Cellular phones topics - T-Mobile GSM phones for Europe/Asia?

Author

T-Mobile GSM phones for Europe/Asia?

John E.

2005-08-23, 5:48 pm

Considering going with T-Mobile here in USA. I like Nokia phones (brand name
loyalty based on good experience). Need a speaker phone. Camera, messaging,
etc. not important. Working in Europe or Asia a possibility next year.

I understand that outside USA, GMS is the most "universal" standard. Is this
right?

WIll any of these phones work in Europe/Asia?

6800 GSM/GPRS 850/1900
6610 GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900
6600 GSM/GPRS/HSCSD 900/1800/1900
3660 GSM 900/1800/1900
3650 GSM 900/1800/1900
3220 GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/1800/1900

Of the different standards (GMS/GPRS/HSCSD/EDGE), which are 1) most widely
supported 2) "better" (technically?) 3) anything else you'd like to say about
them?

Thanks,
--
John English
moviepotatoe@yahoo.com
(Yeah, I know how to spell potato --
ever tried to get a decent address @ yahoo?)

Wolfgang Barth

2005-08-23, 5:48 pm

John E. wrote:
> Considering going with T-Mobile here in USA. I like Nokia phones (brand name
> loyalty based on good experience). Need a speaker phone. Camera, messaging,
> etc. not important. Working in Europe or Asia a possibility next year.
Ok.
>
> I understand that outside USA, GMS is the most "universal" standard. Is this
> right?
GSM is used in a great lot of countries. More than any other standard.
>
> WIll any of these phones work in Europe/Asia?
>
> 6800 GSM/GPRS 850/1900
No
> 6610 GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900
Yes
> 6600 GSM/GPRS/HSCSD 900/1800/1900
Yes
> 3660 GSM 900/1800/1900
Yes
> 3650 GSM 900/1800/1900
Yes
> 3220 GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/1800/1900
Yes

900 and 1800 are used outside North America
850 (new) and 1900 in North America
>
> Of the different standards (GMS/GPRS/HSCSD/EDGE), which are 1) most widely
> supported 2) "better" (technically?) 3) anything else you'd like to say about
> them?
- CSD is the "normal" GSM data standard which all data phones can use
and virtually all networks are using this at 9600-14000 bit/sec. This is
billed to the minute.

- HSCSD is the "highspeed" version of this using more than one channel,
so it is able to have 2 to 4 times the thruput of CSD. This is billed to
the minute at the same of CSD for several channels or sometimes per
channel. Not available with all phones and all networks.

- GPRS is using packeted data not using full speech channels. Used on
most networks and most newer phones. You can stay always on with this
because its billed to the amount of data sent and received. Interesing
for "data push scenarios". Speed often upload capacity is less than the
capacity for download. Speed can be higher than HSCSD.

- EDGE can give even higher data throuput via better modulation.
Not used very often until now.

Wolfgang

Miguel Cruz

2005-08-23, 5:48 pm

John E. <incognito@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Considering going with T-Mobile here in USA. I like Nokia phones (brand
> name loyalty based on good experience). Need a speaker phone. Camera,
> messaging, etc. not important. Working in Europe or Asia a possibility
> next year.
>
> I understand that outside USA, GMS is the most "universal" standard. Is this
> right?

Yes.

> WIll any of these phones work in Europe/Asia?
>
> 6800 GSM/GPRS 850/1900
> 6610 GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900
> 6600 GSM/GPRS/HSCSD 900/1800/1900
> 3660 GSM 900/1800/1900
> 3650 GSM 900/1800/1900
> 3220 GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/1800/1900

The first one (6800) will not work at all, and the last one (3220) isn't
optimal. Better for the US though.

However, I have a 900/1800/1900 phone and it seemed to work pretty well in
the US when I visited a month ago. Except Georgetown (western Washington DC)
- a lot of dead spots there. But decent everywhere aboveground in LA and
Phoenix.

> Of the different standards (GMS/GPRS/HSCSD/EDGE), which are 1) most widely
> supported 2) "better" (technically?) 3) anything else you'd like to say about
> them?

