World Phones

Does Cingular offer any 'world phones' for their GSM plans? These are
the ones that are compatible with European GSM standards and can be
switched between various country plans (they've got to be the unlocked
variety, of course).

--
Paul Hovnanian mailto:[email protected]
------------------------------------------------------------------
During the next two hours, the system will be going up and down several
times, often with lin~po_~{po ~poz~ppo\~{ o n~po_~{o[po ~y oodsou>#w4ko

---

› See More: World Phones

Paul Hovnanian P.E. wrote:
> Does Cingular offer any 'world phones' for their GSM plans? These are
> the ones that are compatible with European GSM standards and can be
> switched between various country plans (they've got to be the unlocked
> variety, of course).
>

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...&Go.x=0&Go.y=0



--

I used to have abs. Now, I've just got ab.
One big ol' Ab. - BigSkiff www.titanspot.com

Pyongyang sounds more like the sound effect an ACME catapult makes
as it goes off at precisely the wrong moment for Wile E. Coyote. -
Cadbury Moose

On Fri, 04 Aug 2006 21:37:23 -0700, "Paul Hovnanian P.E."
<[email protected]> wrote in <[email protected]>:

>Does Cingular offer any 'world phones' for their GSM plans? These are
>the ones that are compatible with European GSM standards

Yes.

>and can be
>switched between various country plans (they've got to be the unlocked
>variety, of course).

Cingular will unlock for customers in good standing after a reasonable
period of account history.

--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

In article <[email protected]>,
"Paul Hovnanian P.E." <[email protected]> wrote:

> Does Cingular offer any 'world phones' for their GSM plans? These are
> the ones that are compatible with European GSM standards and can be
> switched between various country plans (they've got to be the unlocked
> variety, of course).

A Cingular quad band phone could be used in Europe, if it is unlocked,
Cingular stopped selling unlocked phones about a year ago.

"Jack Zwick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>,
> "Paul Hovnanian P.E." <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Does Cingular offer any 'world phones' for their GSM plans? These are
>> the ones that are compatible with European GSM standards and can be
>> switched between various country plans (they've got to be the unlocked
>> variety, of course).
>
> A Cingular quad band phone could be used in Europe, if it is unlocked,
> Cingular stopped selling unlocked phones about a year ago.

I may be wrong, but it does not need to be unlocked, but then you would be
paying Cingular for the minutes. Hope someone will either confirm this, or
confirm that I'm full of it.

On Sat, 05 Aug 2006 23:17:19 GMT, "ABC" <[email protected]> wrote in
<3G9Bg.1236$%[email protected]>:

>
>"Jack Zwick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> In article <[email protected]>,
>> "Paul Hovnanian P.E." <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> Does Cingular offer any 'world phones' for their GSM plans? These are
>>> the ones that are compatible with European GSM standards and can be
>>> switched between various country plans (they've got to be the unlocked
>>> variety, of course).
>>
>> A Cingular quad band phone could be used in Europe, if it is unlocked,
>> Cingular stopped selling unlocked phones about a year ago.
>
>I may be wrong, but it does not need to be unlocked, but then you would be
>paying Cingular for the minutes. Hope someone will either confirm this, or
>confirm that I'm full of it.

If locked you have to use a Cingular SIM, and pay the stiff
international roaming charge.

If unlocked you can use a local prepaid SIM, which is much cheaper.

More info in the FAQ below.

--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

John Navas wrote:
>
> On Sat, 05 Aug 2006 23:17:19 GMT, "ABC" <[email protected]> wrote in
> <3G9Bg.1236$%[email protected]>:
>
> >
> >"Jack Zwick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> >news:[email protected]...
> >> In article <[email protected]>,
> >> "Paul Hovnanian P.E." <[email protected]> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Does Cingular offer any 'world phones' for their GSM plans? These are
> >>> the ones that are compatible with European GSM standards and can be
> >>> switched between various country plans (they've got to be the unlocked
> >>> variety, of course).
> >>
> >> A Cingular quad band phone could be used in Europe, if it is unlocked,
> >> Cingular stopped selling unlocked phones about a year ago.
> >
> >I may be wrong, but it does not need to be unlocked, but then you would be
> >paying Cingular for the minutes. Hope someone will either confirm this, or
> >confirm that I'm full of it.
>
> If locked you have to use a Cingular SIM, and pay the stiff
> international roaming charge.
>
> If unlocked you can use a local prepaid SIM, which is much cheaper.

It appears that Cingular offers some sort of 'world roaming' plan. But
there was a warning about roaming rates, so I'm thinking that this is
nothing more than a Cingular plan on a tri or quad band phone that
allows one to roam in other areas.

I did a little poking around and found that many countries in Europe
have either outlawed locked phones, or regulated unlocking policies to
the point that getting one unlocked isn't a big deal there.

When I spoke to Cingular about replacing my TDMA phone with a GSM, the
'unlocked' issue came up. It appears as though they don't really care
whether its locked or not as long as they didn't subsidize it. That
means either pay full price, or bring in your own phone.

