and 1800 mhz. so their phones will not work in the U.S. unless the phones also work on the US frequencies.

[zyonasan]

Originally Posted by Shrocat

Unlocking is not illegal. Carriers lock the phones that they sell so that the consumer will be forced to use the phone on their networks. After the consumer has fulfilled the contract or paid the early termination fee the phone is his to do with as he wants. He can then get the phone unlocked. As far as the unlocking goes, you need to enter a code depending upon the imei number of the phone.
And that oftentimes requires special equiptment to determine, or a phone call to the carriers customer service department.
The 850 mhz and 1900 mhz refers to the frequencies that the U.S. carriers use. Europe uses 900 and 1800 mhz. so their phones will not work in the U.S. unless the phones also work on the US frequencies.

ok, thanks awsome info!