Hope I put this in the right area.
I will be traveling to the Czech Republic this July and am wanting to use my unlocked TMobile MDA (US) while there. I have looked at a couple of the carriers for plans that may fit my needs but I am not entirly sure I understand how exactly they work.
So here is what I am looking for. I will be there for 2 weeks. I am needing limited cell, mostly data. I am planning on using the data for VOIP built in to WM6 connected to my Asteriks server if possible. If I can't get that working I will be using the data as a modem to connect via soft phone. I was looking in to Pay AS You Go type services but with the terminology - tariffs? - I got a little confused. Now if data won't work for me obviously I will need more cell mins.
Can anyone help fill me in on what I might be looking for? I know of only 3 carriers for the country so am thinking my choices are limited - TMobile, O2 and Vodofone.
not sure about Czech Republic
but many places you can just buy a prepaid sim
with various amounts on in a convientstore or supermarket
and use it in any phone
Right, I have read up and understand that pre paid is the way to go, but does this normally include data service as well. And is there a service more reliable than the other. Just because I use TMobile in the US doesn't mean I will have the same luck with them out there so I will go with whoever seems to have the best service\price.
I used my UK tmobile pay as you go for data in Switzerland and France last february. It worked fine and wasn't all that expensive as far as I remember. I just collected andsent email a couple of times a day though and I used about £10 in a week.
Yes, all 3 Czech carriers (TMobile, O2, Vodofone) sell prepaid SIM cards, and I think that all of them support data/internet services (at least GPRS/EDGE). Vodafone's prices are 0,68 CZK/kB for WAP and 0,060 CZK/kB for generic internet (which is what you are interested in, I guess), other carriers' prices are probably very similar.
With O2 there is prepaid data nonstop tarif, it supports also 3G. Just go to one of O2 shops, some of them may speak english
I second the o2 suggestion. I recently took the train to Praha CR and my 02 dervice did not let me down. Problem sometimes with prepaid is they want to see documents...like residency requirements..at least here in Germany. I would get a calling card and call ahead...things like that can throw everything off.
no problem to buy prepaid card anywhere, no documents needed. you can buy it on most petrol stations, post offices - everywhere. I will give you further info about pricing as soon as i recieve it...
nocturne lives in Czech Republic so I would avoid going there.
So, i made some search about current situation.
t-mobile is the best fitting solution for you.
They offer prepaid sim card called "Twist Internet" - for 850CZK (about 35USD), you can use unlimited data connection (GPRS, EDGE or G4)
this card can be bought in every t-mobile shop, there are many of these shops in all cities larger than 10000 habitants - so it's almost everywhere.
you need no papers to buy this card, if yu will not spend another 850CZK, it simply will not work after a month, no more payments necessary.
Calling pricing is hard to choose. It depends on how much will you call and where. Try to specify it better...
If you have more questions, feel free to contact me...
vlodeck: shut up you polish freak
nocturne: ukrainian to be more exact
Related
Hey everyone. I am considering buying the Cingular 8125, which is also the Wizard i guess, and unlocking it to use with my AT&T plan. I dont want to change plans because i have an awesome plan, etc.
My question is, what will i be able to, and not be able to use on this phone using that old network? I suppose the data features will be useless because im not on cingulars network?
What do you guys think?
Thanks!
you will be able to use is unlocked but realize that cingulars tower coverage is better then atts, ..they purposley lower the coverage capacity of att devices so that u see a difference on cingular. And the data plans for att are now none existant . So beware.
are you currently doing this?
I just got a reply from someone who is using the mmode also.
i currently have no data on my cell plan, shoot....
can i ask where you got your phone? i am about to pay 450.00 for a non-contract 8125 tomorrow.
i'm posting this from an unlocked 8125 on a cingular blue (old AT&T) plan and I absolutely love it. I see no slowdown where i'm at compared to the cingular sim chips. on dslreports.com/mspeed I average between 125 and 155 kbs.
if you still can hurry and add unlimited mmode for $25 a month before they completely freeze the at&t accounts so that any change/add would warrant a migration.
once you do, get your 8125, carrier unlock it, cid unlock it, flash with button's cooked rom, flash with radio rom 1.13, customize your extended rom to the way you want (no need to use the cingular extended rom, its just bloatware because your on at&t's settings.
to get edge working just set your connections to connect to "my work network" on both settings, then go into my work network and add a connection "cellular (gprs)",name it at&t edge (or whatever you want. now the important part is that you have to set the apn as "proxy" without the quotes. then set this connection connects to the internet under the proxy setting.
leave username and password blank and domain blank. that should do it, then connect to internet explorer and you should be surfing on edge. good luck.