I'm going to be in Brussels (that's Belgium, not sprouts) in a few
weeks. I think I'll price a few phones there.


--
Paul Hovnanian mailto:[email protected]
------------------------------------------------------------------
Software Engineering is like looking for a black cat in a dark room.
Systems Engineering is like looking for a black cat in a dark room
in which there is no cat.
Knowledge Engineering is like looking for a black cat in a dark room
in which there is no cat and somebody yells, "I got it!"

On Sat, 05 Aug 2006 17:04:59 -0700, "Paul Hovnanian P.E."
<[email protected]> wrote in <[email protected]>:

>John Navas wrote:

>> If locked you have to use a Cingular SIM, and pay the stiff
>> international roaming charge.
>>
>> If unlocked you can use a local prepaid SIM, which is much cheaper.

Much of this is covered in the link you snipped: See International
Calling in the FAQ below.

>It appears that Cingular offers some sort of 'world roaming' plan. But
>there was a warning about roaming rates, so I'm thinking that this is
>nothing more than a Cingular plan on a tri or quad band phone that
>allows one to roam in other areas.

Cingular has world roaming rates. Has nothing to do with the phone
other than needing the proper bands in the phone for wherever you want
to have service. Most other countries use 900 and 1800; we use 800/850
and 1900.

>I did a little poking around and found that many countries in Europe
>have either outlawed locked phones, or regulated unlocking policies to
>the point that getting one unlocked isn't a big deal there.

Locked phones are actually common in Europe.

>When I spoke to Cingular about replacing my TDMA phone with a GSM, the
>'unlocked' issue came up. It appears as though they don't really care
>whether its locked or not as long as they didn't subsidize it.

They also don't care as long as they think you'll fulfill your contract.

>That
>means either pay full price, or bring in your own phone.

Or get a subsidized phone from Cingular, and have Cingular unlock it.

>I'm going to be in Brussels (that's Belgium, not sprouts) in a few
>weeks. I think I'll price a few phones there.

Probably cheaper to get a phone here.

--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

In article <3G9Bg.1236$%[email protected]>,
"ABC" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
> "Jack Zwick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > In article <[email protected]>,
> > "Paul Hovnanian P.E." <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >> Does Cingular offer any 'world phones' for their GSM plans? These are
> >> the ones that are compatible with European GSM standards and can be
> >> switched between various country plans (they've got to be the unlocked
> >> variety, of course).
> >
> > A Cingular quad band phone could be used in Europe, if it is unlocked,
> > Cingular stopped selling unlocked phones about a year ago.
>
> I may be wrong, but it does not need to be unlocked, but then you would be
> paying Cingular for the minutes. Hope someone will either confirm this, or
> confirm that I'm full of it.

You are mostly correct, you can sign up with Cingular for International
roaming for ~$2/minute instead of using an unlocked phone, buying a Sim
overseas and paying less than 25 cents/minute.

John Navas wrote:
>
> On Sat, 05 Aug 2006 17:04:59 -0700, "Paul Hovnanian P.E."
> <[email protected]> wrote in <[email protected]>:
>
> >John Navas wrote:
>
> >> If locked you have to use a Cingular SIM, and pay the stiff
> >> international roaming charge.
> >>
> >> If unlocked you can use a local prepaid SIM, which is much cheaper.
>
> Much of this is covered in the link you snipped: See International
> Calling in the FAQ below.
>
> >It appears that Cingular offers some sort of 'world roaming' plan. But
> >there was a warning about roaming rates, so I'm thinking that this is
> >nothing more than a Cingular plan on a tri or quad band phone that
> >allows one to roam in other areas.
>
> Cingular has world roaming rates. Has nothing to do with the phone
> other than needing the proper bands in the phone for wherever you want
> to have service. Most other countries use 900 and 1800; we use 800/850
> and 1900.
>
> >I did a little poking around and found that many countries in Europe
> >have either outlawed locked phones, or regulated unlocking policies to
> >the point that getting one unlocked isn't a big deal there.
>
> Locked phones are actually common in Europe.
>
> >When I spoke to Cingular about replacing my TDMA phone with a GSM, the
> >'unlocked' issue came up. It appears as though they don't really care
> >whether its locked or not as long as they didn't subsidize it.
>
> They also don't care as long as they think you'll fulfill your contract.

My contract has been fulfilled for some time now. I don't want a new
one.

> >That
> >means either pay full price, or bring in your own phone.
>
> Or get a subsidized phone from Cingular, and have Cingular unlock it.

I doubt Cingular would unlock a subsidized phone unless I signed up for
a new contract with a termination fine, etc. I like the ability to take
my number and move with a minimum of B.S.

> >I'm going to be in Brussels (that's Belgium, not sprouts) in a few
> >weeks. I think I'll price a few phones there.
>
> Probably cheaper to get a phone here.

Maybe, particularly if I buy it with a subsidy and then take it with me
to Europe and get it unlocked for free.

