Related
Hi Guys,
Going to the US for a few weeks, just wondering if I can get a prepaid simcard to work with my HD2 and if so what company would support it. I'm guessing mobile internet is out of the question, but as long as I could make voice calls i'd be happy.
Zhuk86
There are probably several prepaid solutions over there too. Who has the best coverage (and price) where you are going I don't know, but you will most likely be able to use EDGE for data.
that sounds great, i'll be in LA and NY mostly, so i'll definitely search around for EDGE providers there
You choices are basically T-Mobile or AT&T (there are some MVNO's running on those networks but I wouldn't bother with them).
T-Mobile don't' do Data on Prepaid, except for the Sidekick. AT&T do data either $0.01 per KB or there are bundles: 100MB for $19.99 or 1MB for $4.99. You will only get EDGE with the HD2 in the USA.
You need to check coverage for wherever you're planning on going for both networks.
There are loads of free WiFi hotspots. I would use them for data connections.
fred_up said:
There are loads of free WiFi hotspots. I would use them for data connections.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i am also going to the USA for a few weeks , i have this question as well . i'll be in the west coast of the USA
free wifi shouldnt be a problem , i would guess , but who knows !?=
but i would also like to know who has the best coverage and data . email , calls and the rest .
i have heard thru cnet and many many people thathave AT&T in the USA say they are just trash , is this true ?
thanks
Well maybe i'll just get a prepaid sim for calls and then use wifi hotspots for data, i've heard that wifi hotspots are pretty prolific in US cities so definitely worth checking out I guess
I would go with an AT&T pre paid SIM card. Look on ebay, here's an example: http://cgi.ebay.com/New-3G-AT-T-64k-Orange-Sim-Card-Chip-Prepaid-or-Regular_W0QQitemZ300397838597QQcmdZViewItemQQptZSIM_Cards?hash=item45f11b4105
Once you get that card go to: https://www.wireless.att.com/activations/ and choose the option for Pay-As-You-Go Under "Go Phone" and follow the instructions.
Hello,
I live in Germany and I'm going on holidays to the USA (California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona) for one month (august to september).
As I can't live without internet I thought of getting some kind of prepaid SIM-card over there with a data plan.
Now I don't have any clue which provider I should chose, where and how to get a prepaid SIM, which offer etc.
What would you recommend me?
I heard that the coverage isn't that good in the US and as I'm planning to go to some outlying places too, I'm aware that I won't have reception all the time. But that's okay.
I just need a SIM to do some calls and to write a few mails or check Facebook from time to time – I guess it'll be around 200mbyte and 1 hour calls for this month.
As I have a European phone (NexusOne) I need a GSM network of course.
Best regards and thanks for your help in advance,
lauslein
If u go to Indonesia, a lot of prepaid GSM & CDMA cards could be chosen here
Interested too, will be going to Arizona next summer.
Basically, I only need data and maybe a bit of texting.
seeing that u have a nexus one,,,which bands does it support? the tmobile or just europe? i suggest tmobile if u want 3g but they dont have data plans
at&t does but no 3g i'm sure
its 20$ on at&t for 100mb of data and 20$ for unlimited texting(sms) even to germany i think
Thanks for your reply!
Diamond_dawg said:
seeing that u have a nexus one,,,which bands does it support? the tmobile or just europe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good question, I'll have to look this up. But I got it directly from Google (Device Seeding), so I guess it's some kind of an international version
20$ for 100MB sounds fair (even though I pay less for 1GB HSDPA at home) . The trip's going to be expensive anyway, so I'm willing to spend some money on that part, too
I travel extensively with my phones and my recent month long trip through Europe with my FOCUS brought to the forefront the at&t FOCUS' shortcoming. The fact that it is locked to the at&t network and at&t data and voice roaming rates are AWFUL! So my question to all of the experts on this site is this.
What is the best way to travel with the Samsung Focus, purchased through at&t?
