Hi,
My daughter will be in South Korea for a year.
I would like to set her up with an HTC phone either the Touch Pro or Touch Diamond. I understand that either will support WCDMA or GSM.
Will there be any issues? Any suggestions on another phone or perhaps a good plan in S. Korea?
We expect to use skype on the phone. How is the open wifi availability?
I did SEARCH the forums and most hits were outdated. But, if you must, flame away!
Thanks and Regards,
Jim
jjttnn said:
Hi,
My daughter will be in South Korea for a year.
I would like to set her up with an HTC phone either the Touch Pro or Touch Diamond. I understand that either will support WCDMA or GSM.
Will there be any issues? Any suggestions on another phone or perhaps a good plan in S. Korea?
We expect to use skype on the phone. How is the open wifi availability?
I did SEARCH the forums and most hits were outdated. But, if you must, flame away!
Thanks and Regards,
Jim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome
As far as I know the limitations won´t be on the phone so look into the provider to choose a plan that cover overseas with a good deal!
Good luck,
as far as i know if phones work outside usa and some other american countries
it works in korea too
as in things which are likely to be incomaptible would be cdma (not wcdma because that seem to be what some people call umts/3g)
and 850Mhz gsm and 2100 umts
Last I heard (and I could be wrong or it could have changed since) was that Korea used CDMA networks with SIM Cards, yeah it sounded strange to me at the time also.
You need to confirm what Bands/network types are being used in Korea then you can find your answers...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone
it's not 100% clear but seem to state that korea have several systems
"There are three major technical standards for the current generation of mobile phones and networks, and two major standards for the next generation 3G phones and networks. All European and African countries and many Asian countries have adopted a single system, GSM, which is the only technology available on all continents and in most countries and covers over 74% of all subscribers on mobile networks. In many countries, such as the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, India,, South Korea, and Vietnam, GSM co-exists with other internationally adopted standards such as CDMA and TDMA, as well as national standards such as iDEN in the USA and PDC in Japan. Over the past five years several dozen mobile operators (carriers) have abandoned networks on TDMA and CDMA technologies, switching over to GSM."
Everyone, thanks for your input. We got a Kaiser and will be setting it up over the next few days. Should have some good information from her in a couple of weeks.
Searching/Looking for a good radio now.
Regards
jjttnn said:
Will there be any issues? Any suggestions on another phone or perhaps a good plan in S. Korea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I was in Seoul and Busan last year, my GSM quad-band phone did not get any signal. The hotels I stayed at provided their customers a cell phone to use for the stay, and mentioned that US phones -- GSM or CDMA -- would not work in Korea. I would call a provider and ask, just to be sure.
Thanks pavankp, you scared me to action. You are correct, turns out a 3g phone is needed, a quad-band is not enough. Found this at att: http://www.att.com/Common/merger/files/pdf/international_calling/International_Travel_Tips-FS.pdf
Excerpt: A GSM quad-band phone (that works on 850/900/1800/1900 MHz frequencies) provides the widest coverage internationally. Most AT&T phones in stores today are quad-band. For travel to Japan or South Korea, your phone must operate on 3G technology at 2100 MHz. Phones that will operate in Japan and South Korea include the BlackBerry Bold, iPhone 3G, BlackJack II, Sony Ericsson z750, HTC Fuze, LG Incite, Samsung Epix and AT&T Quickfire. ...
Regards.
I spent time in S Korea in the Army. Camp Casey. Sucked. LOL. But that was back in 2000 so I'm sure a lot has changed. But you couldn't get regular AT&T service there. The phones you buy there are a little different. I think the technology is better in my opinion. Back in 2000 the phones there already had colored screens! Granted that most of them was not in English so I really had no interest in playing around with one to see what was so special about it. Wish her luck for me though.
Related
Alright, I know this has probably been covered some where, and I know that this is a "world wide site", and I know this is all going to sound stupid given the answer is in my own post, but a question:
I am really liking the look of this phone, and I want to get one (when ever it comes out), but in Australia, our largest HSDPA network is Telstra NextG, which is 850 band. Looking at the specifications for the machine (this site had everything well laid out):
http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_touch_pro-2413.php
It states the European/Asian version will be HSDPA 900/2100. So I am going to guess that I can not use it on the Next G network with this version of the phone. Correct?
Also, the site states that the Americas (US) version is 850/1900.
So, I assume I have to get a phone from the US to use it on Telstra's Next G. Is this correct, or is there some other quirk that I do not know (like some CDMA difference or something)?
Thank you for homouring me
Correct, the NextG network will not work on this phone at present. Also correct, it will work on the US version. Here's the nice part though...
One of our members was nice enough to leak a version of the new AT&T ROM for the upcoming Raphael in the US, and since the hardware is all the same, HOPEFULLY flashing with that ROM will enable the 850mhz HSDPA band you and I both need. I'll be testing this on a Raphael when it releases in Europe, and I'll have a post up very quickly in this section letting people know how it went. If it works, you can buy any version and flash it (only takes 5 mins) for it to work in AUS.
Edit: Don't listen to GSMArena, HTC lists this phone as quad-band although they say it's tri-band.
Cheers and Beers
Black93300ZX said:
Correct, the NextG network will not work on this phone at present. Also correct, it will work on the US version. Here's the nice part though...
One of our members was nice enough to leak a version of the new AT&T ROM for the upcoming Raphael in the US, and since the hardware is all the same, HOPEFULLY flashing with that ROM will enable the 850mhz HSDPA band you and I both need. I'll be testing this on a Raphael when it releases in Europe, and I'll have a post up very quickly in this section letting people know how it went. If it works, you can buy any version and flash it (only takes 5 mins) for it to work in AUS.
Edit: Don't listen to GSMArena, HTC lists this phone as quad-band although they say it's tri-band.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The above sounds good. I really do not want to go down the road of a Telstra locked phone (not that Telstra will release this one). I await your tests with anticipation.
Cheers and beers
Yeah, well, I figure if it doesn't work (hoping it doesn't brick it) I'll just resell it for like $25 less and it's not much of a loss for trying.
I don't know much about Australian telephone networks, but I've always wanted to go there and see what it feels like to be upside down all the time.
TheBundo said:
I don't know much about Australian telephone networks, but I've always wanted to go there and see what it feels like to be upside down all the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, seems like one of the nicest vacation spots in the world. Can't wait to go there someday.
Here is a photo of the Australian system:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffwerner/278050267/
The Australian networks arent too bad. We have a choice of frequencies here. Telstra have the 850mhz 3G band and Optus and Vodafone are each expanding their exisiting 2100 3G network using 900mhz which will be launched over the next few months. The good thing about Raphael is that it will work on the 2100 and 900 3G bands and given that Telstra's voice and data plans are ridiculous many of those who want to use data on it wont care about the absence of 850...this is good news. However if the device can be flashed to work for everyone...even better.
As for the photo of the Australian networks that was a network similar to what I built in Sydney in the early 80's. A large carrier paid me a small fortune to decommision it as it was making them look bad!!
I'm also in Australia and plan to get this phone from one of the UK stores as I can't wait for 3 odd months for it to be released here. Now I'm sure there might be a few aussies here who have ordered from online stores outside Aus. What I wanna know is if I might have to pay any import duty on my purchase? If I buy from expansys uk, the unit will cost me roughly AU$920, but with bank fees and shipping charges, I would have paid $1010. I know that import duties are applicable if the cost of the unit is $1000. So does this count for me as well?
I just want to avoid paying more that I should.
However, I need Next G
Thanks all for your input on this. I was pretty sure that the phone would not work on the NExt G nextwork if I bought one (from say an internet dealer in Sydney or Melbourne), but as you can see from my "location", I need Next G. There is not 3G nextwork in the Top End except Telstra Next G (Or at least none that cover all of Darwin and its area adequately. Anyway I don't knock Telstra too much).
Further to that, I work away a lot and once again, Next G is OK (note I only said OK) for outside of major cities, and Telstra GSM is good for most rural townships also.
Anyway, I suppose my upgrade will be to a TyTN II to replace my old phone, at least it has the 850 band that I need for Next G.
Cheers and beers
Black93300ZX said:
Edit: Don't listen to GSMArena, HTC lists this phone as quad-band although they say it's tri-band.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not entirely true...see this post
merten3000 said:
Not entirely true...see this post
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Diamonds were listed as Tri-Band too, but now every Diamond is quad-band since they came out with the newer ROM. Same with the Touch Pro, some ROMs (apparently that nation's) don't support quad-band, but in time (or with a quick reflash) they will.
Black93300ZX said:
The Diamonds were listed as Tri-Band too, but now every Diamond is quad-band since they came out with the newer ROM. Same with the Touch Pro, some ROMs (apparently that nation's) don't support quad-band, but in time (or with a quick reflash) they will.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thnx finally some clarification...
But still strange that our countries HTC would not enable that bandwith. They state it's a business phone. But business often means travelling arround the globe. Quadband would then be preffered above tri-band....
But black you know for sure the bandwith can be activated by just software? Some people say you need a different antenna. (I'm a noob in that area...).
Thnx anyway!
merten3000 said:
Thnx finally some clarification...
But still strange that our countries HTC would not enable that bandwith. They state it's a business phone. But business often means travelling arround the globe. Quadband would then be preffered above tri-band....
But black you know for sure the bandwith can be activated by just software? Some people say you need a different antenna. (I'm a noob in that area...).
Thnx anyway!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The GSM antennas are all in every Diamond, the problem is with the UMTS radio. To keep the Diamonds so small, HTC had to remove the American UMTS radio, making it so you can't use a European Diamond to get 3G in the US ever. Likewise, the American Diamond will only have the US bands of 3G (850 and 1900). As for the GSM bands, though, EVERY Diamond has the capability to be quad-band, so you'll at least get EDGE wherever you go. Hope this clears things up.
Black93300ZX said:
The GSM antennas are all in every Diamond, the problem is with the UMTS radio. To keep the Diamonds so small, HTC had to remove the American UMTS radio, making it so you can't use a European Diamond to get 3G in the US ever. Likewise, the American Diamond will only have the US bands of 3G (850 and 1900). As for the GSM bands, though, EVERY Diamond has the capability to be quad-band, so you'll at least get EDGE wherever you go. Hope this clears things up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks you really are the first one who makes sense!
Thanks again!
merten3000 said:
Thanks you really are the first one who makes sense!
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just wondering if anyone had n update as to the effect of the new radio rom in the touch pro. I understand the US issue was different with a release of GSM only touch pros (Booo Hissss) but would realy like to confirm if we are able to reflash to expand on the UMTS frequencies here in Aus making the touch pro UMTS tri or quad band.
Thanks for all the info in this post too.
I'm wondering if someone has worked out how to get the extra band to work in Australia as well. I am on Next G and my brand new phone simply sucks right now and I'm hoping I don't have to go over to a different carrier when my contract is up. I kinda like Telstra Next G, dare I say it.
its_tricky83 said:
I'm wondering if someone has worked out how to get the extra band to work in Australia as well. I am on Next G and my brand new phone simply sucks right now and I'm hoping I don't have to go over to a different carrier when my contract is up. I kinda like Telstra Next G, dare I say it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know it works fine with an ATT Fuze with a regular touch pro you'll never get NextG on the 850 band, it's a hardware limitation.
The site Popular Electronics (I have no personal connection of any kind) advertises for sale a 850 MHz Touch pro
http://www.popularelect.com/product...id=CNPmmfGZhJUCFQRJFQod5VhbrQ&tab=2&osCsid=10
and it specifies that it has an 850 MHz capability:
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz (Band frequency and data speed are operator dependent)
Is this for real? All sites I have checked so far specify that the 850MHz version is not available as yet.
If the information of this site is for real, would it work for AT&T?
what a thousand dollar phone
these chinese pricks are getting ridiculous !!!(HTC)
In relation to my question: Is the 850 MHz part for real?
The actual store, btw, is in Chicago.
Correct if I'm wrong, but AFAIK all Pros are quad band GSM.
Yes, all of them have 850mhz available. And it's not Chinese, smart guy.
michalopoulosgk said:
it specifies that it has an 850 MHz capability:
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz (Band frequency and data speed are operator dependent)
Is this for real? All sites I have checked so far specify that the 850MHz version is not available as yet.
If the information of this site is for real, would it work for AT&T?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is for real. Check out the specifications on the main htc website it says exactly the same thing. The Europe/Asia version will work on Verizon, but you won't be able to get WCDMA speeds. The US version has 850/1900 WCDMA, whereas the Europe/Asia version as mentioned on the HTC site has 900/2100. Would be nice if they could make one with all 4 WCDMA's
I have definitely seen some sites that claim the Touch Pro is only Tri-Band, but the HTC site would be the one to go by seeing as they made it an all
WCDMA (3G) is where it differs. All Touch Pro's do NOT have 850mhz WCDMA. You can get service everywhere, but only 3G in areas with 900/2100mhz 3G... AT&T uses 850/1900 for 3G.
Black93300ZX said:
WCDMA (3G) is where it differs. All Touch Pro's do NOT have 850mhz WCDMA. You can get service everywhere, but only 3G in areas with 900/2100mhz 3G... AT&T uses 850/1900 for 3G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol I just saw your last post in the release date thread and edited my response, but I was too slow
Many thanks to all, this was very helpful.
Black93300ZX said:
Yes, all of them have 850mhz available. And it's not Chinese, smart guy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No they do not all have it activated, smart guy ....look here at the official Dutch HTC site specs:
http://www.htc.com/nl/product.aspx?id=54146
No 850mhz band... not even for gsm (voice) function. Its a triband not quadband....
And after browsing this forum for weeks now its still not clear to me if the 850mhz band can be activated with just a rom/radio update..... a lot of different opinions in here....
Somebody knows the 'truth'?
t-mobile usa is rolling out with 3g for bands 1700 to 2100
merten3000 said:
No they do not all have it activated, smart guy ....look here at the official Dutch HTC site specs:
http://www.htc.com/nl/product.aspx?id=54146
No 850mhz band... not even for gsm (voice) function. Its a triband not quadband....
And after browsing this forum for weeks now its still not clear to me if the 850mhz band can be activated with just a rom/radio update..... a lot of different opinions in here....
Somebody knows the 'truth'?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, it is a ROM flash, second, their specs page for english used to say triband too but they changed it to quad band...
I have a friend who works for ATT and just tested the new HTC Touch Pro (Raphael) and said that ATT is planning on releasing them in November, code named "ATT Fusion."
Of course, they claim it's real...
michalopoulosgk said:
The site Popular Electronics (I have no personal connection of any kind) advertises for sale a 850 MHz Touch pro...
If the information of this site is for real, would it work for AT&T?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These guys say (of course) they got a few in stock and they sold quickly. These are actually the EUROPE/ASIA version but the rep claims they are Quadband and that 3G works on both AT&T and T-Mobile (US). They are getting more in next week.
http://www.popularelect.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_58&products_id=1026
Hmmmm....who to believe?????
T
E
C
DeniaL said:
I have a friend who works for ATT and just tested the new HTC Touch Pro (Raphael) and said that ATT is planning on releasing them in November, code named "ATT Fusion."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's interesting. Did he get to take any pictures by any slight chance?
The more I read the more I get confused.....are the phones (if as advertised) in the site mentioned on post 14 likely to be working with ATT 3G?
UMTS/HSDPA for 850/900/1900/2100 on Touch Pro
I also keep on hearing this regarding bands on the Touch Pro. Can the UMTS/HSDPA band be activated for 850/900/1900/2100 by just flashing a custom ROM or changing the Radio Version? Please someone answer this....
This is something i want to know as well. I've been doing quite a bit of searching with no answer as of yet.
I live 40 minutes from Chicago and have asked this company about AT&T, Quad Band, and actual prodoct availability.
If they have them in stock, I will drive to their store, insert my AT&T SIM card and see if it will actually work.
But first, let's see if they respond to my questions.
Good deal...
someara said:
I live 40 minutes from Chicago and have asked this company about AT&T, Quad Band, and actual prodoct availability.
If they have them in stock, I will drive to their store, insert my AT&T SIM card and see if it will actually work.
But first, let's see if they respond to my questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea...I'm close to these guys too. Actually there are about 5 electronics storefront stores all next door to each other over there on W. Devon in Chicago. I bought my last 4 unlocked GSM phones from that area. Oddly enough, Popular Electronics have NEVER been the first to have any of the phones I wanted. For the past 2 years their usual answer has been "It will be here MONDAY." But "MONDAY" takes months to come!
The guys next door at Overseas Electronics (http://www.welectronics.com/) have always gotten the phones FIRST in that area--including the TyTN II. Even the other store next door to them (http://bargainoffers.com/catalog/default.php) get the hottest GSM phones before Pop Elect. This time though, Overseas say about 3-4 weeks out for the Touch Pro...so I'm really interested to know if Pop Elect actually gets them FOR REAL "by MONDAY" this time.
Please keep us informed. Thanks!!
T
E
C
Australia's Telstra has a system called NextG. I don't know what exactly that equates to in the rest of the world but they are claiming coverage far superior to anything available before in rural areas.
Any Aussies like to chime in and tell me if my Polaris is going to work there?
I currently use a TC on telstra nextG. while I never have coverage issues I have never really checked the data speeds as I have a pc card for that.
After a bit of research it seems NextG is nothing more than 3G UTMS service, just on the (lesser used) 850Mhz band. The way the specs are written for the Polaris it sounds like a unit will support either UMTS2100 or UMTS850, but not both, depending on whether is was destined for the USA or Europe. Anyone confirm this one way or the other? I bought mine in Taiwan so I have no idea which it should support.
on a similar note I got my wife a samsung omina, while it does work on telstra 850mhz it does not have the nextG service speeds. My TC seems to work on both 2100 and 850 as I have used it with optus and telstra and optus does not have 850
fahr_side said:
After a bit of research it seems NextG is nothing more than 3G UTMS service, just on the (lesser used) 850Mhz band. The way the specs are written for the Polaris it sounds like a unit will support either UMTS2100 or UMTS850, but not both, depending on whether is was destined for the USA or Europe. Anyone confirm this one way or the other? I bought mine in Taiwan so I have no idea which it should support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been using a Polaris both in Aus and worldwide, actually, for over 12 months.
it will connect to UMTS both 2100Mhz and 850Mhz without problem. Just set the band in Settings>Personal>Phone to automatic
Telstra uses the 2100Mhz frequency in the cities and 850Mhz for the regional areas. BTW, the 850Mhz is not "lesser used": this frequency is used for UMTS in regional areas in South America, South Africa, Australia and the US. Geographically, this is about 60% of the globe.
Hold onto the Polaris - it's the last device HTC offered that will connect to both frequencies. The reason for this is beyond the scope of this post, but it's an accurate statement.
Thanks for the replies people. Going to Aus in a few weeks and really didn't want to buy or rent another phone.
[Q] Help with AT&T bands, or why the rest of the world is more advanced than the U.S.
I need to buy a smartphone before the end of June for use in my new life in mainland China, but have ended up with many questions regarding how useful my phone would be if I returned to the U.S.
So China, being civilized like the rest of the world, uses only the 2100 band GSM for its 3G, at least at China Unicom. So as far as I understand, any phone that gets GSM 2100 gets 3G.
The trouble is what happens if I move back to the U.S.? I want a phone that will last for years. Seems like the only game in town is AT&T unless the feds stop the T-Mobile deal. So my phone has to be 850/1900/2100 to get 3G in the U.S., as I understand it. (At&T isn't exactly forthcoming on this on its site, so this is from this forum and other sources.)
My two candidates are the LG Optimus 2X and the Samsung Nexus S. The 2X has 900/1900/2100 3G bands and decent enough hardware that I'm relatively futureproof gear-wise. The Nexus S has -- at least where I live currently -- 900, 1700 and 2100 3G bands, and Google's stamp of approval means I'm futureproof on the software side.
My confusion comes from what all these numbers mean. Does my phone has to be just one of these bands to get 3G? Two of them? Or is all this a misnomer, and 1900/2100 is in fact its own unique band? Why do I need all these extra bands when most countries have just 2100? What am I missing if I go LG 2X and miss the 850 band?
Does having only two and not all three on my phone mean I would get 3G data only some of the time? Or must I meet all these criteria? Is one upload and one download?
And why is U.S. telecom so screwed up while the rest of the world seems to do just fine? (OK that one may be more of a rant than a question)
There are phones that hit on all the bands, but Motorola is closed software-wise and I don't want that, while Samsung Galaxy S II and iPhone 4 are both too expensive for me.
I'm clearly slow, and not an expert, but if anyone has time to educate me I would much appreciate it.
Hmm, this site suggests AT&T works on either 850 OR 1900. In other words, you need just one or the other on your phone, but not both:
wwwSPACE.cellularmaps.com/att_850_1900.shtml ((sorry I still can't link))
So the LG Optimus 2X would work in U.S.? Pity about Nexus S, because I prefer it for the likely long-term developer support, but life wouldn't be so bad with the Optimus 2X, now would it?
So I have no idea whether this is true, but Google and message boards tell me AT&T has two 3G bands, one 850 and one 1900. They don't need each other to work. Instead, they just duplicate.
Why? I don't know. There may be no logical reason, this being AT&T.
So that suggests in places where AT&T has kept 1900, a phone like the LG Optimus 2X (900/1900/2100) will work fine, and in places where it doesn't it won't. This map suggests wide overlap.
(Still can't post links. Great. Google "cellular maps" "AT&T" "850" and "1900." Thank God the board is safe from links!)
Bear in mind that none of what I've written here fits the definition of "fact." I have no education in this. But somebody's gotta continue the conversation and I'm unafraid to look stupid.
Norlos said:
So I have no idea whether this is true, but Google and message boards tell me AT&T has two 3G bands, one 850 and one 1900. They don't need each other to work. Instead, they just duplicate.
Why? I don't know. There may be no logical reason, this being AT&T.
So that suggests in places where AT&T has kept 1900, a phone like the LG Optimus 2X (900/1900/2100) will work fine, and in places where it doesn't it won't. This map suggests wide overlap.
(Still can't post links. Great. Google "cellular maps" "AT&T" "850" and "1900." Thank God the board is safe from links!)
Bear in mind that none of what I've written here fits the definition of "fact." I have no education in this. But somebody's gotta continue the conversation and I'm unafraid to look stupid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The bands are frequency ranges, so it means that the phone will broadcast/receive on the 850 MHZ range, or 1900 MHZ range. Don't know if this helps, but that is what they are talking about.
Check out PDADB
I think you will find www.pdadb.net to be your new friend. So bottom line is if you want AT&T 3G you need 850/1900, Australia and Canada are the only other places that utilize these bands for their 3G from my knowledge. If you can find a Nexus S that has the North American bands it will do AT&T 3G (it will be the Canadian version). The normal Nexus S state-side is the AWS packed version (AWS = 1700 or T-Mobile 3/4G).
900/2100 are your standard European international 3G spectrum, and well 2100 is pretty much everywhere, even China as you found!
Say you go the AT&T store and ask them for a "World" phone then it is more than likely banded for 2100 in addition to 850/1900!
I hope that helps you!
EDIT: On PDADB.net you will want to look for UMTS850, UMTS1900, UMTS2100. IF it says GSM850, 1900, etc. that means it will do 2G on those bands but not pick up 3G on them!
EDIT 2: Nexus S with AT&T bands can be found here just click on Source 1 at the bottom of the article!
Thanks all! Yes, big help.
Where I live the i9020a hasn't appeared, and why should it? It's needed only in America. Meanwhile, the LG Optimus 2X is the same price here as the Nexus S, which is very very tempting.
Still, I may hold out until the i9020a or the white version of the Nexus S appears, and decide accordingly.
Greetings All,
I am seeking some assistance in deciding on a new unlocked GSM phone for my international travels. I will be deployed into Afghanistan soon and need foremost a phone that will work there with a local SIM. I have tried to do some research on various phones and unless I am misreading things getting a phone to work for all voice channels is easy, it seems on the data side however no one phone seems to cover all the base frequencies, tough perhaps they do not need to.
Even though I will spend most of my time in the Middle East, I will vacation to other international locations. Also, while it does not need to work well in the USA (I have a CDMA phone for that) it would be nice as a backup, or to be usable if I never head back home for long periods.
Here is a list of things I would like in a phone, if they can all be met, great, if not or there is a compelling reason not to, feel free to chime in as well.
1. Android
2. Dual-Core Processor
3. Minimum 768MB Ram (Would prefer 1GB)
4. Hackable
5. Good battery life (At least reasonable)
6. Works in as many places as possible for both voice and data.
So far I have been looking at the Motorola Atrix and the HTC Sensation. It would seem that perhaps there are different versions of these phone supporting different data frequencies, but again, I am just not an expert on this topic.
I just am not on my game when it comes to GSM technology.
Any help, suggestions, recommendations, etc the great and knowledgeable people on this forum would be willing to make would be greatly appreciated.
--PortableTech
Today, most telephones support multiple bands as used in different countries to facilitate roaming. These are typically referred to as multi-band phones. Dual-band phones can cover GSM networks in pairs such as 900 and 1800 MHz frequencies (Europe, Asia, Australia and Brazil) or 850 and 1900 (North America and Brazil).
European tri-band phones typically cover the 900, 1800 and 1900 bands giving good coverage in Europe and allowing limited use in North America, while North American tri-band phones utilize 850, 1800 and 1900 for widespread North American service but limited worldwide use. A "new" addition has been the quad-band phone, also known as a world phone, supporting all four major GSM bands, allowing for global use (excluding non-GSM countries such as Japan).
The Sensation has Quad-band, and supports:
HSPA/WCDMA:
- Europe/Asia/T-Mobile US: 900/AWS/2100 MHz
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:
- 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
The Atrix supports:
GSM/GPRS/EDGE and quad-band HSDPA, whereas the global version of the Atrix offers only tri-band HSDPA, both capable of speeds up to 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 HSUPA.
Conclusion:
You can use both Sensation and the Atrix in the Middle East as long as you can get a signal. But don't count on getting full speed when you're surfing the web.
Have a nice trip and be safe!
BazookaAce said:
Today, most telephones support multiple bands as used in different countries to facilitate roaming. These are typically referred to as multi-band phones. Dual-band phones can cover GSM networks in pairs such as 900 and 1800 MHz frequencies (Europe, Asia, Australia and Brazil) or 850 and 1900 (North America and Brazil).
European tri-band phones typically cover the 900, 1800 and 1900 bands giving good coverage in Europe and allowing limited use in North America, while North American tri-band phones utilize 850, 1800 and 1900 for widespread North American service but limited worldwide use. A "new" addition has been the quad-band phone, also known as a world phone, supporting all four major GSM bands, allowing for global use (excluding non-GSM countries such as Japan).
The Sensation has Quad-band, and supports:
HSPA/WCDMA:
- Europe/Asia/T-Mobile US: 900/AWS/2100 MHz
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:
- 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
The Atrix supports:
GSM/GPRS/EDGE and quad-band HSDPA, whereas the global version of the Atrix offers only tri-band HSDPA, both capable of speeds up to 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 HSUPA.
Conclusion:
You can use both Sensation and the Atrix in the Middle East as long as you can get a signal. But don't count on getting full speed when you're surfing the web.
Have a nice trip and be safe!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the response, it is appreciated. Are you saying that the Sensation has a little better coverage given it is WCDMA? I still only see 3 frequencies, unless the AWS represents more than one in the list for that section.
If choosing between these two would you prefer one over the other? Also, are there better choices I should perhaps be looking at that I have not considered?
