World phones

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon,alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

After much contemplation (see prior discussions about Cingular vs.
Verizon; GSM vs. CDMA), I am leaning toward renewing my contract with
Verizon. I really wanted an unlocked GSM phone so that when I travel
overseas, I could buy local SIM cards.

However, Cingular will cost more and offer less for a family share plan
(2 lines) than Verizon and the coverage seems to be worse (at least in
Chicago). What I'm hoping to do is get an unlocked Motorola A840 or
another GSM/CDMA phone (the Samsung A790 doesn't look too good) so I
can use GSM networks overseas. Has anyone already tried this with
another dual phone? Has anyone already got the Motorola A840? As far as
I know, it hasn't been released yet. The only thing it appears to be
missing that I would have wanted is bluetooth.

Many thanks to the many people who educated me about GSM networks, and
using phones as modems on Verizon/Cingular.

Wiggling

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon,alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

I had planned to use a prepaid SIM which is why I wanted an unlocked
phone rather than a Verizon proprietary one.

Still not a 100% decided on this solution. Life would be easier if
Verizon actually had a decent phone collection.

Wiggling

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

wigglingstring@gmail.com Wrote:
> After much contemplation (see prior discussions about Cingular vs.
> Verizon; GSM vs. CDMA), I am leaning toward renewing my contract with
> Verizon. I really wanted an unlocked GSM phone so that when I travel
> overseas, I could buy local SIM cards.
>
> However, Cingular will cost more and offer less for a family share
> plan
> (2 lines) than Verizon and the coverage seems to be worse (at least in
> Chicago). What I'm hoping to do is get an unlocked Motorola A840 or
> another GSM/CDMA phone (the Samsung A790 doesn't look too good) so I
> can use GSM networks overseas. Has anyone already tried this with
> another dual phone? Has anyone already got the Motorola A840? As far
> as
> I know, it hasn't been released yet. The only thing it appears to be
> missing that I would have wanted is bluetooth.
>
> Many thanks to the many people who educated me about GSM networks, and
> using phones as modems on Verizon/Cingular.
>
> Wiggling
go with cingular! choose nokia phone. email me and i'll give you the
code. make sure that you getting is 800, 1800, 1900mhz not 850, 1800,
1900mhz. 800-900mhz (asia) 1800mhz (europe) 1900mhz (canada and u.s)
850mhz (some part of u.s and caribbean ) if you choose 850 and you go
to asia your not gonna get a signal.


--
erwin 10-4
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon,alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

It is cheaper to buy an unlocked phone from a third party vendor and use a
two phone solution (a U.S. phone and a European phone).

Additionally, it is way cheaper to use a prepaid European SIM in the phone
rather than a Verizon roaming SIM. For a list of prepaid offerings, check
out prepaidgsm.net.


<wigglingstring@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1112659941.858642.187590@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> After much contemplation (see prior discussions about Cingular vs.
> Verizon; GSM vs. CDMA), I am leaning toward renewing my contract with
> Verizon. I really wanted an unlocked GSM phone so that when I travel
> overseas, I could buy local SIM cards.
>
> However, Cingular will cost more and offer less for a family share plan
> (2 lines) than Verizon and the coverage seems to be worse (at least in
> Chicago). What I'm hoping to do is get an unlocked Motorola A840 or
> another GSM/CDMA phone (the Samsung A790 doesn't look too good) so I
> can use GSM networks overseas. Has anyone already tried this with
> another dual phone? Has anyone already got the Motorola A840? As far as
> I know, it hasn't been released yet. The only thing it appears to be
> missing that I would have wanted is bluetooth.
>
> Many thanks to the many people who educated me about GSM networks, and
> using phones as modems on Verizon/Cingular.
>
> Wiggling
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon,alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

You should look at Cingular again.
Remember that Cingular has rollover minutes so that you can start off with a
high price plan then move to a lower price plan after you accumulate
rollover minutes.
With Cingular, you can use all of your plan minutes, whereas with other
carriers you might be able to use only 90% of your minutes (since you have
to leave a cushion not to go over your plan minutes). I've calculated that
Cingular, over a period of 1 year, provides the lowest cost per minute of
any carrier.


<wigglingstring@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1112659941.858642.187590@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> After much contemplation (see prior discussions about Cingular vs.
> Verizon; GSM vs. CDMA), I am leaning toward renewing my contract with
> Verizon. I really wanted an unlocked GSM phone so that when I travel
> overseas, I could buy local SIM cards.
>
> However, Cingular will cost more and offer less for a family share plan
> (2 lines) than Verizon and the coverage seems to be worse (at least in
> Chicago). What I'm hoping to do is get an unlocked Motorola A840 or
> another GSM/CDMA phone (the Samsung A790 doesn't look too good) so I
> can use GSM networks overseas. Has anyone already tried this with
> another dual phone? Has anyone already got the Motorola A840? As far as
> I know, it hasn't been released yet. The only thing it appears to be
> missing that I would have wanted is bluetooth.
>
> Many thanks to the many people who educated me about GSM networks, and
> using phones as modems on Verizon/Cingular.
>
> Wiggling
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon,alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

Richie wrote:
> Remember that Cingular has rollover minutes so that you can start off
with a
> high price plan then move to a lower price plan after you accumulate
> rollover minutes.

