[catwood] I like the S46. It's not flashy, but it seems to work well for the basics. I've also used it for data (GPRS) if you are interested in that, and it worked well there too. I was able to send an urgent email from a moving airport shuttle! The main gripe I have with it is that Siemens uses non-standard connectors for earpieces, so you can't use Jabra or other third-party add-ons.

[Vulcan] GSM now seems to be available in all of the major metro areas and in a lot of places you wouldn't expect. I live about 80 miles outside of San Francisco and still get a good GSM signal. And the recent agreements with other carriers should improve the coverage even more. I suspect that AWE has stopped investing in the older network.

I like t-mobile because:

1) International access.
2) Blackberry.
3) International blackberry.
4) blackberry cellphone (6710).
5) blackberry cellphone bill bundled.
6) Wifi service.
7) blackberry cellphone wifi bill bundled.

I am happily wired(less)!

I'd go with T-mobile, and buy the phone from amazon. that's what I did lst year, and it saved me a bundle.

I'm on the $39.95 pllan, which (promo running agin) gives you 1000 anytime, long distance natl. roming and free weekends.

amazon usually offeres $200-$300 in rebates on the phones....

Can anyone point me towards a list of triband GSM phones?

Vulcan;

2 sights I used before deciding on the Samsung SGH-S300-- which I highly, highly recommend to you. Very small, very cool, very good signal, great screen, etc. No bluetooth, if you care. But everything else it has. I wouldn't steer you wrong!

I assume if you buy the phone in the US from T-mobile it will be "locked" the that network-- mine isn't, and that's worth a little extra, IMHO.

Also seriously considered Siemens S55.

http://reviews.infosyncworld.com/
http://mobile.burn.com/index.jsp

I have seen verizon GSM described here. There is not a verizon option in Texas. Where can you get GSM with Verizon in the US? Do they have roaming agreements for the non-GSM areas in the US? Like Texas?

I have a tri-band unlocked Ericsson r340m purchased for $84 from an internet retailer. It works well in Europe with several different SIMs from Europe companies. I have seen them on ebay cheaper.

I would like to find a US GSM carrier that has prepaid with charge life of one year, like my Italy TIM SIM.

Verizon does NOT have GSM in the US.

They use a 3rd party that's a licensed Vodafone partner for using a handset outside the normal Verizon roaming markets.

http://internationaltraveler.verizonwireless.com/

Vodafone; Verizon Wireless's 50% partner IS developing (and has shown) a CDMA + GSM/GPRS phone to support a single device that can roam worldwide on Verizon, Vodafone and other GSM/GPRS networks.

[This message has been edited by NickP 1K (edited 05-22-2003).]

Which triband GSM phones are available "unlocked" so that I can purchase a SIM and just insert it?
thanks
Ed

The ones that you don't buy from a U.S.-based GSM carrier or it's dealers. For the most part, if you want an unlocked phone you have to specifically buy an unlocked phone-- from eBay, from a specialty net-retailer, in Europe (non-prepay), etc.

You pay more for an unlocked phone, of course, since there is no "subsidy" and you're not locked into a contract for a year.

I recently bought from a net retailer instead of eBay (which would have been cheaper.) Keep in mind if you buy from Europe you will get a Europe AC charger (no big deal at all) and you will need to change some of the internet settings if you want to use T-mobile in the US.

http://111-mobiles.co.uk/ (many places like this, but some don't ship to the US and some don't deduct the VAT.)

my experience has been that any phone in europe (expect those with pre-paid cards) are unlocked.

Also, US carriers will give you the unlock codes for their phones, as long as you keep a contract with them. (experienced this with T-mobile and Cingular).

While this may be true in continental Europe, it certainly isn't true in the UK.

Just a note on unlocked phones from T Mobile... I bought the SE T68i off of Amazon (free after rebates) as mentioned above. I asked about unlocking the SIM when I activated my service with T Mobile. I was told that they would do this after my first billing cycle. Sure enough, I received a call 5 weeks later with instructions on how to unlock the SIM. I haven't tried another SIM in the phone yet as I won't be traveling to Europe until later this Summer, but I had no problems with the unlock code.

This is website is a great resource for all things mobile phones... http://www.howardforums.com

[edited to add the url]

[This message has been edited by Cobijonz (edited 05-23-2003).]

Actually, currently more than half of the phones sold in Europe are still locked, even phones sold at full price will often be locked and almost every phone in packaging of the operator... The UK is leader in locking, but then they are also leaders in unlocking shops http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...um/biggrin.gif

T-mobile in the USA will unlock the phone for you, you just have to ask. It does take a week or two for the requewt to work its way through their bureaucracy.

The steps to take are simple.

Sign up for international service when you buy the phone from a T-mobile dealer. It is free.

Request a SIM unlock.

This assures one of a service/support level which should be much higher than buying an unlocked phone on E-bay. When my original phone went belly-up two weeks after buying it, it got replaced.

Try that on E-bay. (This from a registered E-Bay user).

Just a quick note about power supplies/chargers.


My Motorola (T-Mobile) provided cell phone came with a dual voltage charger and two plugs (Continental-Germany and British). Quite a slick setup with automatic voltage sensing and foldable U.S. contacts.

It works Europe and Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.