If you don't care about messaging or data, then all you need is GSM. The
other acronyms pertain to data communications.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 36 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu
Latest photos: Queens Day in Amsterdam; the Grand Canyon; Amman, Jordan

Miguel Cruz

2005-08-23, 5:48 pm

Miguel Cruz <mnc@admin.u.nu> wrote:
> John E. <incognito@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Yes.

Oh, by the way, Japan is a big exception to this. I couldn't even get a
GSM signal at Narita airport, let alone elsewhere in the country.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 36 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu
Latest photos: Queens Day in Amsterdam; the Grand Canyon; Amman, Jordan

Joseph

2005-08-23, 5:48 pm

On Tue, 23 Aug 2005 07:29:27 -0700, John E. <incognito@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>Considering going with T-Mobile here in USA. I like Nokia phones (brand name
>loyalty based on good experience). Need a speaker phone. Camera, messaging,
>etc. not important. Working in Europe or Asia a possibility next year.
>
>I understand that outside USA, GMS is the most "universal" standard. Is this
>right?
>
>WIll any of these phones work in Europe/Asia?
>
>6800 GSM/GPRS 850/1900

GSM 850/1900 only phone is a paperweight in Europe. Those frequencies
are not used at all.

>6610 GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900
>6600 GSM/GPRS/HSCSD 900/1800/1900
>3660 GSM 900/1800/1900
>3650 GSM 900/1800/1900

>3220 GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/1800/1900
This model will work *mostly* though for the best coverage you should
use models that do 900 also since that's the major GSM frequency in
Europe. You will need 1800 though for capacity and some carriers are
1800 only.

>Of the different standards (GMS/GPRS/HSCSD/EDGE), which are 1) most widely
>supported 2) "better" (technically?) 3) anything else you'd like to say about
>them?

EDGE (also known as E-GPRS) gives faster data speeds than GPRS which
gives you basically "dial up" speeds. EDGE is slower than HSPDS or
UMTS/WCDMA.) And it's GSM not GMS for Global System for Mobile
communications (formerly stood for Groupe Spécial Mobile.)
- -

Joseph

2005-08-23, 5:48 pm

On Tue, 23 Aug 2005 11:50:30 -0500, mnc@admin.u.nu (Miguel Cruz)
wrote:

>Oh, by the way, Japan is a big exception to this. I couldn't even get a
>GSM signal at Narita airport, let alone elsewhere in the country.

Well, that could be because there is *no* GSM anywhere in Japan. They
do have WCDMA though.

- -

John Phillips

2005-08-23, 5:48 pm

On Tue, 23 Aug 2005, at 18:32:06 [GMT +0200] (02:32:06 Wednesday, 24 August
2005 where I live) "Wolfgang Barth" wrote:

> Yes

Actually may not - some networks "hide" the 1800 band and only hand over
from the 900 band.

--
My mind is made up--don't confuse me with facts.

Ivor Jones

2005-08-23, 11:48 pm

"John E." <incognito@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:0001HW. BF3080D70043FE0EF040
75B0@news.readfreenews.net
> Considering going with T-Mobile here in USA. I like Nokia
> phones (brand name loyalty based on good experience).
> Need a speaker phone. Camera, messaging, etc. not
> important. Working in Europe or Asia a possibility next
> year.
>
> I understand that outside USA, GMS is the most
> "universal" standard. Is this right?
>
> WIll any of these phones work in Europe/Asia?

[List snipped]

Anything that is GSM 900/1800 will work in Europe. I can't speak for Asia,
never having been there.

Ivor

Ivor Jones

2005-08-23, 11:48 pm

"John Phillips" < flatulantdingo@deads
pam.com> wrote in
message news:1873745362. 20050824062514@deads
pam.com
> On Tue, 23 Aug 2005, at 18:32:06 [GMT +0200] (02:32:06
> Wednesday, 24 August 2005 where I live) "Wolfgang Barth"
> wrote:
>
>
> Actually may not - some networks "hide" the 1800 band and
> only hand over from the 900 band.

And some don't have 1800 at all.

