Considering switching?

Correct John.


On 12 Dec 2004 17:10:17 GMT, [email protected]pamfree (John S.)
wrote:

>>Cingular is who I use. I get EGPRS in most markets I am in. I pay $20
>>monthly extra for the unlimited data package which includes 1500 txt
>>msg's and 150 i believe picture msg's.
>
>Is this for tethered laptop service? Can it be used with an Air Card plugged
>into a PC slot on your laptop?

---

› See More: Considering switching?

T-Mobile does NOT provide EDGE in any of their markets. Their CEO just
recently made a remark which explained that EDGE won't be opened up
for at least another year if not two.


On Sat, 11 Dec 2004 16:30:50 -0800, Joseph <[email protected]>
wrote:

>On 11 Dec 2004 14:36:30 -0800, "[email protected]"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>What kind of net access does T-mobile offer? Something comparable to
>>1xrtt, or 3G? Also, have you tried international roaming? Thanks,
>>Wiggling
>
>T-Mobile at present only has GPRS which doesn't give nearly the speed
>that 1xrtt does. They are supposed to have EDGE which will give
>comparable speeds to 1xrtt and does not use minutes but rather a data
>allowance (if you're on a metered plan.) International roaming works
>extremely well with T-Mobile since GSM has over 1 billion subscribers
>world-wide.
>
>- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>

Great information! Thank you for the primer. By far, it seems like the
best way to go is local prepaid SIM cards when out of the US. If you
will indulge a few more questions.

By using a prepaid SIM, it appears that your US carrier is irrelevant.
If I understand correctly, you only need an unlocked GSM phone?

I am somewhat enamored with the new RAZR from Motorola which isn't
offered by T-mobile but is offered by Cingular (a quad band GSM phone).
If I manage to get an unlocked one, presumably I could go ahead and use
it with any GSM carrier of my choice?

Wiggling

On 12 Dec 2004 11:34:47 -0800, "[email protected]"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>By using a prepaid SIM, it appears that your US carrier is irrelevant.
>If I understand correctly, you only need an unlocked GSM phone?

It's only relevant if you choose to have your calls forwarded from
your US service to your foreign service either directly (if your
carrier supports it) or through a forwarding service such as Kall8.

>I am somewhat enamored with the new RAZR from Motorola which isn't
>offered by T-mobile but is offered by Cingular (a quad band GSM phone).
>If I manage to get an unlocked one, presumably I could go ahead and use
>it with any GSM carrier of my choice?

An unlocked GSM phone will work on any network that supports it (i.e.
has the frequencies that the phone uses.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

That's not exactly correct about EDGE. Actually EDGE is supposed to be
rolled out in 2005, it is UMTS the CEO was refering to.

see:

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=7053645

steve

In article <[email protected]>, M. D. Borca
<[email protected]> wrote:

> T-Mobile does NOT provide EDGE in any of their markets. Their CEO just
> recently made a remark which explained that EDGE won't be opened up
> for at least another year if not two.
>
>
> On Sat, 11 Dec 2004 16:30:50 -0800, Joseph <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> >On 11 Dec 2004 14:36:30 -0800, "[email protected]"
> ><[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >>What kind of net access does T-mobile offer? Something comparable to
> >>1xrtt, or 3G? Also, have you tried international roaming? Thanks,
> >>Wiggling
> >
> >T-Mobile at present only has GPRS which doesn't give nearly the speed
> >that 1xrtt does. They are supposed to have EDGE which will give
> >comparable speeds to 1xrtt and does not use minutes but rather a data
> >allowance (if you're on a metered plan.) International roaming works
> >extremely well with T-Mobile since GSM has over 1 billion subscribers
> >world-wide.
> >
> >- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> >
>

Joseph <[email protected]> wrote in
news[email protected]:

> On 12 Dec 2004 11:34:47 -0800, "[email protected]"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>By using a prepaid SIM, it appears that your US carrier is irrelevant.
>>If I understand correctly, you only need an unlocked GSM phone?
>
> It's only relevant if you choose to have your calls forwarded from
> your US service to your foreign service either directly (if your
> carrier supports it) or through a forwarding service such as Kall8.