Again, thanks for the help
PortableTech said:
Greetings All,
I am seeking some assistance in deciding on a new unlocked GSM phone for my international travels. I will be deployed into Afghanistan soon and need foremost a phone that will work there with a local SIM. I have tried to do some research on various phones and unless I am misreading things getting a phone to work for all voice channels is easy, it seems on the data side however no one phone seems to cover all the base frequencies, tough perhaps they do not need to.
Even though I will spend most of my time in the Middle East, I will vacation to other international locations. Also, while it does not need to work well in the USA (I have a CDMA phone for that) it would be nice as a backup, or to be usable if I never head back home for long periods.
Here is a list of things I would like in a phone, if they can all be met, great, if not or there is a compelling reason not to, feel free to chime in as well.
1. Android
2. Dual-Core Processor
3. Minimum 768MB Ram (Would prefer 1GB)
4. Hackable
5. Good battery life (At least reasonable)
6. Works in as many places as possible for both voice and data.
So far I have been looking at the Motorola Atrix and the HTC Sensation. It would seem that perhaps there are different versions of these phone supporting different data frequencies, but again, I am just not an expert on this topic.
I just am not on my game when it comes to GSM technology.
Any help, suggestions, recommendations, etc the great and knowledgeable people on this forum would be willing to make would be greatly appreciated.
--PortableTech
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd suggest a cheap unlocked quad band phone like Huawei 8180(110$) or LG GT540 Optimus(130$).
When travelling, depending on the place you are going to,
1) There is a risk of loosing or theft.
2) There is a risk of damage due to natural causes. (Some places are prone to lightning, power surges etc...)
Factors to consider when picking the phone,
1) you should pick resistive touch screen if you intend to travel to a very cool place where you will have to wear gloves or a place with high humidity(rain forests) where capacitive touch phones may malfunction.
2) Make sure it's a quad band phone. Quad-band phones could virtually be used anywhere. Tri-band WCDMA would be advantageous but WCDMA on the frequency commonly used in the country you are travelling to would be better.
In some countries with bad network penetration, you'd be better off picking a satellite telephony. They very low-end specs but they can keep you connected anywhere.
People would be able to make more relevant suggestions if you mention the country you are travelling to.
PortableTech said:
Thank you for the response, it is appreciated. Are you saying that the Sensation has a little better coverage given it is WCDMA? I still only see 3 frequencies, unless the AWS represents more than one in the list for that section.
If choosing between these two would you prefer one over the other? Also, are there better choices I should perhaps be looking at that I have not considered?
Again, thanks for the help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The bands you need to worry about is 850/900/1800/1900 MHz.
I don't have time to check myself, but check out google and see which frequencies are the most used in Afghanistan.
But every GSM device should work fine there.
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using xda premium
nibras_reeza said:
I'd suggest a cheap unlocked quad band phone like Huawei 8180(110$) or LG GT540 Optimus(130$).
When travelling, depending on the place you are going to,
1) There is a risk of loosing or theft.
2) There is a risk of damage due to natural causes. (Some places are prone to lightning, power surges etc...)
Factors to consider when picking the phone,
1) you should pick resistive touch screen if you intend to travel to a very cool place where you will have to wear gloves or a place with high humidity(rain forests) where capacitive touch phones may malfunction.
2) Make sure it's a quad band phone. Quad-band phones could virtually be used anywhere. Tri-band WCDMA would be advantageous but WCDMA on the frequency commonly used in the country you are travelling to would be better.
In some countries with bad network penetration, you'd be better off picking a satellite telephony. They very low-end specs but they can keep you connected anywhere.
People would be able to make more relevant suggestions if you mention the country you are travelling to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read again He's going to Afghanistan.
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using xda premium
PortableTech said:
Greetings All,
I will be deployed into Afghanistan soon and need foremost a phone that will work there with a local SIM.
Even though I will spend most of my time in the Middle East, I will vacation to other international locations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bazooka. Read that again. =D
BazookaAce said:
Read again He's going to Afghanistan.
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Sensation seems cool. Dual-core processors, and that screen!
Photon maybe? Dk the bands but a idea
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium