still using a qualcomm 2700 since 1999, but maybe time.....

Still using a qualcomm qcp-2700 since 1999, but maybe time.....for a
new phone. Anyone else using such an old phone??
(nah, i can't imagine that......)....
But one of the reasons I've hung onto it is that I ordered an extra one
(for about $20)
in 1999, and sprint even sent me an third one by mistake (which i think
said refurbished on
the box...can't remember exactly). So, i've had 3 batteries to use,
and it's been convenient.
But.......one of the three was just stolen. Then, when I tried to
swtich the service over
to the second one (which i think may've been "refurbished") i
discovered the phone to be
broken (more on that later). So that leaves me with one working
phone, which isn't
good enough (for various reasons..but basically, i want a backup).

Some questions I have related to keeping my old phone, but possibly
buying a new one):
(1) I often need to charge it (overnight) in some "public" places,
where it possibly can get stolen.
(don't ask why...trust me, it's true).
I've been using one of my spares as a charger in these cases. But
since I don't have a spare,
where can I get a charger. Do I need to buy a charger specifically
designed for that phone?
Sprint store?, or just a walmart kind of place?

(2) I wonder if the "broken" (but never used) phone (mentioned above)
can act as a charger. It does turn on, but nothing appears on the
screen. Actually, when I turned it on last week, the screen was
working, but some of the keys didn't work. Then it went downhill from
there, showing garbage on the screen, then nothing on the screen at
all. And all this trouble started after a sprint rep tried to tell
me over the phone how to program it (to transfer service from the
stolen phone to that one)....not sure if it's just a coincidence or
not. So i wonder if the broken phone can work as a charger? (yes, i
know...i'll try it, but it'll be a bit hard to really know since i'll
never see the "charging is complete" message.

(3) I do have a car charger for it, but never really used it because i
rarely drive for more than an hour at a time and this phone seems to
require at least 8 hours to charge.

(4) Now, if I'm going not going to be able to find a charger for this
phone, I'm going to want to buy a new phone, plus an extra battery for
it and a charger. I have no idea where to buy a new phone. I do NOT
plan to sign a contract with sprint to get a discount (i'm currently
month-to-month on an excellent retention plan....350 minutes, 4000
night/weekend minutes, for $30.
I went to the spcs website, and I see the phones there, with the
discounts etc. for signing contracts, but that's not for me. So,
where would i buy a phone?...I really only want the most basic and
cheapest phone (obviously, since the qualcomm 2700 is still OK for me,
though smaller would be better!!). Any suggestions for brands/models?

(5) There's also a slight chance I'm going to change my mind and want a
phone that will also work in Mexico, since i plan to do some travelling
there...so would i need a quadband??, and then switchout the sim card
for a mexican one when i get there? Or would I just get a quadband
and use the roaming feature? When I travel in Asia, I use a cheap
Nokia 1100 i bought there for about $60, and just switch out the SIM
cards in different asian countries, which works well, But i don't know
if i can do the same in mexico, or whether it would be as cheap.... i
doubt it.

Anyway, thanks in adv.....lots of questions above.

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› See More: still using a qualcomm 2700 since 1999, but maybe time.....

At 05 Nov 2006 13:00:55 -0800 [email protected] wrote:

> (1) I often need to charge it (overnight) in some "public" places,
> where it possibly can get stolen.
> (don't ask why...trust me, it's true).
> I've been using one of my spares as a charger in these cases. But
> since I don't have a spare,
> where can I get a charger. Do I need to buy a charger specifically
> designed for that phone?
> Sprint store?, or just a walmart kind of place?

Generally phones use a specific charger, which given the age of the phone
is unlikely to be easy to find. Walmart is out of the question- even
Sprint would probably have to special order it at this point.
>
> (2) I wonder if the "broken" (but never used) phone (mentioned above)
> can act as a charger. It does turn on, but nothing appears on the
> screen.

More than likely, if the phone powers up (even with garbage on the
screen,) it'll probably charge the battery.

> (3) I do have a car charger for it, but never really used it because i
> rarely drive for more than an hour at a time and this phone seems to
> require at least 8 hours to charge.