I am willing to purchase a subsidy unlock. But even with an unlocked phone, is there a great international travel GSM commercially available.
I have a friend who has used this with their IPhone, however, it does not look as flexible as I would like for short notice travel. It does appear that it would work with a Focus, locked or otherwise.
http://www.iphonetrip.com/
What are your thoughts? How do I travel with my Focus? Data is my priority, but occasional voice access would be nice as well.
Unlock your Focus and buy a local prepaid SIM card. Prices vary a lot depending on which country you go. But it will be always cheaper than pay AT&T roaming fee.
Focus is not any different than any other phones. All US carrier phones are locked. The only thing with Focus is you have to purchase 3rd party unlock code.
I had a short trip to China recently. I bought a local SIM card for about $15 that comes with 100 SMS/MMS and 50MB of data per month as well as voice minutes PPU. After a week, I used up the 50MB of data and half dozen SMS but the card still has about $10 of value left. These prepaid card typically expire if you don't use it within 3 months.
Thanks Foxbat. That has always been my default option, obviously the only thing making the Focus more difficult is at&t's unwillingness to unlock the phone (They unlocked WM's no problem) requiring the third party unlock.
What I am looking for though is a solid data roaming provider, similar to the IPhone travel with cheap data rates no matter which country I am in.
I would be willing to pre purchase local SIM cards, however, I really cannot arrive in country and take the 45 minutes to go hit a local market or news kiosk and shop for SIM cards. (I have done this in the past). I often hit a half dozen countries on a trip and would like to use as few SIM cards as possible. Also, when traveling through some of these countries I need to not be locked into the one service provider of the SIM card. Tall order I know, but I am just wondering what options are out there.
Basically, I am polling this group of experts on a more 2011 solution to this problem instead of me defaulting to my tried and true 1997 Erickson GSM phone on PacBell solution.
I see. There is place in US you can rent a mifi device (personal wi-fi hotspot using cell data connection) with international data preloaded. You pay a fixed fee and can use as much data as possible within the paid period. I don't remember the name of the business but you can search for it. This way, you get the data conenction covered but still have to pay AT&T for voice roaming and you don't have to unlock your phone.
EDIT: here is the Engadget review of this service http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/01/xcom-global-international-mifi-data-rental-service-review/
Paolo01 said:
I travel extensively with my phones and my recent month long trip through Europe with my FOCUS brought to the forefront the at&t FOCUS' shortcoming. The fact that it is locked to the at&t network and at&t data and voice roaming rates are AWFUL! So my question to all of the experts on this site is this.
What is the best way to travel with the Samsung Focus, purchased through at&t?
I am willing to purchase a subsidy unlock. But even with an unlocked phone, is there a great international travel GSM commercially available.
I have a friend who has used this with their IPhone, however, it does not look as flexible as I would like for short notice travel. It does appear that it would work with a Focus, locked or otherwise.
http://www.iphonetrip.com/
What are your thoughts? How do I travel with my Focus? Data is my priority, but occasional voice access would be nice as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've traveled through Europe a few times, and would recommend Vodafone as your GSM provider in Europe provided you have your phone unlocked.
I used Vodafone SIM bought in Germany in most of the Eastern Europe.
Good luck.
Hi,
I will be traveling to Greece (Paros, Naxos, Santorini) and Berlin next month.
I already have a SIM unlocked Motorola Milestone. I want to purchase a European SIM.
1) Can I expect to use the same SIM card and plan when both in Germany and Greece? Or am I better off just getting 2 different ones?
2) What are good companies and plans? I don't really need voice... but I expect to use a lot of data for Internet access and hoepfully tethering. I found out about
WIND Paygo in a different thread, but no details on what to expect price-wise.
Anybody (either local to these countries or a fellow traveler) have any experience with this?
Thanks
Caz666 said:
1) Can I expect to use the same SIM card and plan when both in Germany and Greece? Or am I better off just getting 2 different ones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should get a separate SIM card for each of the countries... they are two different countries after all, and carriers will charge you higher roaming fees if you want to use their SIM card in a different country. The EU did regulate a maximum for roaming fees just recently, but you'll still be better off getting a new SIM card there.