Ivor

DevilsPGD

2005-08-23, 11:48 pm

In message <1873745362. 20050824062514@deads
pam.com> John
Phillips< flatulantdingo@deads
pam.com> wrote:

>On Tue, 23 Aug 2005, at 18:32:06 [GMT +0200] (02:32:06 Wednesday, 24 August
>2005 where I live) "Wolfgang Barth" wrote:
>
>
>Actually may not - some networks "hide" the 1800 band and only hand over
>from the 900 band.

It might be just me, but that sounds weird -- Why would they do that?

--
What's orange, brown, black, and red? Give up?
They're COLOURS, idiot!

matt weber

2005-08-23, 11:48 pm

On Tue, 23 Aug 2005 07:29:27 -0700, John E. <incognito@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>Considering going with T-Mobile here in USA. I like Nokia phones (brand name
>loyalty based on good experience). Need a speaker phone. Camera, messaging,
>etc. not important. Working in Europe or Asia a possibility next year.
>
>I understand that outside USA, GMS is the most "universal" standard. Is this
>right?
>
>WIll any of these phones work in Europe/Asia?
>
>6800 GSM/GPRS 850/1900
NO. 850/1900 is strictly north America
>6610 GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900
Yes, 900/1800 is standard outside Norht Ameria
>6600 GSM/GPRS/HSCSD 900/1800/1900
yes
>3660 GSM 900/1800/1900
yes
>3650 GSM 900/1800/1900
yes
>3220 GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/1800/1900
probably . The standard for GSM outside the USA is 900 Mhz, however
most (but NOT all) countries also have 1800 Mhz networks,
>
>Of the different standards (GMS/GPRS/HSCSD/EDGE), which are 1) most widely
>supported 2) "better" (technically?) 3) anything else you'd like to say about
>them?
>
>Thanks,

Steve Sobol

2005-08-23, 11:48 pm

Miguel Cruz wrote:

> However, I have a 900/1800/1900 phone and it seemed to work pretty well in
> the US when I visited a month ago. Except Georgetown (western Washington DC)
> - a lot of dead spots there. But decent everywhere aboveground in LA and
> Phoenix.

It depends on whose network you're on. T-Mobile, IIRC, is 1900 throughout
their US network. Cingular and some other carriers have 800 (850).

--
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek 888-480-4638 PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
Company website: http://JustThe.net/
Personal blog, resume, portfolio: http://SteveSobol.com/
E: sjsobol@JustThe.net Snail: 22674 Motnocab Road, Apple Valley, CA 92307

Donald Newcomb

2005-08-23, 11:48 pm

"John E." <incognito@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:0001HW. BF3080D70043FE0EF040
75B0@news.readfreenews.net...
> WIll any of these phones work in Europe/Asia?

You will not find any GSM in two Asian countries: Japan and S. Korea.
However, Japan has two fully developed WCDMA-2100 networks on which you may
roam, provided you have a compatible phone. I have a Motorola A835 which I
use for my trips to Japan. Works like a charm but it's heavy. South Korea is
building two WCDMA-2100 networks but right now I believe that their coverage
is limited to the area right around Seoul and they are just now opening
those nets to roamers. They do rent phones at the airport into which you can
insert your SIM card and roam on their existing CDMA nets.

Otherwise any tri-band 900/1800/1900 phone should be perfect for any trips
to Europe or Asia. There are only a few countries where you can't get by
without GSM-850 (e.g. Ecuador) and they are all in the Americas.
--
Donald Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net

John Phillips

2005-08-24, 5:48 pm

On Tue, 23 Aug 2005, at 17:39:19 [GMT -0600] (09:39:19 Wednesday, 24 August
2005 where I live) "DevilsPGD" wrote:

[color=darkred]
> It might be just me, but that sounds weird -- Why would they do that?

No idea, but Tel$tra Australia do that.

--
Purranoia:The feeling that your cat is up to something.

John Phillips

2005-08-24, 5:48 pm

On Tue, 23 Aug 2005, at 21:21:28 [GMT -0500] (12:21:28 Wednesday, 24 August
2005 where I live) "Donald Newcomb" wrote:

> Otherwise any tri-band 900/1800/1900 phone should be perfect for any trips
> to Europe or Asia. There are only a few countries where you can't get by
> without GSM-850 (e.g. Ecuador) and they are all in the Americas.

http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/index.shtml is a good starting point for
further information.