I paid full retail also, $490 after tax, and it was worth every penny. I could have got it for $250 if I migrated and used my FAN buisness account, but my blue plan is sooo much better. good luck.
cingular is pretty much refusing to sell one of these to me! The local store is out of them, and told me to call cingular to try to get one, and they wont let me have it without signing a contract. now what?
KINetics, i sent you a PM about details about how you did each of those steps. Are there writeups anywhere? Any additional help would be great. Thanks.
danrw84 said:
cingular is pretty much refusing to sell one of these to me! The local store is out of them, and told me to call cingular to try to get one, and they wont let me have it without signing a contract. now what?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should be able to order off line for full retail price of $449 without the contract. Thats where I got mine but had to pay full retail as I had just upgraded my phone with the Cingular 2125. I had 30 days to return the 2125, which I did, so they should credit my account soon with the price difference once it posts. I dont see why you cant just flat out buy it for retail tho. Just my 2c.
i'd love to do that but i cannot find any option online to buy the phone without a contract. how did you do it? I go to cingular.com and I try but cant get it to the card without a plan. I am on the old AT&T so if i try to Upgrade my device, it says i cant, i need to call because i need new plan?
suggestions?. thanks
danrw84: If you go to www.imatephonestore.com you can buy an unlocked phone there. I am using a JasJar with my AT&T SIM. No problems at all. You will have to pay full retail and get a Imate K-Jam which is the same as a Cingular 8125. The phone is $749 so i'm not sure you want to pay that much but it is completely unlocked and you can use with any GSM plan
They are based outside of Chicago so you can get next day service if you wish.
danrw84: If you go to www.imatephonestore.com you can buy an unlocked phone there. I am using a JasJar with my AT&T SIM. No problems at all. You will have to pay full retail and get a Imate K-Jam which is the same as a Cingular 8125. The phone is $749 so i'm not sure you want to pay that much but it is completely unlocked and you can use with any GSM plan
They are based outside of Chicago so you can get next day service if you wish.
749 is quite a bit! Ebay has much better prices on the unlocks.
I got the phone thru cingular today for 314.00 its supposed to arrive tomorrow.
i am going to try to do it myself.
as far as the post from KINetics, anyone know where to get ahold of those ROMS hes refering to?
I did exactly what you're looking to do. I have all the settings if you get a phone. I bought one, cancelled the contract and took the fee hit, then unlocked it, etc.
PM me if you need the settings or have any questions.
hi...
im a newbie to the Softbank X01HT, and to be sure would like to ask a few questions before purchasing one...
when people say 'unlock SIM,' it would just allow the X01HT to work with any carrier's card, right? which means that if in another country, i take out Softbank's U-SIM card, and replaced it a local card; then it should theoretically work?
i know that the MAX for the 'Teigaku' for the X01HT approaches 10,000 yen - but does this limit still hold if we use third-party apps, ie., Opera Mobile, Skype, etc.?
when people say 'SIM Free,' i would understand that this is to make the X01HT work even without a SIM card inserted (as ive heard a lot of rumors that without the U-SIM, it just becomes a brick). am i correct in this?
as a follow-up to previous question, if i do choose to make my Softbank X01HT 'SIM Free,' then i can use it just like any other PDA with Full functionality, ie., Bluetooth, WiFi, etc.?
thanks in advanced...!!!
Note: i apologize for asking things that may have been asked before... 'did try searching through the forums, but couldnt find a clear answer to some of my inquiries...
alfred_jp said:
....
when people say 'unlock SIM,' it would just allow the X01HT to work with any carrier's card, right? which means that if in another country, i take out Softbank's U-SIM card, and replaced it a local card; then it should theoretically work?
....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i found my answer to this in this post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=1043066&postcount=96
...
if some can help me in my other questions - it is much appreciated...
thanks!!!
alfred_jp said:
hi...
im a newbie to the Softbank X01HT, and to be sure would like to ask a few questions before purchasing one...
i know that the MAX for the 'Teigaku' for the X01HT approaches 10,000 yen - but does this limit still hold if we use third-party apps, ie., Opera Mobile, Skype, etc.?
when people say 'SIM Free,' i would understand that this is to make the X01HT work even without a SIM card inserted (as ive heard a lot of rumors that without the U-SIM, it just becomes a brick). am i correct in this?
as a follow-up to previous question, if i do choose to make my Softbank X01HT 'SIM Free,' then i can use it just like any other PDA with Full functionality, ie., Bluetooth, WiFi, etc.?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i was wondering if anyone can verify these or not?
thanks...
SIM free does not specifically mean it works without a SIM it means you can use your own SIM from your own network. i.e. it is already unlocked. In general this means it will be more expensive to purchase as it is not subsidised by a network provider.
In fact the Hermes does work without a SIM with all the functions that are not SIM dependent.
