Jac747

I want to buy a basic phone on amazon for travel to replace this old basic razor I've been using and don't need it for anything other than phone calls and texting. I just want to buy a local sim card in each country as I've been doing and not spend much on the phone itself so can you recommend a phone for me? I already have an iphone and another camera so just need the basics. Thanks.

dtsm

I've usually gone to ebay.com for this type of thing. I've bought and sold unlocked quad or tri band world phones and had good experience.

Nokia:
http://www.ebay.com/ctg/Nokia-6131-B...pt=Cell_Phones

Samsung flip models:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?Brand...yle=Flip&rt=nc

Jac747

Thanks, I've never used ebay so I'll compare prices as maybe it's time to try it out.

Braindrain

Is that the old Moto Razr flip phone? If so, it's already quad-band GSM and virtually any place can unlock it.

Jac747

yes, it's what I've been using but it needs to be replaced now-this one is ancient and doesn't work well any longer.

goalie

I'll give a shout-out for the Nokia 6131 as prior to getting my iPhone, the 6131 was my workhorse in Europe and it worked (and still works) like a champ.

weekilter

You don't state what your requirements are i.e. do you require data or will you just require something that does voice calls and texts. If all you want to do is voice calls and texts a Razr (a razor is something you use to shave your face or other parts of your body) will do just fine. You don't state whether your iPhone is unlocked or not. If it's not it won't be much use to you as far as getting a local SIM. As I first said, it's important to state what you need from your phone whether it's just voice/text or whether you'll need something that will do data also.

Braindrain

The iPhone might do the job if unlocked but only if it's an older one that uses a regular SIM. There's no guarantee you can get a microSIM on pre-paid plans with multiple countries.

Personally, I had a similar requirement as the OP, and just searched Craigslist until I found an old flip phone with quad band GSM. Ran me a total of $20 as they're pretty old now and nobody wants them. It should be pretty easy to find one without the hassle of eBay.

Jac747

Thanks all, and yes, I just need an inexpensive one for texting and calling as my iphone is not unlocked. Amazon has a few but I'll check out craigslist also. Thanks for the recommendations.

seanthepilot

Depending on where you are going, you can just buy an unlocked cheap phone. For instance, here in Thailand you can buy a dual band phone for as little as $18. Good even as a throw away.

A quad (or more) band won't be expensive either. These will be new phones with a full warranty, and unlocked.

A piece of cake, actually!

nmenaker

you can also often but a cheap, or more $$ AT&T gophone and then just unlock it Just do a search on the actual one you are buying for unlock options and codes.

Dubai Stu

I would pop a few more bucks for something with 3g like the Nokia Asha 300. It supports quad band HSPA. As HSPA is taking off, there are a number of places where there is an advantage to have this extra series of bands. It works in Japan and Korea (where quadbands don't). It also works at better rates with roaming SIMs in Canada. Most roaming SIMs have avoided Rogers and seem to either only work on Bell or Telus, or work on heavily discounted rates on Bell and Telus. I can see this becoming relevant in Mexico as people try to avoid Telcel.

I might even pop a few dollars more for the Asha 302 which supports wifi. You can do VOIP Over 3g and Wifi on Symbian and also apps like Whatsapp (SMS alternative) work on the phones. Also with Symbian and wifi, you can use Jokuspot to use cell phone data as a virtual hotspot.

Jac747

Thanks,and I do travel to Japan occasionally so that would be a plus to be able to use the phone there also. I will look into the models you mention.

gfunkdave

Any phone that supports world 3G frequencies (2100 MHz) will work in Japan, too.

I echo the suggestion for the Nokia - their feature phones (i.e., non-smartphones) have great battery life and signal performance. They are rock solid.

ryandelmundo

If you're skipping around countries you might as well go Dual Sim along with Quad Band. This Blu Dual SIM phone is about the best deal I've ever seen. It's less than $30 and has a blackberry style keypad.

Seems everyone abroad is starting to use Whatsapp instead of SMS. This uses data, and you can send pix and location data as well. I use it a ton and love it, and seems I never SMS anymore. You might try and get a phone that can use it (most smartphones can). The cheapest phone I see that supports it is a Nokia for $99 and its not dual SIM. But for that price ya might as well pick up a used unlocked iPhone 3GS from Amazon for $120 and leave your good iphone at home.

Last, its not impossible to unlock your iPhone. ATT might do it, and the Gevey SIM works in a lot of cases. Check out this site to see if your model/iOS version works with the gevey. http://www.applenberry.com/iphone-unlock/