Did Cingular change their policy? Used to be that when you changed
plans you'd lose accumulated rollover minutes.

tg.

 

[Joseph]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

On Mon, 4 Apr 2005 23:29:17 -0500, erwin 10-4
<erwin.10-4.1n007y@nospam.cellphoneforums.net> wrote:

>go with cingular! choose nokia phone. email me and i'll give you the
>code. make sure that you getting is 800, 1800, 1900mhz not 850, 1800,
>1900mhz. 800-900mhz (asia) 1800mhz (europe) 1900mhz (canada and u.s)
>850mhz (some part of u.s and caribbean ) if you choose 850 and you go
>to asia your not gonna get a signal.

Errr.. 800 is the same as 850!!! There is not "officially"
800/1800/1900 since what they call 850 is the same as 800. In GSM
it's just called 850. And FYI 800 is *not* Asia. Asia uses the same
frequencies that Europe does i.e. 900 and 1800.

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[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

On Mon, 4 Apr 2005 23:29:17 -0500, erwin 10-4
<erwin.10-4.1n007y@nospam.cellphoneforums.net> wrote:

> make sure that you getting is 800, 1800, 1900mhz not 850, 1800,
> 1900mhz. 800-900mhz (asia) 1800mhz (europe) 1900mhz (canada and u.s)
> 850mhz (some part of u.s and caribbean ) if you choose 850 and you go
> to asia your not gonna get a signal.

According to PhoneScoop, 800 and 850 are the same thing:

GSM 850 is simply GSM technology operating in the Cellular (800 MHz /
850 MHz) frequency band. Both the technology and frequency band have
been around for a long time, but only in 2002 were they combined. In
the U.S. prior to 2002, GSM technology only operated in the PCS (1900
MHz) frequency band. GSM 850 addresses the needs of carriers with
Cellular licenses switching from other technologies to GSM.

Before the existence of GSM 850, the Cellular band was commonly
referred to as the "800 MHz" band. "850 MHz" implies a different
frequency band, but this is not the case. "800 MHz" and "850 MHz"
refer to the exact same frequency band. 850 is technically a more
accurate description of the frequency range, but 800 is the original,
and more common term.

http/www.phonescoop.com/glossary/popup.php?gid=115

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon,alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

Too bad they don't have analog on any of their phones. That is still
useful in the US. IF they did, I would have switched.


--
Thomas M. Goethe

"Richie" <mbc@pcbell.net> wrote in message
news:9do4e.16694$zl.5702@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
> You should look at Cingular again.
> Remember that Cingular has rollover minutes so that you can start off with
> a high price plan then move to a lower price plan after you accumulate
> rollover minutes.
> With Cingular, you can use all of your plan minutes, whereas with other
> carriers you might be able to use only 90% of your minutes (since you have
> to leave a cushion not to go over your plan minutes). I've calculated
> that Cingular, over a period of 1 year, provides the lowest cost per
> minute of any carrier.
>
>
> <wigglingstring@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1112659941.858642.187590@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
>> After much contemplation (see prior discussions about Cingular vs.
>> Verizon; GSM vs. CDMA), I am leaning toward renewing my contract with
>> Verizon. I really wanted an unlocked GSM phone so that when I travel
>> overseas, I could buy local SIM cards.
>>
>> However, Cingular will cost more and offer less for a family share plan
>> (2 lines) than Verizon and the coverage seems to be worse (at least in
>> Chicago). What I'm hoping to do is get an unlocked Motorola A840 or
>> another GSM/CDMA phone (the Samsung A790 doesn't look too good) so I
>> can use GSM networks overseas. Has anyone already tried this with
>> another dual phone? Has anyone already got the Motorola A840? As far as
>> I know, it hasn't been released yet. The only thing it appears to be
>> missing that I would have wanted is bluetooth.
>>
>> Many thanks to the many people who educated me about GSM networks, and
>> using phones as modems on Verizon/Cingular.
>>
>> Wiggling
>>
>
>

 

[Joseph]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon,alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

On Tue, 05 Apr 2005 11:03:17 GMT, "Thomas M. Goethe"
<goethe11@notspamlycos.com> wrote:

> Too bad they don't have analog on any of their phones. That is still
>useful in the US. IF they did, I would have switched.

There are no GSM phones except for the couple GAIT models that have
analog fallback. AFAIK there were only two GAIT phones and if you
didn't particularly care for them well... too bad that's all there
were. I believe cingular isn't even activating any more GAIT plans
(though I'm not 100% sure on that.) They really want to transition
people away from their TDMA and AMPS networks and put everyone on
their GSM network.