Car chargers generally work much faster- charging the phone in an hour or
so.
>
> (4) Now, if I'm going not going to be able to find a charger for this
> phone, I'm going to want to buy a new phone, plus an extra battery for
> it and a charger. I have no idea where to buy a new phone. I do NOT
> plan to sign a contract with sprint to get a discount...
That leaves full (no-contract) price at a Sprint store or eBay.

> (5) There's also a slight chance I'm going to change my mind and want a
> phone that will also work in Mexico, since i plan to do some travelling
> there...so would i need a quadband??, and then switchout the sim card
> for a mexican one when i get there?

Sprint doesn't use SIM cards- they are CDMA, not GSM.

> Or would I just get a quadband
> and use the roaming feature? When I travel in Asia, I use a cheap
> Nokia 1100 i bought there for about $60, and just switch out the SIM
> cards in different asian countries, which works well, But i don't know
> if i can do the same in mexico, or whether it would be as cheap.... i
> doubt it.

If your 1100 does 1900MHz, it'll work in Mexico. A TelCel SIM is about
$30 US and includes $10 US airtime. Airtime on TelCel is about 40-
cents/min to Mexico and about $1.50/min back to the states.

Sprint does sell a combo CDMA/GSM phone for international roaming, but
the prepaid SIM route is likely cheaper.



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Thanks much. (by the way--on the minor topic of using the nokia in
mexico...I don't remember the frequencies/numbers, but I do remember
determining/knowing last year when i bought it in asia that it would
not work in mexico, so i guess it's not 1900).

On other alternative I"m now considering is getting a second plan with
a different company, thus getting an almost-free new phone, because I'd
kind of like having a second phone number with a different area code.
(I spend alot of time between two states). I'd kind of like to get a
plan and free phone in the N.VA. area, but have no idea what company
to go with...I guess i should look at all the promos in the local
newspapers here. And i'm wondering what company would be best if i
want to get the kind of phone (gsm quadband?) that i can switch sims
with when i travel to places like mexico and other places, since sprint
doesn't have that (from what you say).....i'd also need a phone i can
unlock when replacing the sim.

Also, back to the original question with sprint, where's the best
place to buy a full--price new sprint phone (with no plan)....stores
like "BestBuy" or "Target", etc.??

<[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
>
> Also, back to the original question with sprint, where's the best
> place to buy a full--price new sprint phone (with no plan)....stores
> like "BestBuy" or "Target", etc.??
>
I thought you could pay full price at the Sprint store, if you wish.
Is that incorrect?

I meant...."new sprint phone with no plan".


John R. Copeland wrote:
> <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> >
> >
> > Also, back to the original question with sprint, where's the best
> > place to buy a full--price new sprint phone (with no plan)....stores
> > like "BestBuy" or "Target", etc.??
> >
> I thought you could pay full price at the Sprint store, if you wish.
> Is that incorrect?

At 06 Nov 2006 12:55:55 -0800 [email protected] wrote:
> Thanks much. (by the way--on the minor topic of using the nokia in
> mexico...I don't remember the frequencies/numbers, but I do remember
> determining/knowing last year when i bought it in asia that it would
> not work in mexico, so i guess it's not 1900).

You're right- I looked it up. The 1100 is a dual band phone that comes
in two versions- the North American version is 850/1900 for the US, Canada,
and Mexico, and the Europe/Asia version is 900/1800.

> On other alternative I"m now considering is getting a second plan with
> a different company...
>
> ..And i'm wondering what company would be best if i
> want to get the kind of phone (gsm quadband?) that i can switch sims
> with when i travel to places like mexico and other places, since sprint
> doesn't have that (from what you say).....i'd also need a phone i can
> unlock when replacing the sim.

Any GSM carrier will sell quad-band world phones: Cingular and T-Mobile
are the two national GSM carriers.

> Also, back to the original question with sprint, where's the best
> place to buy a full--price new sprint phone (with no plan)....stores
> like "BestBuy" or "Target", etc.??

You should be able to buy a phone without a plan at a Sprint store,
otherwise I believe Best Buy and RadioShack sell them without a contract
(but at a very high price.)



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