Going to Denmark, want a GSM Phone - any ideas?

[panicfc]

okay I'm hoping to go to Denmark next month and want to bring a phone.

**
www.telestial.com

I found this site and it looks pretty good. Phone for $99 plus a sim card.

Only problem is Denmark isn't in the plan. I'm thinking of getting a phone for another country that I'll visit more often, but if this goes well I could be going to Denmark more often.

In any case - do you guys know anything about getting a GSM phone or any companies that you would recommend.


Thanks

[amerifolklegend]

Some phone companies offer international roaming plans where you can sign up a month ahead of time and just use your current provider.

I did this with Sprint and had no problems using my phone in England.

[panicfc]

I have Cingular, they were no help when I asked about such a plan.

[Dante]

Really? I have Cingular and they were more than helpful is setting up an international plan for me for my visit to Italy. I'll be able to keep my phone and they'll just charge me for whatever I use when there.

Try here http://www.cingular.com/customer_service/roaming_ea (http://www.cingular.com/customer_service/cingular_world)

They've got Denmark on the map, available for $1.29 a minute

[panicfc]

My phone isn't GSM, I got it before they were offering. I might be able to switch now - but it still looks like that other phone deal might be cheaper.

[Dante]

ohh, gotcha.

[Own Goal Hat-Trick]

try and find a used phone taht is unlocked. ive got a nokia 6100.

then, get a vodafone (or other large mobile company) and get a pay as you go plan. your local calling will be cheaper, and it will even be cheaper to call back to the states than it is with the t-mobile world plan (which is the cheapest of the american providers).

thats the smart thing to do.


i.e, i am in spain a LOT.

i got a vodafone card in spain, and i pay something like 60 cents/min to call back home. tmobile would charge me 99 or 1.20 or something.

that and local calls or inter-EU calls are 10x cheaper.

[panicfc]

I was checking on ebay, but someone warned me that buying a phone off their is risky.

[Own Goal Hat-Trick]

I was checking on ebay, but someone warned me that buying a phone off their is risky.

well.. there are other ways of unlocking it.

go to t-mobile and ask about world phones. then ask if they can unlock them (to allow you to use another companies sim card)

for some stupid reason, american companies lock thier phones so they are company specfic.

there are other ways of unlocking them, search around the internet.

you can also find them on the amazon marketplace, which is a lot less risky.

[ElJefe]

for some stupid reason, american companies lock thier phones so they are company specfic.
It's because American carriers subsidize the purchase of the phone much more heavily than carriers in other countries do.

If you're a carrier and you've just footed 80% (or more) of the cost of a customer's new phone, you're going to want them to be using your network, or at the very least, paying heavily to use someone else's network.

There are several vendors around who sell new unlocked GSM phones. They cost a bit more, but you can use whichever carrier's SIM whenever you want and you don't have to worry about jacking with unlocking the damn phone. Get a world phone from one of those vendors (one that operates at both the North American 1900 MHz frequency and the 900 or 1800 MHz frequencies that most of the rest of the world uses), and get a prepaid SIM when you get to Denmark. Otherwise, you'll be paying mad expensive roaming fees to either T-Mobile USA or Cingular.

[panicfc]

I'm going to check for the phones. If I can find a good deal, then i'm running with it.


Thanks for the help guys.

[topcow]

I been shopping for an unlocked GSM phone for a while now. The problem is without signning up for a plan with the phone companies, the phones are expensive.
This is a site for unlocked tri-band GSM phones. http://www.expansys-usa.com/d_gsm.asp

btw, unlocking your GSM phone isn't hard, I believe T-mobile do it for free.

[panicfc]

Thanks. That looks like a good site.

I don't have a GSM phone, so that sucks.

[Own Goal Hat-Trick]

http://www.expansys-usa.com/d_gsm.asp


huh... ive got a 6610... i always forget that ********.

[ElJefe]

btw, unlocking your GSM phone isn't hard, I believe T-mobile do it for free.
I don't know if this is still the case, but at one time, you had to be a subscriber for six months or a year or so before you could get them to unlock your phone, and even then, you still had to talk to the right person.