Originally Posted by
troyb
I have a personal Verizon (CDMA only) phone as well as a Verizon Blackberry (CDMA/GSM). I often turn on my CDMA only phone when traveling, just to see if it works, and am regularly amazed at the places with CDMA coverage. India, Australia, NZ, Singapore, Indonesia are ones that I can seem to remember.
I do agree with you - crazy to buy a CDMA only phone if you do not have another way to access GSM.
Also, I guess I should say that while it is possible to use the CDMA handset in some parts of the world, the call charges can be outrageous. The beauty of the SIM is being able to replace it in seconds and have discounted calls. On my last tour of Asia I had a stable of 8 SIMs from 8 countries and would just switch out as needed. One of the reasons I keep my iPhone 3GS. It's my travel buddy while the iPhone 4 contains the Vodafone SIM from home and is for emergencies only