You will not get a cheaper device if you run third party software because all devices sold come with pre-installed MS operating System and a set of applications (like them or not)
Mike
Hi Alfred,
I will try and answer some of your questions
The X01ht will work fine as just a PDA without the sim installed
The unlimited access is a bit more tricky Opera will work for the unlimited access and i'm unsure about skype tho
Softbanks price plans are a confusing as hell and it does seem to matter what you use it for .
Also you know that the unlimited price of 5,900 yen is a offer and real price is about 9,800
Really if you just want a internet browser/PDA/Skype/Email and not a Phone I would say that you get a Sharp EM one ( if you live in the Tokyo) it's 39,000 with a 2 year contract and a flat rate of 6,000 for unlimited access
it's what i have done ..
Rob
hi rob,
thanks for the reply...
actually im looking for an "all-in-one" type of thing, so the eMobile wont work (voice services are said to begin in 2008/3). also, once you leave tokyo - no more signal...
willcom's WS004SH/WS007SH wont work either since there is no international roaming. also the fact that PHS signals are very weak outside tokyo.
id rather have an AU - unfortunately, no PDA-type devices; so i guess im left with Softbank.
as for the motivation for my post - my only need is that i can use this device when i go abroad and being able to use the locally available SIM cards (so i dont have to pay expensive roaming charges)... im not so privy with experimenting with various ROMs, etc.
but what im worried is that compared to eMobile and Willcom, Softbank's browsing rates are very expensive...
Tokyorob said:
Hi Alfred,
Really if you just want a internet browser/PDA/Skype/Email and not a Phone I would say that you get a Sharp EM one ( if you live in the Tokyo) it's 39,000 with a 2 year contract and a flat rate of 6,000 for unlimited access
it's what i have done ..
Rob
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you actually have a Sharp EM one and are using it?
I ordered one and will have it next week. Anything to do or advice? I don't currently have a data plan and don't plan on getting one.
I'm using my Jade with T-Mobile USA. I have no data plan, just a prepaid card. I don't call that much so this was the cheapest way for me. Most of my calls are made from my home land line or from work. Jade helps anywhere between, on the soccer field and on the beach. You can buy 1000 minutes for $100 and you have full year to use it. Not bad. I have no problems with coverage. It is similar to T-Mobile I used in Europe, but it is much cheaper here. I paid $0.50 per minute there.
I have a Fave 5 plan and will be trying to install a cab. file to have the Fave 5 stuff on my phone. I can get to some wap sites on my Samsung Behold t919. I hope that I can get to those sites on the Jade like I can now without the WIFI. Do you ever use the internet without the WIFI?
Got UMA?
Anybody in America using T-Mobile UMA service successfuly? I bought the phone from Ebay from someone in Australia, so i never had UMA software installed like the ones from Orange UK. I thought about flashing Orange software thinking it should get UMA access using my T-Mobile SIM.
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rupert3 said:
Anybody in America using T-Mobile UMA service successfuly? I bought the phone from Ebay from someone in Australia, so i never had UMA software installed like the ones from Orange UK. I thought about flashing Orange software thinking it should get UMA access using my T-Mobile SIM.
Edit/Delete Message
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know what UMA service is.
UMA info
UMA lets you talk over a wifi connection and automatically switch between wifi and GSM towers.
The benefit is apparent to anyone who gets terrible reception in an office building. If the building has public wifi (or it's your building and you have the network password). you get fully digital voice and data service even if you have no cell reception.
T-Mobile has many Blackberrys that have this feature along with a few other phones. The only device with WM6.1 and UMA I've found is the Jade. However since the Jade was never sold by T-Mobile, they don't have software for it. The only software that seems to support it is the unique software from Orange.
My goal is to skip the Orange branding crap, and get the benefits of UMA. I work in an office building as described, and I need WM6.1 or better for work software.
http://w ww.umatechnology.org/overview/
Hopefully somebody with a big brain can help me figure this out. I've been somewhat sucessfull at flashing roms on my jade, but I'm not sure I'm ready to cook one from scratch.
Thanks for any help,
-Rick
So, Im off on holiday in a couple weeks and after hearing a few horror stories of supprise roaming charges i'd just like to know a few steps to take so not to get hit by a massive bill when i get back.
Im in the UK and will be traveling to greece, Im on Vodafone UK.
Thanks in advance..
Also whats the deal with sending SMS's abroad? It will only be to my friends who im on holiday with, so its not going to be from greece to UK, just within greece, albeit to diferent networks.
again, thanks.
x
Off the top of my head...
djchubbs said:
So, Im off on holiday in a couple weeks and after hearing a few horror stories of supprise roaming charges i'd just like to know a few steps to take so not to get hit by a massive bill when i get back.