Indeed! But if forwarding directly, be preapared to face the LD bill! I
usually just leave a Voice Mail prompt telling the caller to dial my
foreign number - this is the cheapest way to forward ;-).

The advantage of having a native GSM provider is that of getting the
subsidised phone, or otherwise not having to have an extra phone
collecting dust when you are in the US (though based on your next
question it may not apply here). Another advantage, is that once you
landed in a foreign country, you can start using your phone in roaming
mode immediately, until you are able to get around to buying that pre-
paid SIM.

>
>>I am somewhat enamored with the new RAZR from Motorola which isn't
>>offered by T-mobile but is offered by Cingular (a quad band GSM phone).
>>If I manage to get an unlocked one, presumably I could go ahead and use
>>it with any GSM carrier of my choice?
>
> An unlocked GSM phone will work on any network that supports it (i.e.
> has the frequencies that the phone uses.)

There's a little quirk here, I think. Some branded phones (e.g. ones that
were once locked to specific provider, like Cingular) sometimes have
specific versions of firmware, designed for that carrier. Even unlocked,
while you can use it to make and receive calls, sometimes some menu
settings are locked out. For example, I don't see a way to change the
settings for WAP access in my T-mobile branded Nokia 6610, even though
it's unlocked, and I successfully used it with foreigh SIMs. I could not
find a way to set it up to use WAP abroad. I didn't try too hard though.
So, maybe it's just me, but you may want to do some more research on the
particular phone and whether it is fully configurable.

On the other hand -- if you love that specific phone, and plan to use
foreigh SIM's abroad, you may as well go with Cingular. But first make
sure you have a way to unlock your phone. As I mentioned in my last post
Motorola is one of the tough nuts to unlock, and Cingular will not move a
finger to help you!

And finally -- you can get what's called "factory unlocked" phone. These
are usually expensive, but they are 100% configurable to any provider.
They are usually sold by independent retailers, not associated with any
carrier.

LEM.
(remove all digits from e-mail to reply in person)

On 12 Dec 2004 11:34:47 -0800, "[email protected]"
<[email protected]> said in alt.cellular.cingular:

>I am somewhat enamored with the new RAZR from Motorola which isn't
>offered by T-mobile but is offered by Cingular (a quad band GSM phone).
>If I manage to get an unlocked one, presumably I could go ahead and use
>it with any GSM carrier of my choice?

If you get a Cingular Razr it most likely will be unlocked. But go to
a dealer and handle the phone first. It may look really nice and
sound like a great phone, but it's very wide compared to most other
phones, something that's uncomfortable to me. And the main selling
point, the thinness, is a detriment in my opinion - it's very
difficult to use without holding it (clutched between your shoulder
and ear).

And, according to John Navas, it's a) bad on battery life and b) slow
on high speed data connections.

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on 12 Dec 2004 17:10:17 GMT,
[email protected]pamfree (John S.) wrote:

>>Cingular is who I use. I get EGPRS in most markets I am in. I pay $20
>>monthly extra for the unlimited data package which includes 1500 txt
>>msg's and 150 i believe picture msg's.
>
>Is this for tethered laptop service? Can it be used with an Air Card plugged
>into a PC slot on your laptop?

Yes and yes.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on 12 Dec 2004 17:09:16 GMT,
[email protected]pamfree (John S.) wrote:

>>T-Mobile basically offers GPRS which is about the speed if not
>>sometimes a bit quicker than 56K dialup modem speed.
>
>I use this service ($19.99 a month when you have a T-Mobile account compared to
>$80 a month for all the others) and find that although it isn't extremely high
>speed, it IS much faster than dial up in a motel.
>
>I spend about 50 weeks a year in a hotel/motel setting.

Cingular also has a $20/mo unlimited data plan (MEdia Works), and has much
higher speed to boot (EGPRS/EDGE versus GPRS).