> --
> Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
> John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

--
Paul Hovnanian mailto:[email protected]
------------------------------------------------------------------
There was a man who entered a local paper's pun contest. He sent in ten
different puns, in the hope that at least one of them would win.
Unfortunately, no pun in ten did.

Jack Zwick wrote:
>
[snip]

> You are mostly correct, you can sign up with Cingular for International
> roaming for ~$2/minute instead of using an unlocked phone, buying a Sim
> overseas and paying less than 25 cents/minute.

Yup. The way it works Over There is that roaming between countries is
quite expensive, so most people just pick up prepaid SIMs when they
travel across borders. Hence the preponderance of unlocked
(unsubsidized) phones.

The neat trick would be to pick up a top of the line (subsidized) phone
from Cingular and then have it unlocked in Europe. When I come back, I
have something to negotiate a better plan with. ;-)

--
Paul Hovnanian mailto:[email protected]
------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the government our founding fathers warned us about.

On Sat, 05 Aug 2006 19:10:43 -0700, "Paul Hovnanian P.E."
<[email protected]> wrote in <[email protected]>:

>John Navas wrote:

>> They also don't care as long as they think you'll fulfill your contract.
>
>My contract has been fulfilled for some time now. I don't want a new
>one.

So don't sign one -- you don't need to.

>> Or get a subsidized phone from Cingular, and have Cingular unlock it.
>
>I doubt Cingular would unlock a subsidized phone unless I signed up for
>a new contract with a termination fine, etc. ...

Cingular will unlock your current phone if you're in good standing. You
won't of course get a subsidized phone unless you sign up for a new
term.

>> Probably cheaper to get a phone here.
>
>Maybe, particularly if I buy it with a subsidy and then take it with me
>to Europe and get it unlocked for free.

It won't be free. As I wrote, cheaper here.

--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

On Sat, 05 Aug 2006 19:19:15 -0700, "Paul Hovnanian P.E."
<[email protected]> wrote in <[email protected]>:

>Jack Zwick wrote:
>>
>[snip]
>
>> You are mostly correct, you can sign up with Cingular for International
>> roaming for ~$2/minute instead of using an unlocked phone, buying a Sim
>> overseas and paying less than 25 cents/minute.
>
>Yup. The way it works Over There is that roaming between countries is
>quite expensive, so most people just pick up prepaid SIMs when they
>travel across borders. Hence the preponderance of unlocked
>(unsubsidized) phones.
>
>The neat trick would be to pick up a top of the line (subsidized) phone
>from Cingular and then have it unlocked in Europe. When I come back, I
>have something to negotiate a better plan with. ;-)

Easier and cheaper to have Cingular unlock it here. Neater too.

--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

Paul Hovnanian P.E. wrote:
> Jack Zwick wrote:
> [snip]
>
>> You are mostly correct, you can sign up with Cingular for International
>> roaming for ~$2/minute instead of using an unlocked phone, buying a Sim
>> overseas and paying less than 25 cents/minute.
>
> Yup. The way it works Over There is that roaming between countries is
> quite expensive, so most people just pick up prepaid SIMs when they
> travel across borders. Hence the preponderance of unlocked
> (unsubsidized) phones.
>
> The neat trick would be to pick up a top of the line (subsidized) phone
> from Cingular and then have it unlocked in Europe. When I come back, I
> have something to negotiate a better plan with. ;-)
>

Why not just buy one?

--

I used to have abs. Now, I've just got ab.
One big ol' Ab. - BigSkiff www.titanspot.com

Pyongyang sounds more like the sound effect an ACME catapult makes
as it goes off at precisely the wrong moment for Wile E. Coyote. -
Cadbury Moose

"WindsorFox[SS]" wrote:
>
> Paul Hovnanian P.E. wrote:
> > Jack Zwick wrote:
> > [snip]
> >
> >> You are mostly correct, you can sign up with Cingular for International
> >> roaming for ~$2/minute instead of using an unlocked phone, buying a Sim
> >> overseas and paying less than 25 cents/minute.
> >
> > Yup. The way it works Over There is that roaming between countries is
> > quite expensive, so most people just pick up prepaid SIMs when they
> > travel across borders. Hence the preponderance of unlocked
> > (unsubsidized) phones.
> >
> > The neat trick would be to pick up a top of the line (subsidized) phone
> > from Cingular and then have it unlocked in Europe. When I come back, I
> > have something to negotiate a better plan with. ;-)
> >
>
> Why not just buy one?

I was being facetious. Pick up a subsidized Cingular world phone (locked
for some initial period) for a minimal price and then come back in two
weeks with it unlocked and ask for a cheaper plan. Or else you'll take
your phone elsewhere.

I know this won't work, since no carrier is going to sign you up to a 24
month contract without a penalty clause. As far as I can see, the lock
is redundant.

--
Paul Hovnanian mailto:[email protected]
------------------------------------------------------------------
I think you left the stove on.