Im in the UK and will be traveling to greece, Im on Vodafone UK.
Thanks in advance..
Also whats the deal with sending SMS's abroad? It will only be to my friends who im on holiday with, so its not going to be from greece to UK, just within greece, albeit to diferent networks.
again, thanks.
x
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Off the top of my head: -
Install 'NoData', which, whilst I haven't used it myself yet, is supposed to permanently turn off all selected data connections. You presumably need to use the app to renable them when you get back.
Make sure you've not checked any of the roaming options on data-using tabs/apps, i.e. Twitter, Facebook, weather, etc.
Set your email to 'Update manually', and then don't update
Not sure on SMSs, but if you're sending from UK VF to another UK network, you'll pay whatever your tariff has in place for sending/receiving roaming SMSs. Not sure if you can get it, but I recall something along the lines of 'Vodafone Passport', where you can elect to use it and pay one off connection fees then use your inclusive minutes for all calls. Not sure if it covers SMSs as well in some form though. See http://online.vodafone.co.uk/dispatch/Portal/appmanager/vodafone/wrp?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=templateBlank&pageID=OS_0100
My top tip.........
DONT use Google Maps.......
I managed to add 40 quid to my bill over a weekend just using that and the facebook app
Wont be doing that again lol
Since you have Energy ROM, all the good advices from post #2 you can accomplish just by using Data Controller (located: Start - Internet - Data controller), which is cooked in in Energy ROM. Prior to leaving UK, just disable all the connections that are shown in Data Controller. That also includes MMS connections (Note that you will not be able to sen/receive MMS).
Once you are back in UK, just enable all the connections in Data Controller.
thanks very much for the help guys.
xx
or,you can just search for "no data in roaming", a small util which will automatically disable all data connection when it will find that you're out of your original network.
Tested while driving from UK to Poland, with both: O2 UK (way: UK->France-> Holland-> Germany-> Poland) & Polish Orange (opposite direction) SIM cards.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=503131
I used NoData - it stops telephone network data connections, which means you can still use WiFi.
If you are sending an SMS to a mate on holiday with you, then you will be charged a roaming SMS charge (which may be about 40p). Your mate will no get charged for receiving the SMS (and visa versa). What actually happens is the SMS is sent back to the UK, passed onto your mate's number and transfered back to him in Greece.
It is similar for phone calls between you. The caller will be charged at European roaming rate and the receiver will also be charged at European receiving roaming rates.
no need to use any external cabs like nodata.
Nothing simpler than manila settings>wireless settings>menu>connection>advanced>select networks and then make sure that all entries in there read "office network", that is, it will efficiently make the phone unable to use any carrier internet connection
Disable VoiceMail. You get charged for the call to your phone and for the diversion to your mailbox.
I avoid data charges by turning off roaming in each built-in application. Third party programs might still use data so the advice above is good.
To avoid silly bills, I use a PAYG SIM. I can't spend more than I have on the SIM. Topping up isn't always possible abroad. I can buy data from T-mobile from £1 for 3Mb. Calls and SMS cost extra even with add-ons because they originate abroad. Note that MMS are sometimes cheaper than SMS, especially if you have a lot to say eg. Switzerland: SMS £0.40, MMS £0.20 on my tarrif.
Seconding the Data Controller option. I used this on a recent trip overseas, and it kept my data connections killed. I was still able to use the phone over wifi, without any problems.
Hello, I am travelling to Europe next week (London, Paris and Amsterdam) and I would like to use my Focus while I am there. From what I have found I have two options:
1. Pay at&t's overpriced international plans.
2. Unlock my phone thru FastGSM and purchase a SIM card when I get to Europe.
The first option is simple, so my question is with the second. I would like to be able to get email and use apps that require data while traveling. Can anyone please assist me in what kind of SIM card I will need when I arrive in London to get data on my phone and maybe what I should expect to pay?
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers!
Not sure if they have the same thing in Britain, but I just researched some info for my friend travelling to Italy. There you can buy a SIM Card, and even Internet Key for laptop data use (surf internet and retrieve email). Both run on number of hours or months depending on the package. Charging up the SIM card or internet key can be done by calling a certain phonenumber and then charge up the account using Visa or Master Card. Essentially it avoids long term contracts and it`s still surprisingly cheap. I beleive the Internet Key was about Euro 90 and then another Euro 20 for 100 hours. I think that translates into about $160 USD or CAD $. Not sure what the costs were for the SIM Card, but I recall it was fairly cheap again considering no long term contract needed. website was http://www.tim.it/consumer/homepage.do
I know it`s not British pricing and plan but it gives you something to guage costs against. I also understand Wind and Vodafone have similar deals (no long term contracts and pay via Master Card to charge account).