2) What are good companies and plans? I don't really need voice... but I expect to use a lot of data for Internet access and hoepfully tethering. I found out about
WIND Paygo in a different thread, but no details on what to expect price-wise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For Germany, I'd go with a prepaid data flatrate plan, e.g. http://www.simyo.de/tarif/flat-internet.html (€15/mo up to 3GB @HSDPA/7.2 Mbit, after that GPRS), or e.g. http://www.klarmobil.de/tarife/datentarife/Internet_Flat_5000/index.html (€20/mo for up to 5GB HSDPA speed, after that GPRS). These are just two examples for pure data flats (since you said you didn't need voice).
I think you can get these types of discount carriers at gas stations and supermarkets. There are a lot to choose from; just make sure it's a prepaid data flat. The major carriers like T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2 (that have their own POS stores) are usually more expensive for prepaid as they focus more on 2y contracts.
No idea about Greece... maybe someone else can help you out there.
Hope this helps.
bobblack said:
You should get a separate SIM card for each of the countries... they are two different countries after all, and carriers will charge you higher roaming fees if you want to use their SIM card in a different country. The EU did regulate a maximum for roaming fees just recently, but you'll still be better off getting a new SIM card there.
For Germany, I'd go with a prepaid data flatrate plan, e.g. http://www.simyo.de/tarif/flat-internet.html (€15/mo up to 3GB @HSDPA/7.2 Mbit, after that GPRS), or e.g. http://www.klarmobil.de/tarife/datentarife/Internet_Flat_5000/index.html (€20/mo for up to 5GB HSDPA speed, after that GPRS). These are just two examples for pure data flats (since you said you didn't need voice).
I think you can get these types of discount carriers at gas stations and supermarkets. There are a lot to choose from; just make sure it's a prepaid data flat. The major carriers like T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2 (that have their own POS stores) are usually more expensive for prepaid as they focus more on 2y contracts.
No idea about Greece... maybe someone else can help you out there.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This REALLY helps, at least for my week in Berlin. Thank you very much.
For Greece, I would advise you to choose COSMOTE Internet On The Go Prepaid. You may find more information on their website:
http://cosmote.gr/cosmoportal/page/...p/section/Internet_E-mailwithLaptop/loc/en_US
You are better off buying two seperate SIM-cards (one for each country), as cheaper data-roaming options typically are only available with contracts.
In regards to tethering, this shouldn't pose a problem - european providers typically don't police a "one-device-policy", especially not with internet-on-the-go-type products.
An alternative to COSMOTE is Vodafone KartoInternet, but their prepaid plans are a bit more expensive and COSMOTE is said to have better coverage in general: http://www.vodafone.gr/portal/client/cms/viewCmsPage.action?pageId=8638&request_locale=en
Both sell SIM-only starter packs which include their sell-value (EUR 20) as prepaid-balance for internet use.
PartyMango said:
For Greece, I would advise you to choose COSMOTE Internet On The Go Prepaid. You may find more information on their website:
http://cosmote.gr/cosmoportal/page/...p/section/Internet_E-mailwithLaptop/loc/en_US
You are better off buying two seperate SIM-cards (one for each country), as cheaper data-roaming options typically are only available with contracts.
In regards to tethering, this shouldn't pose a problem - european providers typically don't police a "one-device-policy", especially not with internet-on-the-go-type products.
An alternative to COSMOTE is Vodafone KartoInternet, but their prepaid plans are a bit more expensive and COSMOTE is said to have better coverage in general: http://www.vodafone.gr/portal/client/cms/viewCmsPage.action?pageId=8638&request_locale=en
Both sell SIM-only starter packs which include their sell-value (EUR 20) as prepaid-balance for internet use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tip. I looked both web sites and they are what I am looking for. The prices seem similar enough for my purposes...MUCH better than roaming
I do have a follow-up question:
Both companies have DAY PACKS for 1Euro per day that includes something like "unlimited data" but is throttled after a specific amount of data is consumed. Does anybody know the specific of the the Thottling? I don't mind a bit of a slowdown...but how crippling are we talking about? Are they booting me down to 2G speeds?