You can even use GSM (900 band) in North Korea if you want to, but I bet
this is tightly controlled by the Dear Leader!

--
That which does not kill us strengthens us.

Wolfgang Barth

2005-08-24, 5:48 pm

DevilsPGD wrote:
Yes, there are 900 only networks and there are 1800 only networks.[color=darkred]
>
> It might be just me, but that sounds weird -- Why would they do that?
>
Technical Reason.
Some cells of combined 900/1800 networks are using a channel of the 900
band for organisational purposes, to check you identity ...

So you need the 900 band even if speech is taking place in the 1800
band. A 1800 only phone will not work in such a cell.

Wolfgang

DevilsPGD

2005-08-24, 5:48 pm

In message < 3n3n6bF19h6a0U1@indi
vidual.net> Wolfgang Barth
<barthwo@spamfence.net> wrote:

>DevilsPGD wrote:
>Yes, there are 900 only networks and there are 1800 only networks.
>Technical Reason.
>Some cells of combined 900/1800 networks are using a channel of the 900
>band for organisational purposes, to check you identity ...
>
>So you need the 900 band even if speech is taking place in the 1800
>band. A 1800 only phone will not work in such a cell.

Interesting -- But again, it seems odd to not have an equivalent 1800
channel doesn't it?

On the other hand, if the 900MHz signal is carried by all towers equal
to the 1800MHz signal, and all phones sold by that carrier handle both,
it's probably a moot point.

--
Warning Dates in Calendar are closer than they appear.

Donald Newcomb

2005-08-24, 11:48 pm

"DevilsPGD" <spamsucks@crazyhat.net> wrote in message
news:a5bng1psfo34c7a
jk7if8vr7o4h3j70v9l@
4ax.com...
> It might be just me, but that sounds weird -- Why would they do that?

It has to do with they way the carrier views their 1800 MHz spectrum. Some
mostly-900-MHz carriers use 1800 MHz just for spot coverage to increase
capacity in high usage areas. They make no attempt to provide continuous
1800 MHz coverage. In this situation the only benefit of using 1800 MHz
control channels would be for the tiny revenue from the few roamers who have
1800-only phones. Remember that until quite recently, international phones
that didn't have 900 MHz were nonentities. The only 1800-only phones were a
few old models from the early days when Orange and One2One (Now T-Mobile UK)
were brand new. The only thing that even brings this discussion up again is
Cingular's bizarre idea that it's good enough to send customers roaming
around the world with a phone without 900 MHz.

--
Donald Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net

Mike Schumann

2005-08-25, 5:48 am

I wouldn't blame Cingular for that. I suspect that Nokia took the easy way
out, and instead of coming out with a quad band phone, they adapted their
existing tri-band design by switching the 900 frequency to 850. It's been
VERY frustrating, that the market leader for so many years, is the last one
on the planet coming out with quad band phones.

Mike Schumann

"Donald Newcomb" <DRNewcomb@attglobal.NOT.net> wrote in message
news:430d0471_4@news
1.prserv.net...
>
> "DevilsPGD" <spamsucks@crazyhat.net> wrote in message
> news:a5bng1psfo34c7a
jk7if8vr7o4h3j70v9l@
4ax.com...
>
> It has to do with they way the carrier views their 1800 MHz spectrum. Some
> mostly-900-MHz carriers use 1800 MHz just for spot coverage to increase
> capacity in high usage areas. They make no attempt to provide continuous
> 1800 MHz coverage. In this situation the only benefit of using 1800 MHz
> control channels would be for the tiny revenue from the few roamers who
> have
> 1800-only phones. Remember that until quite recently, international phones
> that didn't have 900 MHz were nonentities. The only 1800-only phones were
> a
> few old models from the early days when Orange and One2One (Now T-Mobile
> UK)
> were brand new. The only thing that even brings this discussion up again
> is
> Cingular's bizarre idea that it's good enough to send customers roaming
> around the world with a phone without 900 MHz.
>
> --
> Donald Newcomb
> DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net
>
>

Donald Newcomb

2005-08-25, 5:48 pm

"Mike Schumann" <mike-nospam@traditions-nospam.com> wrote in message
news:DddPe.1578$FW1.1019@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net...
> I wouldn't blame Cingular for that.