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[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

with cingular, you never lost your rollover minutes as long as you
changed to another rollover plan. period. even if you relocate from
another market, they will transfer your rollover...

also yes, 800 and 850 are the same thing...its just a frequency
range...some people may say one or the other, but its the same.

and also, i really am sick of people that think analog is worth
anything. the only time analog is worth ANYTHING is when you have a
old analog car phone, and only because they put out more wattage than
handsets do (3 watts). If you try to use analog on a handset...the
signal is horrendous, in most cases you can't make/complete a call, or
you can't hear what the other person is saying. Not only that, but if
you take your verizon phone in one of their analog ONLY areas on their
coveted coverage map...watch your battery life...it will drain
extremely fast...analog is a huge battery hog...another reason the only
thing that effectively uses analog is the old school car phones.
analog? pleeeeease.


--
FLyGTi
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[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

just noticed you said you can only change plan at beginning of a cycle.
just to clear this up, you can change your plan in the middle of a
cycle...in some cases, i have had to do this for a customer (for
example when they are adding a new line and converting to a
familytalk). The problem with this is you get a prorated bill....which
most people don't understand (sometimes the proration confuses the heck
outta me, and i work for them!). Proration just makes the bills a lot
messier....so if you aren't over your minutes or something and have the
option of changing on next bill cycle, it is a better choice.


--
FLyGTi
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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[runner]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

On Tue, 5 Apr 2005 18:59:40 -0500, FLyGTi
<FLyGTi.1n1ie0@nospam.cellphoneforums.net> wrote:

>
>just noticed you said you can only change plan at beginning of a cycle.
>just to clear this up, you can change your plan in the middle of a
>cycle...in some cases, i have had to do this for a customer (for
>example when they are adding a new line and converting to a
>familytalk). The problem with this is you get a prorated bill....which
>most people don't understand (sometimes the proration confuses the heck
>outta me, and i work for them!). Proration just makes the bills a lot
>messier....so if you aren't over your minutes or something and have the
>option of changing on next bill cycle, it is a better choice.


It is always easier to change at the beginning of your cycle but
pro-rated bills and minutes is actually simple to figure out.

All they do is divide the new plan and minutes by 30 and then multiply
it by how many days are left in your cycle to determine how many
minutes you have coming to you and how much cost of the new plan you
are charged besides the month in advance that you will get in your new
bill.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon,alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

No, you can change price plan at any time. It does not even change the
length of your contract. You have to change price plan at the beginning of
a billing cycle.


"tom glaab" <tomglaab@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1112708015.257780.161060@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Richie wrote:
>> Remember that Cingular has rollover minutes so that you can start off
> with a
>> high price plan then move to a lower price plan after you accumulate
>> rollover minutes.
>
> Did Cingular change their policy? Used to be that when you changed
> plans you'd lose accumulated rollover minutes.
>
> tg.
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

Doesn't your amount of rollover minutes available change every month,
sometimes up and sometimes down, because they only last 12 months?
Therefore a change to a smaller plan might start out with a lot of
rollover minutes, but they would decrease by about one twelfth every
month?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

You're correct. What rolls over this January will expire next January. The
best way to take advantage of all your rollover minutes is to spread your
phone usage over 12 months. Without rollover, you have to plan your usage
over 1 month. I like Cingular's rollover minutes or Sprint's auto adjust
feature because I think they are more fair to the user.


"Jerome Zelinske" <jeromez1@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:cyR4e.1821$yq6.291@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> Doesn't your amount of rollover minutes available change every month,
> sometimes up and sometimes down, because they only last 12 months?
> Therefore a change to a smaller plan might start out with a lot of
> rollover minutes, but they would decrease by about one twelfth every
> month?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon,alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

Do you mean this internet option?

MEdia Net - 500 KB/month $4.99

Or something else? This one apparently doesn't cost minutes. Just
charges by the amount of data received. Presumably it doesn't use the
"Edge" network or whatever Cingular's fast network is called?

Wiggling

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

Wireless Internet is $3.99 per month. That uses your minutes.
This does not use EDGE but CSD -- really slow at 9600k
This is the only option if you want to use your minutes for Internet.

Other internet packages don't use minutes but service is much faster.


<wigglingstring@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1112843599.401739.315610@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Do you mean this internet option?
>
> MEdia Net - 500 KB/month $4.99
>
> Or something else? This one apparently doesn't cost minutes. Just
> charges by the amount of data received. Presumably it doesn't use the
> "Edge" network or whatever Cingular's fast network is called?
>
> Wiggling
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon,alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

Verizon's service in Chicago is actually very good. However, I'm now
toying with the idea of Cingular. Looking at the phone collection, I'm
intrigued by the Nokia 6230 which appears to do all I want it do with
the exception of having GSM 900 (triband not quad band).

Is GSM 900 critical in Europe/Asia? Do I really need a quad band phone
like the Motorola V551 or the RAZR? Which phone would you recommend for
occasional world roaming, bluetooth, a camera, Edge is not really a
requirement but would be nice. Thanks for any help.

Wiggling

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

Jerome Zelinske wrote:
> Doesn't your amount of rollover minutes available change every
> month, sometimes up and sometimes down, because they only last 12
> months? Therefore a change to a smaller plan might start out with a lot
> of rollover minutes, but they would decrease by about one twelfth every
> month?

Yes, that's correct. Rollover minutes from January expire in the next
January, February in February, and so on. Rollover minutes work in a
first-in-first-out basis.

TH