Originally Posted by
kirinaz
Any other updates on this? I too am headed to Australia and thinking about either getting the Photon and a local SIM, or leasing a phone while I'm there. The leases are cheap, but looks like calls only, I would like a smart phone.
My questions!
1) You can buy the Photon unlocked, but not from Sprint. If I buy the phone, how do I get the Sprint SIM so I can use it on my existing plan?
2) If I buy it from Sprint, how do I unlock it? (not unlock the existing SIM, that just allows it to roam and they really gouge on international rates.)
3) Is there an Australian SIM that will allow the smart features (data) to work or are they all just GSM?
Thank You!
1) if you buy it from someone other that Sprint, if you talk to Sprint to provision, you won't need a SIM card as Sprint is CDMA and they don't use SIM cards to provision.
2) my understanding is that it is unlocked for a third party SIM for use with non-US GSM providers but Sprint will tell you that you are on your own and they don't support third party SIMs. Generally, that's not a problem for voice use but could be problematic for data
3) If you are abroad, the "smart features (data)" will have to go through GSM (that's normal) except in a very few weird places that have CDMA. The Photon supports UMTS 1900/2100 MHZ which will give you up to 7.2 mbps down.
Finally - don't plan on using your unlocked Photon on TMO (US) as their UMTS bands are 1700/2100 so you'll only get GPRS data speeds with them.