What I do blame Cingular for is leading their customers to believe that this
is a "Global" phone.

--
Donald Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net

Joseph

2005-08-25, 5:48 pm

On Thu, 25 Aug 2005 06:06:27 GMT, "Mike Schumann"
<mike-nospam@traditions-nospam.com> wrote:

>I wouldn't blame Cingular for that. I suspect that Nokia took the easy way
>out, and instead of coming out with a quad band phone, they adapted their
>existing tri-band design by switching the 900 frequency to 850. It's been
>VERY frustrating, that the market leader for so many years, is the last one
>on the planet coming out with quad band phones.

You need to keep up. Nokia has introduced a quad band
(850/900/1800/1900) handset.

- -

Mike S.

2005-08-25, 5:48 pm

In article <DddPe.1578$FW1.1019@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net>,
Mike Schumann <mike-nospam@traditions-nospam.com> wrote:
>I wouldn't blame Cingular for that. I suspect that Nokia took the easy way
>out, and instead of coming out with a quad band phone, they adapted their
>existing tri-band design by switching the 900 frequency to 850. It's been
>VERY frustrating, that the market leader for so many years, is the last one
>on the planet coming out with quad band phones.

The Nokia 6270 is a quad-band GSM (800/900/1800/1900) phone.

John Phillips

2005-08-27, 5:48 am

On Thu, 25 Aug 2005, at 14:45:22 [GMT +0000 (UTC)] (00:45:22 Friday, 26
August 2005 where I live) "Mike S." wrote:

> The Nokia 6270 is a quad-band GSM (800/900/1800/1900) phone.

That's a bit of a "girls" phone. Any others that you know off?

--
When you do a good deed get a receipt, in case heaven is like the IRS.

Mike S.

2005-08-27, 5:48 pm

In article <1765378279. 20050827180215@deads
pam.com>,
John Phillips < flatulantdingo@deads
pam.com> wrote:
>On Thu, 25 Aug 2005, at 14:45:22 [GMT +0000 (UTC)] (00:45:22 Friday, 26
>August 2005 where I live) "Mike S." wrote:
>
>
>That's a bit of a "girls" phone. Any others that you know off?

That is the only 800/900/1800/1900 phone I'm aware of from Nokia. If
you're looking for a quad-band "business" phone, go with Motorola.

Joseph

2005-08-27, 5:48 pm

On Sat, 27 Aug 2005 18:02:15 +1000, John
Phillips< flatulantdingo@deads
pam.com> wrote:

>On Thu, 25 Aug 2005, at 14:45:22 [GMT +0000 (UTC)] (00:45:22 Friday, 26
>August 2005 where I live) "Mike S." wrote:
>
>
>That's a bit of a "girls" phone. Any others that you know off?

Yeah, you don't want to get "cooties" or anything. And if you had a
"girls" phone they might think you're a poofter.

- -

Stuart Friedman

2005-09-05, 5:48 pm

I use a Motorola c975 for Japan. You can get them cheap in Europe and
HK. They support UMTS plus GSM 900, 1800, 1900. They have EDGE and
UMTS data, but no blue tooth. I don't use the phone in the US, but it
is great for most places.

Prepaid SIMs are hard to get in the Japan. Voda used to sell them, but
you now need to have residency status to get a prepaid in Japan. You
can rent a SIM at Narita, otherwise you are paying roaming.

Ivor Jones

2005-09-05, 11:56 pm

"DevilsPGD" <spamsucks@crazyhat.net> wrote in message
news:a5bng1psfo34c7a
jk7if8vr7o4h3j70v9l@
4ax.com
> In message <1873745362. 20050824062514@deads
pam.com> John
> Phillips< flatulantdingo@deads
pam.com> wrote:
>
>
> It might be just me, but that sounds weird -- Why would
> they do that?

Because some networks only use 1800 as a fill-in to cover spots that the
900 system can't see. Here in the UK O2 and Vodafone use 900 as the
primary band with a sprinkling of low power fill-in cells using 1800.
Orange and T-Mobile are entirely 1800 and have no 900 cells at all.

Ivor

Mike Schumann

2005-11-12, 2:48 am

It's not available yet.

Mike Schumann

"Mike S." <retsuhcs@xinap.moc> wrote in message
news:dekli1$mqp$1@re
ader2.panix.com...
>
> In article <DddPe.1578$FW1.1019@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net>,
> Mike Schumann <mike-nospam@traditions-nospam.com> wrote:
>
> The Nokia 6270 is a quad-band GSM (800/900/1800/1900) phone.
>

SMS

2005-11-12, 5:48 pm

Mike Schumann wrote:[color=darkred
]
> It's not available yet.
>
> Mike Schumann
>
> "Mike S." <retsuhcs@xinap.moc> wrote in message
> news:dekli1$mqp$1@re
ader2.panix.com...
>

I think that Nokia figured that the demand for quad band wasn't high
enough to worry about.

I travel a lot to Asia, as do most of my colleagues. We all have
separate phones to use over there, because at most companies in this
area (Silicon Valley), Verizon is the carrier of choice due to coverage
issues with the GSM carriers.

So we're forced to have a second phone for most of Asia, and Europe
anyway, and we buy SIM cards, and use call forwarding to the number we
get when we buy the SIM. Even in Korea, it's cheaper to rent a phone,
and to do call-forwarding than to roam.

One VP I had was so excited about his "world" phone, until he realized
that it worked great in Beijing, but that it sucked in Santa Clara. His
words were 'my wife can call me in Beijing, but not in Santa Clara.'

The CDMA/GSM model, Samsung SCH-A790/A795 has proven to be the best
choice for world travelers, since it's CDMA for North America and the
other CDMA countries such as Korea, and now Japan, and GSM for the parts
of the world that are GSM. So you get the best of all worlds, except of
course no AMPS for the U.S..

There is one NEC phone that will work on FOMA in Japan, as well as on
GSM 900/1800/1900, but without GSM 800, it's not a true "world" phone.

Steve Sobol

2005-11-12, 5:48 pm

Mike Schumann wrote:
> It's not available yet.

The Motorola V188, while not a terribly high-quality phone, is a quad-band
GSM phone. Wifey and I both have V188s on T-Mo. The V188 is still in T-Mo's
current phone lineup.

I'm a little surprised you didn't post this to the T-Mo group. :)

I didn't see the original post, but it looks like you posted to a data
newsgroup too. The V188 is GPRS only, FWIW. Don't know if GPRS is functional
while you are roaming, or using another carrier's SIM (if you are going to
get a SIM, talk to T-Mo to get the SIM lock removed).

--
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek 888-480-4638 PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
Company website: http://JustThe.net/
Personal blog, resume, portfolio: http://SteveSobol.com/
E: sjsobol@JustThe.net Snail: 22674 Motnocab Road, Apple Valley, CA 92307

Dogfart

2005-11-12, 5:48 pm

On Sat, 12 Nov 2005, at 10:54:42 [GMT -0800] (05:54:42 Sunday, 13 November
2005 where I live) "Steve Sobol" wrote:

> The V188 is GPRS only, FWIW. Don't know if GPRS is functional
> while you are roaming, or using another carrier's SIM

Depends on the carrier. In Thailand for example no GPRS in the bush, only in
Bangkok from certain providers. In China I can necer seem to get GPRS as
well.

However you can still use the phone anywhere there is a GSM signal, and of
course the SIM card is enabled to that particular carrier, or better still
you have an "unlocked" SIM and phone.

Please also note a tri band phone 850-1800-1900 may not be able to pick up
the 1800 band in some countries, due to some carriers "hiding" this
frequency and only handing over from the 900 whatever they are called band;
you are unable to log on to the 1800 frequency at all even though your phone
has this ability.

Donald Newcomb

2005-11-13, 5:48 am

"SMS" <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in message
news:437605dd$0$7580
8$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net...
> I travel a lot to Asia, as do most of my colleagues. We all have
> separate phones to use over there, because at most companies in this
> area (Silicon Valley), Verizon is the carrier of choice due to coverage
> issues with the GSM carriers.

