McKigney28

I will be traveling to Beijing, Shanghai and Hanoi, Vietnam in May for 1 month. I'd love to have a cell phone for calls to those I'm traveling with and for emergency calls from the states. What's the most cost effective method? Do I order one online here or wait until I'm in Beijing, my first stop?

I'd love some guidance! Thanks!

moondog

I suggest you buy a phone in China because it will come installed with a Chinese language pack. 3G will also be in place by May, if that's any consideration. When you get to VN, you can buy a new SIM card there.

dtsm

Buy a triband or quad band 'unlocked' mobile phone - eBay is good place. Get a nokia or other name brand, nothing fancy required (i.e. unless you want camera, bluetooth, etc. etc.).

Getting phone might be cheaper in Beijing, if you know where to go. But overall savings fairly minimum....IMHO.
When you land in Beijing, pick up a local mobile number at airport or business center of any major hotel, or on the street. I think they cost about rmb100 which includes number and 'x' minutes of calling time. Mine is China Mobile - there are other carriers but for your needs, I guess anyone will do.

When you get to Vietnam, repeat same, get it at airport. On recent trip, at Hanoi airport, got Vina prepaid sim card cost 100K (free 50K) + top up 300K, paid 400K Dong ($26) with total value of 450K

fatfrog

Agree with dtsm -- easiest thing to do is to buy a phone here and bring it with you. You should check your old phones as some of them might work -- on my last trip to China, I brought an old Nokia that worked fine (I had to adjust some setting). It is incredibly easy to purchase SIM cards in China, yes, including on the street -- just make sure you haggle.

ScottC

I'm not quite sure how having a Chinese language pack will help the OP? Unless of course he specifically wants a Chinese language phone? Also not sure what 3G has to do with anything the OP asked?

Also; I'm not a fan of the stuff they sell in China, you have a very large chance of getting a counterfeit western phone, and most of the time the accessories (especially the batteries) are not the originals, increasing the risk of nasty things happening to it. Just pick one up before you leave, like the previous posters said, be sure it's unlocked, then get sim cards when you arrive in your destinations.

Just be certain to get a phone that will work on GSM 900/1800 and you'll be good to go (China is all GSM 900, and Vietnam is mixed 900/1800).

DCATravel

If call costs are a factor for you, I would recommend finding a phone that has WiFi and can run Skype. Will help save a tremendous amount on your bills.

McKigney28

I have a Razor with ATT at home. If I call and ask them to unlock it and pick up a sim card when I get there, will that work? Are they pretty easy to find (airport, the street, etc?) Can I send and receive text messages to/from the states?

dtsm

Most difficult thing is getting ATT to unlock. Yes to the rest of your questions, very easy. Text messages easy also.

Re getting phone in china, I was in Shenzen this past weekend and visited a building with 4 floors of mobile phones, over 300 counters. Great place to buy a solid phone. For OP, however, would still stick with earlier recommendation to get phone first before getting on the plane.

worldwidedreamer

I agree with all of the above...especially with the most difficult part getting ATT to do the unlock. One thing...your sim card in Beijing might be considered roaming while in Shanghai which means higher rates and, sometimes, difficulty charging the balance. I have no problem using my old unlocked T-mobile Dash here. You should look into Skype, SypeIn, Joopz and Jajah. With the combination of Skype, a SkypeIn number in your home country, and forwarding of unanswered calls you can set up a very cheap (~2 cents/min) tunnel to China. The call quality is not bad, either. Jajah.com has a very high quality service that connects two phones. Joopz is free sms messaging from the web to the US/Canada.

dtsm

Yes, China is a big country so a Beijing account means calls in shanghai, etc. are charged at higher rate.

But you should have no problems checking balance. China Mobile's customer service number is 13800, English automated response provided. I'm sure other carriers provide similar service.

And use of skype-in number with call forwarding is excellent suggestion - i've been waiting like a dummy for grandcentral to do this when I should have instead gotten a skype-in number and just paid the few pennies per minute for call forwarding....LOL

PaperQueen

I’m headed to Hong Kong and Beijing in a couple of weeks, so this thread caught my attention. Have already picked up a Razr (quadband, unlocked, but not 3G) on eBay, but am now reading posts in other threads that have me questioning if this phone will work.

Will I be able to access/use my Skype account as long as the phone has internet capabilities? Or is WiFi on a cell phone something entirely different? (Sorry to be such a dunce here.)

As I understand it, this is what’s needed (for China and Hong Kong):

• Triband or quadband
• Unlocked

What I’m still foggy on, based on varying posts in various forums here:

• 3G?
• WiFi capability to use Skype?

Thanks, folks.

DCATravel

WiFi and Internet access are completely different. Internet access on your phone is provided by the host carrier and runs through their network. WiFi means your phone does not use the carriers signal, but you would connect to a wireless internet hook-up. Think of a hotspot at Starbucks or wireless hotel network.

3G is the third generation of mobile phone standards and technology. These will provide a wide area coverage as compared to a WiFi connection. They tend to be slower than WiFi connections but provide greater range.

To use Skype on your mobile you will need a WiFi capable phone.

PaperQueen

Ahhh...that makes complete sense to me now. Thank you.

Back to the drawing board. Need to figure out which phones will offer WiFi on top of triband/quadband. Sheesh, buying a car is easier than finding an inexpensive cell phone to use in Asia.

PaperQueen

For clarification, 3G is not a necessity in Hong Kong or China, right? As long as I’ve got a quadband (and a SIM purchased there), I should be good to go...?

McKigney28

I hate to admit it, but this just got a bit over my head! If I get a StypeIn number and have it forwarded, then do I pay ATT per minute as well as the 2 cents/min? Or are you suggesting this is used on conjunction with a sim from china?

And then for Joopz, I just need att media net for the internet? Or will that not work in asia?

i might be totally confused so i'd love some more help! thanks!