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Sat, 11 Dec 2004 16:30:50
-0800, Joseph <[email protected]> wrote:

>On 11 Dec 2004 14:36:30 -0800, "[email protected]"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>What kind of net access does T-mobile offer? Something comparable to
>>1xrtt, or 3G? Also, have you tried international roaming? Thanks,
>>Wiggling
>
>T-Mobile at present only has GPRS which doesn't give nearly the speed
>that 1xrtt does.

GPRS actually compares fairly well to 1xRTT, which is typically only a little
faster than GPRS.

>They are supposed to have EDGE which will give
>comparable speeds to 1xrtt and does not use minutes but rather a data
>allowance (if you're on a metered plan.)

But not yet.

>International roaming works
>extremely well with T-Mobile since GSM has over 1 billion subscribers
>world-wide.

But is expensive, and you need a multi-band "world" phone. Cheaper to get a
prepaid SIM when you go overseas.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Mon, 13 Dec 2004 01:00:46
GMT, Al Klein <[email protected]> wrote:

>On 12 Dec 2004 11:34:47 -0800, "[email protected]"
><[email protected]> said in alt.cellular.cingular:
>
>>I am somewhat enamored with the new RAZR from Motorola which isn't
>>offered by T-mobile but is offered by Cingular (a quad band GSM phone).
>>If I manage to get an unlocked one, presumably I could go ahead and use
>>it with any GSM carrier of my choice?
>
>If you get a Cingular Razr it most likely will be unlocked. But go to
>a dealer and handle the phone first. It may look really nice and
>sound like a great phone, but it's very wide compared to most other
>phones, something that's uncomfortable to me. And the main selling
>point, the thinness, is a detriment in my opinion - it's very
>difficult to use without holding it (clutched between your shoulder
>and ear).
>
>And, according to John Navas, it's a) bad on battery life and b) slow
>on high speed data connections.

To be clear, my comments actually pertained to the V551, although I would
expect the RAZR V3 to be similar.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

John Navas wrote:

>>T-Mobile at present only has GPRS which doesn't give nearly the speed
>>that 1xrtt does.
>
> GPRS actually compares fairly well to 1xRTT, which is typically only a little
> faster than GPRS.

It doesn't, however, come close to 1xEV-DO which Verizon is already rolling
out, and which Sprint has apparently finally decided to implement.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED)
Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids.

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Mon, 13 Dec 2004 12:11:40 -0800, Steve
Sobol <[email protected]> wrote:

>John Navas wrote:
>
>>>T-Mobile at present only has GPRS which doesn't give nearly the speed
>>>that 1xrtt does.
>>
>> GPRS actually compares fairly well to 1xRTT, which is typically only a little
>> faster than GPRS.
>
>It doesn't, however, come close to 1xEV-DO which Verizon is already rolling
>out, and which Sprint has apparently finally decided to implement.

EDGE beats 1xRTT by a wide margin and is widely deployed by Cingular-ATTWS,
with much better coverage than EV-DO, which is roughly matched by UMTS.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

On Mon, 13 Dec 2004 11:48:29 -0500, John Navas wrote
(in article <[email protected]>):

>
>> International roaming works
>> extremely well with T-Mobile since GSM has over 1 billion subscribers
>> world-wide.
>
> But is expensive, and you need a multi-band "world" phone. Cheaper to get a
> prepaid SIM when you go overseas.

.... which at least you can use if you have a GSM phone. (Unlocked.)
If you have a CDMA phone you have to keep an extra GSM phone lying around for
those travel situations. :-(

SinghaLvr wrote:

> ... which at least you can use if you have a GSM phone. (Unlocked.)
> If you have a CDMA phone you have to keep an extra GSM phone lying around for
> those travel situations. :-(

Unless you have a Samsung A690 from Verzion. (Hybrid CDMA/GSM phone)
I'm surprised we haven't seen more of these from the other major carriers.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED)
Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids.