Moving back to the great satan: what kind of phone should I get?

[jdsmith]

JD,

I've never heard of a cable TV/cell phone package around here, though they may exist. But our cable provider has never advertised them as far as I know, and there is only one player in the cable TV market in Albany right now.

yeah, I've figured that out now. we're juicing up some old cellphones we have here, and I'll slap a simcard into one of them to see how it works.

As for a landline and internet at home, AT&T and Verizon both have a them for less than 40 bucks. That's cool with me.

Like I said last night, TracFone and Net10 both offer very cheap cells and PAYG, so I think I'm covered.

And apparently I'll be at YOUR house to watch the Yankees on YES.

[Dog's_Breakfast]

Tommy, GSM phones from Taiwan will work with AT&T and T-Mobile. There's absolutely no reason why one cannot bring one from Taiwan and get it to work.

It's not that simple. In the USA, GSM broadcasts at 850 and 1900 MHz, while in most of Asia (including Taiwan) it's 900 and 1800 MHz. An unlocked quad-band phone will cover the whole world, but a dual-band phone bought in Taiwan will not work in the USA (or vice-versa). The least expensive cell phones (like mine) are dual-band. There are tri-band phones (not so common these days), which are missing one of the lower bands (850 or 900 MHz). The lower bands are used primarily in rural areas, so a tri-band phone bought in Taiwan might work fine in a US city but not in the countryside. Anyway, you need a quad-band phone - anything less, and you will like encounter problems if you bring it from Taiwan to the USA.

Furthermore, some GSM cell phone companies in the USA require proprietary phones. In particular, Net10 and TracFone will NOT work with any other SIM-card GSM phone - you must use their phones. Doesn't matter if it's quad-band or not, they have burned some kind of key into the phone's memory chips that is needed to connect to their network. Fortunately, Net10 and Tracfone will sell you a pretty cheap phone along with the SIM card. As mabagal indicated, AT&T and T-Mobile SIM cards will work with any unlocked GSM phone, but again, quad-band only if you buy the phone in Taiwan.

[jdsmith]

Can I just ask a simple question here and get a simple answer?

I have an old cell phone, a Nokia, from Taiwan DGD. Can I take this back to NY and get a simcard and use it there PAYG?

I am getting lost in the conversation about hertz and GSM and things.

It would be better for me and other clueless people just to say "I brought X cell phone back to the States and did Y with it and it worked (or did not work)."



Thanks.

[TheGingerMan]

I doubt the phone would work. But I may be wrong, as it's all up to the degree of competition in the provider market in your particular neck of the throng.
I'm sure you will be able to score well with a small local provider.

And speaking of which, are you an internet junkie? When was the last time you went a week without it? Just curious, as I certainly enjoyed my last little jaunt back to the low tech world.

[jdsmith]

I'm sure you will be able to score well with a small local provider.

I know I can do that.

I want to know if I can do it another way.

And speaking of which, are you an internet junkie?

I find the net to be very useful. I work on my laptop and dl all the time so it looks like I'm always online.

[mabagal]

OK, here is your simplest answer if you just want a pay-as-you-go phone in the USA.

Go to Walmart. Get a "throwaway" cell phone with a pay-as-you-go setup.
http://www.walmart.com/browse/Cell-Phon ... =+&depts=E

You're welcome.

[jdsmith]

OK, here is your simplest answer if you just want a pay-as-you-go phone in the USA.

Go to Walmart. Get a "throwaway" cell phone with a pay-as-you-go setup.
http://www.walmart.com/browse/Cell-Phon ... =+&depts=E

You're welcome.

Outstanding.

I'll let you know how it goes when I attempt the simcard switcheroo.

[mabagal]

Stick to AT&T Go-Phone or T-Mobile pay as you go phones from Walmart, and if the swap doesn't work, you can always use the Walmart phone as your phone. They're fairly decent phones that are usually just a few years old.

You can also just buy a Go-Phone SIM card, but the Walmart phones are basically cheap (as in really close to free) insurance in case your current phone won't work.

Here's how to get a AT&T Go-Phone SIM to work in an iPhone, even including a dataplan if you want it.
http://osxdaily.com/2011/03/06/iphone-4-pay-go/

[Dog's_Breakfast]

Can I just ask a simple question here and get a simple answer?

I have an old cell phone, a Nokia, from Taiwan DGD. Can I take this back to NY and get a simcard and use it there PAYG?

I am getting lost in the conversation about hertz and GSM and things.

Tell me which model Nokia and I'll look it up for you. My best guess: no, you won't be able to use it.

But like others have said, Wal-Mart (and elsewhere) can sell you more-or-less disposable phones that are guaranteed to work. Your biggest problem will be navigating the many different companies and rates they offer. Hint: cheapest tend to be VirginMobile, T-Mobile, Net10/TracFone (same company, actually). Most expensive: AT&T and Verizon. If you can avoid signing up for a contract with the latter two, you'll be better off.

[jdsmith]

It's a Nokia 5200.

I think the whole thing is pretty much resolved. It's more about curiosity now.

Thanks for help though.