Travel Technology - VoiceStream "Worldphone"???...

Anyone have any experience/advice on this offer I just rec'd from my FF program? They say it works in over 85 countries for $39.99/mo.European calls`at .99/min.-500 anytime min. etc...My question is this Motorola V60 phone really int'l? BTW, CO is also offering 5k mi. to join.Thanks.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by kikokona:
Anyone have any experience/advice on this offer I just rec'd from my FF program? They say it works in over 85 countries for $39.99/mo.European calls`at .99/min.-500 anytime min. etc...My question is this Motorola V60 phone really int'l? BTW, CO is also offering 5k mi. to join.Thanks.</font>

I have the Motorola Timeport P280, which appears to have the same feature set (more or less) as the V.60 you're looking at, except the V.60 is in a flip-phone format. Actually, I didn't know about the V.60 until you mentioned it - it looks like a mighty handsome phone - perhaps I'll switch.

Anyway, both models advertise that they are trimode (GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz). I can attest to the fact that the P280 does indeed work as advertised. 1900 MHz is what is used in North America. 900 and/or 1800 Mhz is used in most other parts of the world (the 85 countries you mention). So far, I've successfully used mine in Hong Kong, China, and Singapore (of course in addition to many cities in the US), and it is more or less seamless and flawless, just as advertised.

The only thing you have to do is go into a setup menu and tell it to switch from 1900MHz mode to 900/1800MHz mode, and everything else is automatic. Inbound and outbound calls work seamlessly, as does SMS messaging (including the Internet email gateway). I could not get the WAP web browser to work outside of North America, and I didn't have a chance to try the GPRS mobile data for my laptop, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was difficult/impossible as well.

But, as far as basic mobile phone service, it's wonderful. Since I've had to rent phones upon arrival on previous trips overseas, not having to do so has greatly increased the convenience of international travel. Plus, it's kind of nice to be able to get off the plane and immediately be able to receive and place calls.

The V60 is tri-band GSM (900/1800/1900), so it should work in most countries. I don't personally use the V60, but I don't think you should have any problems with it.

I have service with Cingular (the GSM one in CA) and use the Siemens S40 phone and my phone works just fine in Europe, Japan, India and New Zealand. Sorry, haven't been anywhere else lately. I would say take the deal. $1 per min is cheap !! Specially since all people have to do is dial your standard US number and the phone rings anywhere.

Yes, the voicestream does seem like a good deal for international. Cingular costs $4/min to receive calls and $3/min to make calls when traveling internationally. They also supply the V60 to people who want to roam internationally.

If only they would come to California.

I have been using a Voicestream phone when I travel in Europe for the past two years and cannot imagine what it would be like without it. It is now so indispensible and so reliable that I foward my "hot" line to it and in any emergency, my people can get to me just by calling a US telephone number.
Saves a whole lot of checking in.
The model that I have cost $50 and is very good although probably no longer available (Ericsson T28 World). I don't know why, but I don't need to do anything to it in order for it to work everywhere. I have four other cellphones, but I really like this Ericsson the best. It's too bad that Voicestream has lousy service near a couple of my offices, so I can't depend on it in the States. But in Europe, it is the same as T Mobil (Deutsche Telephone) and never misses a beat.

I bought the V60 about six weeks ago in HKG, and have since used it throughout North America and Asia with no problems. I've used it domestically and on international roaming with four SIMS (Voicestream - US; AIS - Thailand; SmarTone - Hong Kong; China Mobile - China). However, I obtainted it directly from the authorized Motorola shop on Nathan (just north of Haiphong, on the lhs), so there was no issue with a SIM lock. Sometimes providers do lock the SIM to prevent its use with other providers... be careful. Note that this has nothing to do with the IMEI lock, which is beginning to fade away, at least in many Asian countries.

Edited to note PS: What does this have to do with miles? It should be moved to Travel Technology.

[This message has been edited by UAL Traveler (edited 07-07-2002).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by zakami:
I have service with Cingular (the GSM one in CA) and use the Siemens S40 phone and my phone works just fine in ... Japan...</font>

Really? I was not aware of any network in Japan capable of connecting any sort of GSM phone - all of their 2G networks are CDMA. Can you elaborate on how you achieved this?

