Hello all,
a Greek friend will be staying some months in US. He can get at a good price either an iphone 5 or a Samsung Galaxy S II. This, with a contract of course, Verizon/T-Mobile/AT&T-something.
My pal was asking whether he could get a phone that could be unlocked for usage in Greece, so he can continue using the phone when back. Is it possible for either of these phones? Caveats?
Sorry for not taking the time to plunge into the forum to read, this question was in a hurry.
if you want to use a us carrier phone unlocked, then you have to pay for a termination fee, so it not recommended.
Because the such phone are usually cdma, they are not compatible with gsm so it would be pretty useless to buy a gs2 or a ip5 with a us carrier.
So to answer your question?
not really
Click thanks if helped
Related
Hey everyone! I'm new to XDA and android and could use some help. Been looking for my first android phone and am currently living in the dominican republic. My carrier operates on the 850 band for their 3g network. I need to be able to purchase an unlocked phone or a phone off contract that i can unlock without complications. Some phones i have looked into are Nexus S, Desire HD, Atrix, G2x and a few others. Nexus S doesnt work with my carrier for their 3g and the desire hd lacks a front facing camera.
I could really use some help or guidance in finding the right phone... All your help is greatly appreciated. Have posted in a few other forums, but to not much avail. Thanks again everyone!
The Galaxy 4g phone has 850 band and FFC and is a decent choice. I do not know how good the Coverage of 4g is in Dominican so even though it is a great phone you may only have 3g reception. You could get a Galaxy S phone and install a FFC in it(or buy it that way) would save some money but it is older tech .... .........BUT there is a ALOT of support here in XDA for the Galaxy S. And there is multi language already installed in it.Or you could wait until the New S2 makes it here in June sometime.
If you went with a Galaxy S (Vibrant,Captivate, etc) here in the states you can get for about 175-250.00 right now vs 450-550.00 for a new phone.
So, there are some options. I would stay away from the Atrix, Motorola is not hacker friendly and there are some other quality issues about them I am not convinced it is worth the money.
BTW, Welcome to the forum. This is the best place to be to learn about Android phones. Look at the specific phone forums and read up. This will assist in understanding the phone and help you make a more informed decision.
Good Luck in your quest....... Cheers
Thanks for the helpful info. I have been reading up on the forums and have also heard about the Atrix issues.
As for the Galaxy S, I do like that phone, but as you mentioned, it does have some older tech especially compared to what is being released this month and next. I don't mind paying a little more having a more up to date phone. Hence my hesitation with something like the Desire HD or Inspire and it's lack of a FFC.
As for the network here, no 4g yet. One of the carriers "Orange" is looking into it, but wouldnt be for a while. Also, I'm quite exactly how much longer I'll be here.
Desperate to get a phone and was hoping to do it this week while my friend in back in the US and could pick it up for me so that I dont have to pay the rediculous taxes at customs when ordering electronics.
The G2X is looking like an option, but i dont know about unlocked nor exactly how much at this point. This is proving to be more difficult that i imagined, been at it for a few months now. Who would think that with so many choices there would actually be so few choices!
Any continued help is still greatly appreciated! thanks again!
Dears,
im non-american, and as you all know that Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is out with no 3G/4G connectivity from samsung. I have contacted Samsung US and they have informed me that Verizon is going to lunch Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 soon with 3G/4G LTE Connectivity. but im not aware whether purchasing from verizon require a contract or not coz im from outside america and contracts will not help at all. please guide me. thanx in advance
sayood1985 said:
Dears,
im non-american, and as you all know that Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is out with no 3G/4G connectivity from samsung. I have contacted Samsung US and they have informed me that Verizon is going to lunch Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 soon with 3G/4G LTE Connectivity. but im not aware whether purchasing from verizon require a contract or not coz im from outside america and contracts will not help at all. please guide me. thanx in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizon is a store, they will happily sell you a product at full price with no contract. It might be worthless to you as it is Verizon tagged and coded to operate on the Verizon network though.
The question is: what country are you in and can the phone legally be shipped to that country?
thanks for your reply. im waiting for the 3G version to come.. CAN'T WAIT
I think verizon will add extra 200$ on the price.it's too much!!
Is there any other store that will lunch 3g model? And is there any date for the lunch?
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
I'm a T-Mobile Prepaid customer using a simple $19 phone but am planning to purchase a no-contract smart phone, say Samsung Galaxy S 2 or HTC Amaze 4G.