I couldn't find any details on either web site about the specifics.
Just an update after my trip. Germany was a problem as a lot of the prepaid carriers don't have English customer service. I bought 2 different SIM cards and could not get them activated. I didn't have much time to mess around, but I was really disappointed.
Greece was good. As suggested in this thread, I went to a Cosmote store and got great service. I got a data only sim and an additional regular sim. They activated them for me with my passport. My only problem is that the data only sim ran out of cash and it is not possible to refill them from most outlets....I used the cash on the other sim, but the price per GB is not the same.
The moral of the storey for me: go to a carrier store directly and get as much as you need right away. Being in remote locations can make it hard to refill prepaid cards.
Sent from my A500 using xda premium
So I'm from Belgium, Europe but am going to study at Northwest Missouri State University from January till the end of April, but of course I need a mobile provider while I'm there, but since I know **** about the carriers in the USA, and well, websites of the carriers don't always mention everything, I'm just asking you guys, which mobile provider and/or plan should I take for those 5 months?
I don't care if it's prepaid or a contract or whatever, as long as it stops after 5 months.
I've got a HTC Sensation, so would like some data with that.
Thanks in advance for responding!
then ur only choices here in the USA is T-Mobile or At&t. If u like to pay more u can go to att and can get 3G data due to the tmobile us frequency is 1700 so you may only get EDGE speed. But with tmobile prepaid cost $50 a month for unlimited talk text and data (i believe 2GB).
your not going to be able to get contact cuz u need a SS# and credit.
t-mobile is great since its parent company its t-mobile deucthe telcom
Sprint, never had a problem
A: Verizon
Sent from my Dinc2
He needs a carrier that uses GSM. Verizon and Sprint are not the droid your looking for.
It doesn't matter if it uses gsm or wcdma i bought my sensation on ebay from usa, it was branded and stuff, so i think it would work with any provider in usa.
You won't actually be able to use Verizon or Sprint with the Sensation because CDMA technology requires completely different radios. To be able to use either standard, your phone would have to be a (what CDMA providers in America call) "world phone", like the iPhone 4S or the Motorola Photon.
Since you already have a phone, you could do either a T-Mobile value plan or a Simple Mobile unlimited plan. Both run on T-Mobile's network, so the coverage should be exactly the same. T-Mobile isn't the absolute best carrier, so I'd check coverage in the area that you'll be spending the most time in. However, T-Mobile's 4G and 3G speeds are pretty good, and better than AT&T (the only major GSM alternative) in most places. I have no idea how (or even if they offer them) AT&T's SIM card-only plans work.
Thanks, I search some more and found this page:
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans
So the unlimited web & text with 100 minutes talk $30 plan would be perfect?
Even though I feel they are the better carrier, AT&T likely wouldn't be a viable option as their prepaid plans do not support smartphone as well as the others.
Postpaid could be an option, but they would likely want a cash deposit since you lack a social and credit history.
yes but NOTICE AFTER 2G tmo slows your data but ur school must have wifi networks built in so that wouldn't really be a problem and u can enable wifi calling at the store (free calls) or use google voice to call
xtrem88 said:
yes but NOTICE AFTER 2G tmo slows your data but ur school must have wifi networks built in so that wouldn't really be a problem and u can enable wifi calling at the store (free calls) or use google voice to call
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WiFi calling still uses plan minutes.
I'll probably call with skype, so that isn't a problem, I've also noticed on the tmo site that tmo has a fast mobile connection at northwest missouri state university, is this 3g?
Its 4g 21 or 42 mbps
Sent from my SGH-T839 using XDA App