To UAL Traveler-"What does this have to do with miles? It should be moved to Travel Technology"
Sorry if you think this post is misplaced here in Miles Buzz, but as I mentioned, it was a 5k mi. offer from CO Onepass and this forum sees a lot more traffic than TT.Didn't mean to offend.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by kikokona:
To UAL Traveler-"What does this have to do with miles? It should be moved to Travel Technology"
Sorry if you think this post is misplaced here in Miles Buzz, but as I mentioned, it was a 5k mi. offer from CO Onepass and this forum sees a lot more traffic than TT.Didn't mean to offend.</font>

PS-Thanks for all the advice from everyone,it's been very helpful and I think I'll give the V60 a try.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by christep:
Really? I was not aware of any network in Japan capable of connecting any sort of GSM phone - all of their 2G networks are CDMA. Can you elaborate on how you achieved this?

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I'd also be interested in seeing how this works as Japan doesn't have a single (2G) GSM network... As Cingular also doesn't have any roaming contracts with either J-phone or DoCoMo I presume it's a mistake.

kikokona,

Thanks for pointing out the reference to the Continental mileage offer. Hoever I'm going to move this to the Travel Technology forum for additional comments and eventual archiving. This is where people normally go to get cell phone performance questions answered.

------------------
Craig6z
Buzz & United Moderator
moderator2@flyertalk.com

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by mikel51:
Yes, the voicestream does seem like a good deal for international. ... If only they would come to California.</font>


SF Chronicle reports that Voicestream expects to launch in Northern California in Summer, '02. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/07/05/BUCING.DTL

Also, for completeness, I wanted to mention that the v60 phone comes in three variants, the v60g is the GSM, "world phone." Voicestream and Cingular support the v60g in the USA.
Rich

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by rjh:

SF Chronicle reports that Voicestream expects to launch in Northern California in Summer, '02. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/07/05/BUCING.DTL (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/07/05/BUCING.DTL)

Also, for completeness, I wanted to mention that the v60 phone comes in three variants, the v60g is the GSM, "world phone." Voicestream and Cingular support the v60g in the USA.
Rich</font>

Actually, ALL Motorola V60's are "worldphones", the correct term is tri-band, meaning it works on all 3 GSM frequencies (900,1800,1900MHz). The g behind the name probably means it's been customized for a provider.

Actually, not all V60s are world phones. For example the V60 that Verizon provides to US customers is CDMA and not usable in most countries. I believe there is a different V60 model for the frequencies used by the AT&T network.

v60g is GSM. Voicestream and Cingular support in USA. v60c is CDMA. Verizon supports in USA. v60t is TDMA. AT&T Wireless supports in USA.

Reference: www.mot.com (http://www.mot.com) One click to each of these from http://commerce.motorola.com/consumer/QWhtml/phone_comp.html

The v60i is on the horizon, but the nomenclature differentiation among technologies for this phone doesn't seem to be set.
Rich

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by mikel51:
Yes, the voicestream does seem like a good deal for international. Cingular costs $4/min to receive calls and $3/min to make calls when traveling internationally. They also supply the V60 to people who want to roam internationally.

If only they would come to California.</font>

I was checking out cingular's roaming intl roaming rates for new york and they are much cheaper than that. Maybe the rates have come down, or there may be different rates for CA vs. NY.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Dudster:
I was checking out cingular's roaming intl roaming rates for new york and they are much cheaper than that. Maybe the rates have come down, or there may be different rates for CA vs. NY.

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From the Cingular Website, and similar info from my companies cell phone support team:

Overseas GSM Roaming Rates:
Rates in effect as of June 1, 2001 are listed below and are subject to change or revision without notice.

Rates For Calls Made While Roaming Overseas:
Local calls are $2.49 per minute.
Long distance is included with all outbound calls while roaming internationally.
Rates are generally applicable to mobile-originated voice, data, fax, and/or Interactive Messaging.


Rates For Calls Received While Roaming Overseas:
All incoming calls received while roaming overseas are $3.99 per minute.
This includes the $2.49 per minute for air time plus the Cingular long distance rate.
This represents the charge for delivering a call from your Cingular home area in the U.S. to your location overseas.