If I buy one of these for T-Mobile Prepaid, am I locked in there, or the phone is useful even if I might move onto another carrier such as Verizon or ATT, or to another Plan within T-Mobile later?
xdabyk said:
I'm a T-Mobile Prepaid customer using a simple $19 phone but am planning to purchase a no-contract smart phone, say Samsung Galaxy S 2 or HTC Amaze 4G.
If I buy one of these for T-Mobile Prepaid, am I locked in there, or the phone is useful even if I might move onto another carrier such as Verizon or ATT, or to another Plan within T-Mobile later?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No you are not locked in if you buy a phone off contract. You will not be able to move to verizon or sprint with the phone though, because they use CDMA and not GSM like the rest of the world.
you can outright buy the phone, but check to see if they have a pre-paid plan/data plan for that phone, it will not be unlocked so you cannot move. You can request t-mobile to unlock it though, but you will not get the same 4g speeds
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A
lowandbehold said:
No you are not locked in if you buy a phone off contract. You will not be able to move to verizon or sprint with the phone though, because they use CDMA and not GSM like the rest of the world.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. Does that mean I can use the Samsung Galaxy S2 No-Contract Model I buy from/for T-Mobil Prepaid now for other carriers of GSM? May I understand from your reply message(s) that T-Mobile is a GSM format carrier(and so is AT&T?) as opposed to Verizon and Sprint being a CDMA guys? If so, I can use the phone as long as my next carrier is a GSM guy? Does this make sense?
djjuice said:
you can outright buy the phone, but check to see if they have a pre-paid plan/data plan for that phone, it will not be unlocked so you cannot move. You can request t-mobile to unlock it though, but you will not get the same 4g speeds
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To: djjuice -
Thank you. I will do some homework in order to understand what "locked", "unlock" and " . . . will not get the same 4g speeds" mean.
Even unlocked the phone may not support the 3G or "4"G data speed between TMobile and AT&T. The AT&T Galaxy S II will not run on TMobile 3G data, only Edge (2G) data, because they run on different frequencies, same thing with the TMobile Galaxy S II does not support AT&T frequencies. If you buy the phone off contract from TMobile, they should unlock it for you, but there is no guarantee it will work (fully) anywhere else.
If you buy a phone off of craigslist even though you are buying it off contract you cannot guarantee it can be unlocked freely. For example if you buy an AT&T phone used from someone, AT&T will not unlock it for you for free until it's a certain number of months old (based on when the first person bought it from AT&T). You would have to pay a third party for an unlock code (if there is no help here on xda to unlock it).
It's best to just buy a phone for the carrier you plan on using. That ensures its going to work, and that it will work at full speed. If you really think you are going to switch to AT&T buy one of their branded phones, or Verizon etc. Verizon and Sprint both use CDMA, but they are very resistant to allowing another carriers phone on their network. Plus their 4G networks are different types (Verizon uses LTE, Sprint WiMax) so they wouldn't work fully regardless.
Thank you, quarlow.
My budget is around $600 max. So I'm inclined to purchase an HTC Amaze 4Z or Samsung Galaxy S2 for use for T-Mobile Prepaid at Target or at T-Mobile. T-Mobile Net Shop is selling Galaxy S2 Re-Furbished at a discount price. Hear Galaxy S2 have high rate of initial failures and therefore maybe better to buy a re-furbished one that has failed once and was repaired by qualified repairman. Below is how I come to think of buying a smart phone now. I've been happy with a simple prepaid phone buying 100 minutes at a time, which lasts more than a year for me. I also use a Sony Clie, a PDA running Palm Desk Top, which has gone obsolete long time ago. With a smart phone such as Galaxy or Amaze 4Z, I can leave not only the PDA but also a digital camera home. I do not need to access my PDA data over internet. I will import necessary data from my PC to my new smart phone either via cable or via WIFI before going out. That's why I want to remain "Prepaid Customer" not a customer with monthly fees. (Besides, I am not so much interested in leaving my data at ISP's servers.)
Thank you.
I haven't heard of high failure on the Galaxy S II's for TMo. But I have seen several studies showing refurbished devices have lower failure rates because they can have problem components replaced, and have to pass full qa testing twice.
If you are going to put all your data on your phone via USB on the computer, or wifi, then data compatibility won't matter. That changes the whole issue of taking it to another carrier. Any att or TMo phone that is unlocked will make and receive phone calls, text messages and mms messages just fine on the other network. You will only notice the difference when web browsing, or downloading files. If you aren't going to do that, then it wont make a difference.
Knowing that and your budget I would say get a international version of the phone. Get the Galaxy S II (i9100), or the Galaxy Note, or the Galaxy Nexus. All of those phones are top tier, and international versions will receive updates quicker. The Nexus being the Google device will be the first ICS device to get the next version of android, so its the most future proof. The GSM version of any of those phones will likely come unlocked.
The i9100 has a 4.3" screen, and 1.2Ghz dual core Exynos chip. The TMo version has a 4.5" screen (same resolution) with 1.5Ghz dual core qualcomm chip. The bigger screens did have issues with splotches and vertical lines far more than the 4.3" screen. With them being the same resolution the smaller screen is crisper. The Exynos chip is made by Samsung and widely regarded as the better chip, even at a slower speed. It also comes with a more powerful gpu than the qualcomm chip. So, the graphics are better, and games run better. The att version (i777) is almost exactly the same as the i9100, except it has the U.S. norm of 4 buttons, vs the international 3 buttons. The dev support on xda for the i9100 is unmatched by any other phone, its an amazing device with a huge support and user base.
The Galaxy Note is a 5.3" half phone half tablet with a stylus, and 1.4Ghz dual core Exynos chip. Its screen is a whopping 1280x800 resolution. But, for some that's too big.
The Galaxy Nexus has a 4.65" screen with 720p resolution (this screen is pentile which means it doesn't have as many sub pixels as it could. Its hard to explain, Google pentile vs rgb and there should be plenty of explinations. But, most reviews say at that resolution you need a microscope to tell). But the real strength with that device is that its the pure Google device. Its running Android the way its meant to be ran, unbloated and unrestricted. That is the Rolls Royce of Android phones for the next year. The Nexus S is last years Google device, and will be the first gingerbread device with an official ICS upgrade, if it isn't already upgraded. Its like a Mercedes at this point, its got the pure android experience, but its running last years tech: 4" screen, 1Ghz single core hummingbird chip.
I'm sure that is way more information than you ever wanted to know, but I hope it helps.
Sent from my Galaxy S II (i777)
quarlow said:
Even unlocked the phone may not support the 3G or "4"G data speed between TMobile and AT&T. The AT&T Galaxy S II will not run on TMobile 3G data, only Edge (2G) data, because they run on different frequencies, same thing with the TMobile Galaxy S II does not support AT&T frequencies. If you buy the phone off contract from TMobile, they should unlock it for you, but there is no guarantee it will work (fully) anywhere else.
If you buy a phone off of craigslist even though you are buying it off contract you cannot guarantee it can be unlocked freely. For example if you buy an AT&T phone used from someone, AT&T will not unlock it for you for free until it's a certain number of months old (based on when the first person bought it from AT&T). You would have to pay a third party for an unlock code (if there is no help here on xda to unlock it).
It's best to just buy a phone for the carrier you plan on using. That ensures its going to work, and that it will work at full speed. If you really think you are going to switch to AT&T buy one of their branded phones, or Verizon etc. Verizon and Sprint both use CDMA, but they are very resistant to allowing another carriers phone on their network. Plus their 4G networks are different types (Verizon uses LTE, Sprint WiMax) so they wouldn't work fully regardless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually the T-mobile SGSII supports AT&T 3g.
lowandbehold said:
Actually the T-mobile SGSII supports AT&T 3g.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Att 3G runs on 850 and 1900, with preference on 1900 generally. The TMo looks to have 850, but not 1900. So like the vibrant the support will be spotty at best. It may work in some places, but not everywhere.
Sent from my Galaxy S II (i777)
To quarlow and lowandbehold -
Very informative! Thank you very much.
I will stay with the plan to go for a Galaxy S2(i1900) or an HTC Amaze 4Z for TMO Prepaid. If there be good prepaid phone service(s) available from other carrier(s), I'd definitely want to learn about.
Hi everyone. As the heading states, I am planning to buy the GTab 7 Plus in India for my dad. Now, here is my concern:
In India, the same tab is marketed as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 620. It still has the 1.2 GHz Exynos Processor, 1024X600 resolution screen & includes Voice calling features. I have searched all over the net & couldn't find if there are any differences compared to the GTab 7 Plus which is available internationally. So, in this case, is it only the change in name for marketing purposes or is there some other variation also? Basically, I want to understand if I can use all the ROMs available here on XDA with the tab available in India?
If anyone has any info on this I would really appreciate it. Thanks in Advance!
Raghav1980 said:
Hi everyone. As the heading states, I am planning to buy the GTab 7 Plus in India for my dad. Now, here is my concern:
In India, the same tab is marketed as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 620. It still has the 1.2 GHz Exynos Processor, 1024X600 resolution screen & includes Voice calling features. I have searched all over the net & couldn't find if there are any differences compared to the GTab 7 Plus which is available internationally. So, in this case, is it only the change in name for marketing purposes or is there some other variation also? Basically, I want to understand if I can use all the ROMs available here on XDA with the tab available in India?
If anyone has any info on this I would really appreciate it. Thanks in Advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But I thought the tab was for your dad? Kidding...
Take a look in the development subforum just to be sure but as far as I know there are no custom ROMs for the Plus yet.
Hi im from Philippines. My advice is do not buy Galaxy Tab 7 plus... why? Because Gtab 7 plus is not super amoled. You just wait for Gtab 7.7 that is a amoled LCD...
Sent from TAPAKING using Tapatalk
I already bought GTab 7 plus for my mom. I pissed off when i read about the specs and it is not amoled LCD.
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Yes, I am fully aware that it is not super amoled. The point is that my dad is getting a limited time offer from his workplace for a 60% discount on any phone purchase. But since he already has a phone which he is content with, he wanted a tablet to use as an ereader. This is the only well speced tab which has phone calling capabilites & is available for purchase here at the moment.
Anyways, I have gone ahead with the purchase & dad is happy with the device. Thanks for all your inputs.
Guys, I don't know about price for Tab 7.7 in your country, but in Russia I got my Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus for $468 and price for 7.7 starting at $780. So I don't want pay twice more for super amoled screen and 0.2ghz difference
I am also looking to buy a galaxy tab 7 plus and am undecided which version to buy. I live in the united states and I could just get the p6210 wifi only version, but I am not sure if I will need 3g. I don't want to buy the wifi only then find myself often wanting to use the wireless features when I have no wifi. From my understanding i can use the GPS no matter which version I have so that's at least a plus no matter which way I go.
If I end up buying a 3g version which would people recommend the international unlocked one, the t-mobile un-subsidised, or the t-mobile contracted one.
For people who live in the US and actually got the international one, which cell phone company are you using with it and are you able to get a cellphone plan and use it as a huge cellphone.
People with the t-mobile version have you been able to unlock the subsidised version and/or use the unlocked version as a cellphone? Either with a t-mobile prepaid plan or another company that uses the same frequency.
From what I have read it seems like the international one would have to be used with at&t and t-mobile version is only usable with t-mobile in the US atleast.
In Thailand has 2 version
P6200 (for 3G 900MHz)
P6200L (for 3G 850MHz)
colutr said:
I am also looking to buy a galaxy tab 7 plus and am undecided which version to buy. I live in the united states and I could just get the p6210 wifi only version, but I am not sure if I will need 3g. I don't want to buy the wifi only then find myself often wanting to use the wireless features when I have no wifi. From my understanding i can use the GPS no matter which version I have so that's at least a plus no matter which way I go.
If I end up buying a 3g version which would people recommend the international unlocked one, the t-mobile un-subsidised, or the t-mobile contracted one.
For people who live in the US and actually got the international one, which cell phone company are you using with it and are you able to get a cellphone plan and use it as a huge cellphone.
People with the t-mobile version have you been able to unlock the subsidised version and/or use the unlocked version as a cellphone? Either with a t-mobile prepaid plan or another company that uses the same frequency.
From what I have read it seems like the international one would have to be used with at&t and t-mobile version is only usable with t-mobile in the US atleast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the 6210, I'm fine with wifi only because 1) I'm not paying for yet another data plan, and 2) tethering your phone to the tab works great, assuming you have a smartphone.
Sent from my Galaxy Tab 7 Plus
You should buy GT-7 plus, Super amoled is not very importand for your Dad.
haphuong108 said:
You should buy GT-7 plus, Super amoled is not very importand for your Dad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second that. In addition, the extra screen resolution and slight bump in processor speed are not worth the extra money IMO. Good Luck with your purchase!
I think you should go on and get it. Sure, it lacks Super amoled screen, but I find that people that randomly see my tablet have no problem with my screen.
In fact they say the screen is pretty awesome. In fact, the only real people who seem to notice the screen are fellow tech people.
In anticipation of the release of Gear S3 Fronteir (maybe this month or next), I want to sell my Gear S2 3G sooner than later to hopefully get more $$ than when the new watch comes out and prices on the S2 drop. Since the Gear S2 3G has an e-SIM and I bought it from T-mobile, do I have to sell to someone who is also on T-mobile? Or can I sell to anyone looking for the 3G version regardless of the provider they intend to use?
Chances are, they are locked to the carrier you bought it from. So they would need to be on T-Mobile, find a way to unlock it (which I have my doubts with eSIM's) or understand that it can only be used as a BT/Wi-Fi device.
--edit--
Quick search seems to indicate that you can pay to unlock them if the carrier won't, but I have no idea about the validity of these services.