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Hi! I use an XDA with Orange SIM in the UK which used to roam on GPRS well, using Movistar, when I am in Spain. Since the new UK upgrade was added a couple of weeks ago in will no longer log on to GPRS in Spain but works fine in the UK. Anyone else had this problem, any ideas? Thanks.
I used my XDA in Gran Canaria with GPRS on Movistar last week. It worked like a dream with an 02 card in it. Put an Orange sim in and it wouldn't work at all!
imordey said:
I used my XDA in Gran Canaria with GPRS on Movistar last week. It worked like a dream with an 02 card in it. Put an Orange sim in and it wouldn't work at all!
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Did you check the roaming rates for GPRS? I would not want to be around you in the couple of weeks after you receive your next phone bill.
I used my XDA in Gran Canaria with GPRS on Movistar last week. It worked like a dream with an 02 card in it. Put an Orange sim in and it wouldn't work at all!
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Exactly the same with me when trying to use with Orange . No I have not received horrific bills from O2 either and I used it for days in Spain over the last threee months on GPRS - sounds a bit like a scare story to me!!
A state license to sell a MB for GBP 21.15 (30 Euro)
According to this, O2-UK's GPRS roaming rates are either 7.05 or 21.15 Pounds per MB (!), depending on the provider. And according to the list, Telefonica/MOVISTAR is in the 21.15 UK Pounds per MB category.
Either you'll be lucky because the billing is still a mess (wouldn't surprise me), or you have been screwed. I still remember the time I brought a tri-band phone to the US, and came home to find the roaming rates were USD 6 per minute for calls within the US, and something like USD 10 per minute for international.
Rule 1 for GPRS roaming: do not use it until the prices come down. Linking up through a regular GSM data-call can be an order of magnitude cheaper, especially if your ISP has a dialin number in the country you're in.
Is it me or does anyone agree that GPRS costs are way too high?
Lets face it, using a dial-up modem on a land line is a damn site cheaper, and in these days of broadband, the charges should be 10megs for 50p, not £5-£10!
And that goes for normal use, not just roaming!
Hi,
I have a US model XDA and will be traveling to the UK. My wife has a Virgin Mobile account which I think uses the Orange network, but I believe they are on the 1800 band.
O2 uses 900mhz, but I noticed that only 1 meg of gprs is free then it's 2.35 a meg. My last US tmobile bill showed my use at 0ver 100 meg. (I can't believe it's that much, but . . .)
Any suggestions on Pay and Go sims with GPRS?
Is it possible to get one in the US so I don't have to pick it up when I get there.
Thanks in advance for any help. This group has been very helpful.
UK SIM CARDS
You can buy a UK Pay as you go from between $10 to $30 O2 the main UK net for the XDAII's are doing 300 text (or 75 MMS) a month for a tenner ($18) so hard to beat (sure some one knows different).
Hey guys.
I'm just about up for an upgrade with O2 from my XDAs (which I adore, even though I use like 10% of its capabilities!!) but the problem is that I'm living in the US now. So, I really want the Exec, as it'll save me lugging a laptop about, but am worried that it'll get uber expensive to run here, due to crazy roaming costs.
I'm thinking about changing my tarrif over to a "Data Only" with 5mb per month, at some 8 Pounds a month, but am I right in saying that as soon as I log on to GPRS in the US that I'll be charged "Roaming" fees and that my 5mb will go untouched? If so, is there anyway to get around this, as I like the look and the functionality of the Exec, but don't really have a desire to fork out $1000 for one! Are there going to be any compatability issues in using a UK handset as a main device in the US? Are O2 going to let me swop from my 200 Minutes plan to an Online plan that costs just 8 Pounds? Are there any requirements to being a "Business User"? I've Emailed O2, but to say that they were unhelpful is a huge understatement and then some!!
Lastly: can I play Java games on it/my XDA? Whenever I go to an onlione store with Java games, all of the handsets I see are Motorola and Nokia, etc, and never an XDA. I'm asuming that it must be able to play them, but does anyone have any comments or tips on the process? Thanks guys.
Why dont you just use a sim card from the US depending on where you go you can just buy a sim card if your phone is unlocked hope that help
Hmm. Okay, I think that that would make sense (tbh, I hadn't thought of that!). Okay, is the Exec unlockable? If so, how does one go about it? IE: is it an easy process?
The Exec should already be unlocked: http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=30330
yes all execs are unlocked. I have a spare one if you are willing to buy.
Hi GadgetGirl: thanks for the tip and link. I'll check it out.
Zillocx: thanks man, but I already have a line on one. Thanks for the offer though.
Teflon,
be sure to consider a T-Mobile USA SIM since T-Mobile uses GSM 1900 only which is the only US band that the Exec supports. Cingular uses GSM 850/1900 in most major US markets so you'd experience inconsistent since the Exec doesn't have GSM 850. T-Mobile USA is also the best US GSM network to use for data. They have unlimited data plans if you sign a contract with them. If I recall correctly, the unlimited plans run between $19.99 and $49.99 (Unlimited Internet Plan) per month.
http://www.t-mobile.com/services/webandinfo.asp (T-Zones Mobile Web Plan, $5.99/month)
http://www.t-mobile.com/plans/default.asp?tab=internet
I use a universal (Jasjar) and I live in the US, so I can tell you that it's definitely worthwhile I can also give you a bit of advice about a service provider...
Your two options for GSM providers are T-Mobile and Cingular. Like Triband said, T-Mobile only uses 1900MHz, so you know you'll get a signal as long as T-Mobile has coverage there. Cingular uses both 850MHz and 1900MHz, so you can run into some issues with Cingular. Generally, however, in the cities and more populated areas Cingular will have 1900MHz coverage while rural areas are more likely to be 850MHz only. Overall Cingular has better coverage then T-Mobile, but unfortunately there are no maps or anything available to consumers that show where they have 1900MHz coverage and where it is only 850MHz. I'm using Cingular with my Jasjar and I've had very few coverage problems.
Prepaid service in the US is considerably more than it would be with a contract, so if you're going to be in the US for a while, or you will be using your phone a lot you might not want to go prepaid (although I'm sure its much less than international roaming). Here Cingular has an advantage because they'll let you sign a month to month contract where you can cancel whenever you want. With T-Mobile you must sign a contract for a full year.
Please let me know if you have any other questions
Brett
Hi BrettS, where did you bought the Jasjar?
cktlcmd said:
Hi BrettS, where did you bought the Jasjar?
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I got mine from Expansys USA http://www.expansys-usa.com/
Brett
Hey guys,
Well, I just got married, so I'll be living in the US on a permanent basis. I'm towards the East Coast (New Haven, to be exact). My wife is American, and she's with Cingular, so that may be the way to go as calls between us would be free, from what she tells me. I'll do some detailed research into it, although further comments would be appreciated. I'll check out those links too. Now, if I can just get O2 to stop being such asses I'll be a happy man!!
BrettS said:
I got mine from Expansys USA http://www.expansys-usa.com/
Brett
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Do they have warranty on it or does I-mate honor the warranty no matter where you bought the unit? I saw that the I-mate Phone store has it too for 1200 USD. Why did you not bought it from them and opted for expansysUSA?
cktlcmd,
I have a Jasjar as well and I also got it from expansys. I use expansys because I purchased the previous two devices (XDA, I-mate PocketPC Phone ) from them. During my purchase of the Pocket PC phone, I original got the Qtek 2020 and I was not happy. They took it back and sent me the I-mate version without any issues. Overall all accessories and devices purchased from them have been a good experience. In all cases they did honor their 15 days policies if the product did not perform as expected.
Teflon, I am using Cingular and they seems to have the best coverage for GSM in the US. I am located in the East Coast.
Ok guys here is whats going on. I have been talking to Jacob and a few others on the board about cingular data plans with the 8125.
They had me on the dtcnulrn or something like that for 60 buckas a month. Also I had media net bundle on there for unlimited text messages! I was paying over 100 bucks a month for a normal bill.
Now jacob said to just use media max and cancle everything else because Cingular can't tell the difference between using a smart phone or using a phone that uses media net and that it was all just unlimited internet access.
So what are your thoughts and concerns about me doing this. I have tried to check my data usage since i switched but it tells me I cant get this data untill the next billing cycle on dec 10th. thanks for any input!
Jeb
its me! check over @ howardforums.com and go into the cingular section. there are tons of people posting what they do. between this forum and hofo i dont need any other mobile forum site!
It's not worth the $$$, Cingular and Tmo now has HSDPA speed and their charging way too much for even the slowest GPRS service. I wish the FCC would deregulate the data portion of GSM cell towers so other, cheaper companies would flood in and offer data only SIMS at more resonable prices.
Move to South Africa then, you might enjoy it here ! We pay R2.00/meg. When it comes to data connections i think sa is one of the most expensive countries.
Well I am on a Business plan with Telstra in Australia and if you go PAYG on the data side you are charged 50c per KB!!!!!!! Then on the $29 data pack I am on you only get 70mb of data for $29!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm going to spain on holiday for a couple weeks. (I know luxery )
But I do want internet when I'm there.
I want to buy a Huawei E160 USB-UMTS dongle.
And then I need a (UMTS) SIM card and an internet subscription.
Do you know company's who have prepaid cards?
I've searched, but only found old threads.
One thread of 2 years ago speeks about Movistar.es
That costed 21 euro for 4 weeks unlimited internet.
I'm also looking for that.
Is that still possible, or are there better alternatives?
Hope you can help me.
Thanx in advance!
hey! I'm from Barcelona (Spain) and have done some searching. It looks like the best option is buying a yoigo prepaid card. costs 3 euros every day you connect to the internet and you're allowed to download 100mb, then your speed is reduced to 64 kbps.
I was just looking for the same thing in the US, I'm going to cali in vacation and will be taking a nexus one to use it as gps, find hotels etc. do you know what options I have?
Just out of curiosity, where in spain are you going?
PS: here's a link http://www.yoigo.com/tarifas/internet_para_llevar.php
At&t used to for $20.00 a month.. untill the iphone came along and screwed everything up.
But i see that in europe you have to make a contract no matter if you want a phone from them or not.
In america, a plan and a contract are different things,
If you go to a cell phone company provider with your own phone, you do not need to sign a contract for 2 years to use thier service plans.
I am also going to spain (galicia) this summer, and i was going to call about that.
(And im sure you know, that At&t and T-mobile are the only GSM provider in the US)
TurboX2 said:
At&t used to for $20.00 a month.. untill the iphone came along and screwed everything up.
But i see that in europe you have to make a contract no matter if you want a phone from them or not.
In america, a plan and a contract are different things,
If you go to a cell phone company provider with your own phone, you do not need to sign a contract for 2 years to use thier service plans.
I am also going to spain (galicia) this summer, and i was going to call about that.
(And im sure you know, that At&t and T-mobile are the only GSM provider in the US)
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You don't need to make a contract in spain to get a prepaid card. Only thing you need to do is give them your ID for security purposes
josealb said:
You don't need to make a contract in spain to get a prepaid card. Only thing you need to do is give them your ID for security purposes
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that is right, it is not worth paying an 18 month contract if you are only staying here a couple of weeks, Personally I would recommend Vodafone cause they have better internet quelaity connection (at least in southern spain), and they offer prepaid sim cards and usb modems without a contract (although movistar, yoigo and orange offer them as well). The question would be, what part of spain are you traveling to and wich company has the better internet reception on that area... if you are traveling to rural areas, I would stick to the 2 major companies (Vodafone and Movistar). Hope it helps.
I'm going to Salou, about 150km south of Barcelona.
Thanx for your answers.
I hope yoigo has coverage over there.
And are there any other alternatives?
Hi,
I'm from Reus, a city near Salou (about 8km). The UMTS coverage in salou is good for all the service providers in spain.
My mobile ISP is Simyo with good prices, the only inconvenience is that don't have physical shops to buy prepaid modems/sim. My voice provider is Yoigo and they have good prices too.
My advice is that you go to a ThePhoneHouse shop, there are Vodafone, Orange and Yoigo, and they will tell you which solution was better.
You can find thephonehouse in tarragona (10km from salou) and Reus in
http://www.phonehouse.es/app/searchStore.do
Ok, I hope so that the coverage will be good.
And how are Vodafone and Orange? Are they more expensive and/or better?
ronh said:
Ok, I hope so that the coverage will be good.
And how are Vodafone and Orange? Are they more expensive and/or better?
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Vodafone will almost always give you the best coverage, at a higher price. Orange is cheaper and with a little les coverage, Simyo borrows the network from Orange so its coverage will be the same at best.
I didn't know Vodafone offered prepaid cards, if they do I'd recommend you vodafone
PS: Offtopic, Salou is cool, I've been there in vacation often but it's full of tourists, I would recommend you to move a little bit if you wanna see more of Spain than beaches, maybe driving up to Barcelona