What's Verizon's problem with GSM roaming? You are using their global
roaming service, right?

> So we're forced to have a second phone for most of Asia, and Europe
> anyway, and we buy SIM cards, and use call forwarding to the number we
> get when we buy the SIM. Even in Korea, it's cheaper to rent a phone,
> and to do call-forwarding than to roam.

Yeah. That is a problem with roaming. The carriers just want to make a
fortune off it. No one shops for a carrier based on their international
roaming price list, so it becomes one of those, "if you must ask..." type
items.

> One VP I had was so excited about his "world" phone, until he realized
> that it worked great in Beijing, but that it sucked in Santa Clara. His
> words were 'my wife can call me in Beijing, but not in Santa Clara.'

Does this VP have "pointy hair"?

> The CDMA/GSM model, Samsung SCH-A790/A795 has proven to be the best
> choice for world travelers, since it's CDMA for North America and the
> other CDMA countries such as Korea, and now Japan, and GSM for the parts
> of the world that are GSM. So you get the best of all worlds, except of
> course no AMPS for the U.S..

So these guys can't figure out how to use two different phones. They can
only be trained on one device?

> There is one NEC phone that will work on FOMA in Japan, as well as on
> GSM 900/1800/1900, but without GSM 800, it's not a true "world" phone.

There are several phone that do three GSM bands plus WCDMA-2100. I have a
Moto A835 that I use when roaming in Japan. It's a brick and the battery
life in WDCMA (Japan) mode is not very good, but it works and cost me less
than $100, all told.

Actually, I hear (read about) this issue with exceutive travelers and their
obsession with a "world phone" (single device) that works everywhere. Often
the issue is that they can't accept the idea of being trained on using more
than one phone. Strange. Do they complain about the toilets and light
switches overseas too?

--
Donald R. Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net

Geoffrey S. Mendelson

2005-11-13, 5:48 pm

Donald Newcomb wrote:
> Actually, I hear (read about) this issue with exceutive travelers and their
> obsession with a "world phone" (single device) that works everywhere. Often
> the issue is that they can't accept the idea of being trained on using more
> than one phone. Strange. Do they complain about the toilets and light
> switches overseas too?

Funny you should mention that. When I came here to Israel nine years ago
it took a while to get used to the light switches being "upside down". You
push them DOWN to turn on a light. Being the perverse guy I am, every time
I replace a light switch, I put them back rightside up. So now half the
switches in our apartment are push down to turn on, half are push up.

No one seems to complain. :-)

On the other hand the local standard toilets withpush small button for
#1 and large button for #2 confuses everyone. I just gave up and always
push the #2 button. :-)

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel gsm@mendelson.com N3OWJ/4X1GM
IL Voice: (07)-7424-1667 IL Fax: 972-2-648-1443 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838
You should have boycotted Google while you could, now Google supported
BPL is in action. Time is running out on worldwide radio communication.

John Navas

2005-11-13, 5:48 pm

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.data - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In < 437605dd$0$75808$742
ec2ed@news.sonic.net> on Sat, 12 Nov 2005 07:10:36
-0800, SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:

>I travel a lot to Asia, as do most of my colleagues. We all have
>separate phones to use over there, because at most companies in this
>area (Silicon Valley), Verizon is the carrier of choice due to coverage
>issues with the GSM carriers.

>[SNIP anti-GSM, pro CDMA propaganda]

In fact both Cingular/ATTWS and Sprint/Nextel work well in Silicon Valley and
are strong in the business community.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

John Navas

2005-11-13, 5:48 pm

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.data - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <43770d5f_4@news1.prserv.net> on Sun, 13 Nov 2005 03:33:32 -0600, "Donald
Newcomb" <DRNewcomb@NOT.attglobal.net> wrote:

>Actually, I hear (read about) this issue with exceutive travelers and their
>obsession with a "world phone" (single device) that works everywhere. Often
>the issue is that they can't accept the idea of being trained on using more
>than one phone. Strange. Do they complain about the toilets and light
>switches overseas too?

The usual real issues are being able to be reached easily on a single number
no matter where they are, and having a single voicemail box. They have much
better uses of their time than fooling with cell phones.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

Donald Newcomb

2005-11-13, 5:48 pm

"John Navas" < spamfilter0@navasgro
up.com> wrote in message
news:xyIdf.92463$zb5.75102@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> [POSTED TO alt.cellular.data - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]
> The usual real issues are being able to be reached easily on a single
number
> no matter where they are, and having a single voicemail box. They have
much
> better uses of their time than fooling with cell phones.

Understood, but most of the global roaming solutions take care of this. Just
not with a single device. So with Verizon, you have a phone for the US &
Canada and a different phone for overseas (or even use their GSM/CDMA
mongrel if you like). But you have to change phones in Japan.

With T-Mobile and Cingular you pretty much can use one phone except for
Japan and Korea, where you need to swap phones.

All the calls come to your same number.

--
Donald R. Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net

John Navas

2005-11-13, 5:48 pm

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.data - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <43776045_3@news1.prserv.net> on Sun, 13 Nov 2005 09:31:33 -0600, "Donald
Newcomb" <DRNewcomb@NOT.attglobal.net> wrote:

>"John Navas" < spamfilter0@navasgro
up.com> wrote in message
>news:xyIdf.92463$zb5.75102@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...

>
>Understood, but most of the global roaming solutions take care of this. Just
>not with a single device. So with Verizon, you have a phone for the US &
>Canada and a different phone for overseas (or even use their GSM/CDMA
>mongrel if you like). But you have to change phones in Japan.
>
>With T-Mobile and Cingular you pretty much can use one phone except for
>Japan and Korea, where you need to swap phones.
>
>All the calls come to your same number.

That can be made to work, but it's a PITA, and all too easy to get screwed up.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

SMS

2005-11-13, 5:48 pm

Donald Newcomb wrote:

> Actually, I hear (read about) this issue with exceutive travelers and their
> obsession with a "world phone" (single device) that works everywhere. Often
> the issue is that they can't accept the idea of being trained on using more
> than one phone. Strange. Do they complain about the toilets and light
> switches overseas too?

I agree.

I guess the appeal is that they don't have to deal with multiple devices
and keeping phone books up to date, though there are programs that will
work with almost any phone to sync up phonebooks. I see the appeal in
trying to simplify the number of devices.

I became resigned to multiple phones when I began travelling in Asia,
and wasn't willing to pay the outrageous roaming rates for CDMA in
Korea, or GSM elsewhere. In Korea I rent a phone, and in Taiwan I buy a
SIM for a spare 900/1800 phone I have. With call forwarding, it's easy,
if a bit of a hassle, to keep connected, and with ubiquitous wireless
throughout the world, I find that I'm making a lot less voice calls anyway.

Japan is still somewhat a pain, but becoming less so.

It is a hassle to be carrying multiple phones, chargers, and sync cables
with you as you travel from country to country.

SMS

2005-11-13, 5:48 pm

Donald Newcomb wrote:

> Understood, but most of the global roaming solutions take care of this. Just
> not with a single device. So with Verizon, you have a phone for the US &
> Canada and a different phone for overseas (or even use their GSM/CDMA
> mongrel if you like). But you have to change phones in Japan.
>
> With T-Mobile and Cingular you pretty much can use one phone except for
> Japan and Korea, where you need to swap phones.

In Korea, during World Cup Soccer a few years ago, there were CDMA
phones with a SIM card slot, so you could roam on CDMA with your same
number. IIRC, there were no U.S. carriers that this worked with, but
there were European carriers that it worked with. So at least you could
keep your phone book, if it was stored on the SIM and not in the phone,
and keep your number. I think that it was pretty costly.

Donald Newcomb

2005-11-13, 5:48 pm

"SMS" <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in message
news:43776f65$0$7580
7$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net...
> It is a hassle to be carrying multiple phones, chargers, and sync cables
> with you as you travel from country to country.

I've pretty well gotten down to two phones: a V550 and an A835. The charger
for the A835 also charges the V550 and they both use the same data cable
and, when I get to it, the same external antenna adapter. I'm not sure how
well the A835 will do in S. Korea, but it's been a few years and I'm not
scheduled to go back anytime soon.

--
Donald R. Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net

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