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Hi, I'm sure you will all have plenty of ideas , to advise me. My son is going to America & I want him to be in contact. I have Sony ericsson T68i which is triband that he can take. I'm one a contract with Vodafone & have been told it's 80p a minute to phone home but if I phone him I am charged £1.25 a minute. No wonder Chris Gent got such a massive pension!!. My son is traveling on a different flight from his friend, but much the same time, and they need to contact each other. the question is do I let him take my phone & suffer a heart attack when I get the bill or buy a sim card in US if they do PAYT ? & it would be compatible with the T68i. Anyone know if mobiles are cheap in US?. T.I.A Max
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Posted: 2003-06-15 12:49:32
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you DON't want to purchase a sim card only prepaid package in the US, coz you'd be able to get prepaid pack including phone for the same money.
http://www.attws.com/gophone/
http://www.cingular.com/refresh/common/estore_zipcode?selinfo=Prepaid
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Posted: 2003-06-15 13:23:32
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@Vlamm-what do u mean?
This message was posted from a WAP device
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Posted: 2003-06-15 14:45:28
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A prepaid sim card in US (only avlbl from T Mobile) costs US$ 100.00 for the sim and activation and there's only about 135 min balance on it when u purchase. Funny enough they advertise it at US$ but I went to a store (orlando FL) 3 weeks ago and it was US$100.00
Whereas for US$ 99 you can get a prepaid pack INcluding phone from Cingular (i believe) or ATT........
Finally...... roaming in US really is a killer, my bill was enormous
I for 1 will never do that again.
_________________
JB's girl
[ This Message was edited by: Vlammetje on 2003-06-15 16:36 ]
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Posted: 2003-06-15 17:34:53
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On 2003-06-15 17:34:53, Vlammetje wrote:
A prepaid sim card in US (only avlbl from T Mobile) costs US$ 100.00 for the sim and activation and there's only about 135 min balance on it when u purchase. Funny enough they advertise it at US$ but I went to a store (orlando FL) 3 weeks ago and it was US$100.00
Whereas for US$ 99 you can get a prepaid pack INcluding phone from Cingular (i believe) or ATT........
Finally...... roaming in US really is a killer, my bill was enormous
I for 1 will never do that again.
I have no clue what T-mobile card you bought... My EasySpeak card was like $54 total with $30 of airtime. Roaming also is not that much more expensive than local with prepaid. You were ripped off.
[ This Message was edited by: brokenrecord on 2003-06-16 18:43 ]
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Posted: 2003-06-16 19:42:59
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Hi, thanks for the advice. I did'nt think it would be cheap to buy in USA, though I have'nt given up hope it looks like my son will have to take my phone & use it only if necessary. I certainly won't phone him at £1.35 a minute. I'm sure there will be more advice. I'm not sure if there are regional differences in the states.
thanks
Max
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Posted: 2003-06-16 20:15:22
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It really depends on where you buy the prepaid SIM-card. ATT does NOT have a prepaid GSM, Cingular and T-Mobile will each charge you around $70 for a SIM-card and some initial minutes (usually $50 worth of airtime).
However, the retailers in my neighborhood (Brooklyn, NY) give some really good deals - a friend of mine just yeaterday bought a T-Mobile prepaid SIM-card with >$60 airtime for only $50.
Another friend bought a T68i (unlocked) and they threw in the same prepaid service for free.
The moral of the story: do not buy directly from the retailers. Alternately, go with any prepaid cellular service (like Verizon or Virgin).
And another great idea: why don't we establish a prepaid SIM-card bank to loan each other prepaid SIM-cards when visiting all these countries that have GSM? I have a T-Mobile card that I loaned to friends visiting from Europe and we found it to be extremely convenient - they pay only for the time they spend and I have a SIM-card that I can lend to my other guests. Besides, everyone knew in advance what their mobile # was going to be, so that added some extra cool to this situation.
So, what do you guys think?
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Posted: 2003-06-16 21:20:23
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On 2003-06-16 21:20:23, moodswinger wrote:
It really depends on where you buy the prepaid SIM-card. ATT does NOT have a prepaid GSM, Cingular and T-Mobile will each charge you around $70 for a SIM-card and some initial minutes (usually $50 worth of airtime).
However, the retailers in my neighborhood (Brooklyn, NY) give some really good deals - a friend of mine just yeaterday bought a T-Mobile prepaid SIM-card with >$60 airtime for only $50.
Another friend bought a T68i (unlocked) and they threw in the same prepaid service for free.
The moral of the story: do not buy directly from the retailers. Alternately, go with any prepaid cellular service (like Verizon or Virgin).
And another great idea: why don't we establish a prepaid SIM-card bank to loan each other prepaid SIM-cards when visiting all these countries that have GSM? I have a T-Mobile card that I loaned to friends visiting from Europe and we found it to be extremely convenient - they pay only for the time they spend and I have a SIM-card that I can lend to my other guests. Besides, everyone knew in advance what their mobile # was going to be, so that added some extra cool to this situation.
So, what do you guys think?
That is a very smart idea. I rarely have international visitors, but would be smart even for any visitors, or if you are going out of town you can give your kids or friends a phone that you can contact them on. What I have done in the past is if I am going out of town longer than a few days, I will purchase a SIM for the area i am visiting so that people there have a local number they can reach me on.
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Posted: 2003-06-16 23:26:29
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good idea, except, in US, you need to recharge prepaid sims like every 6 hours (ok, more like 14-28 days) or it will be disconected, unlike the rest of the world, where 180 days-6 months is normal period
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Posted: 2003-06-17 09:00:51
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In reply to all the advice , thanks. I am getting more options daily. My son is going to San Diago first for 4 days & then wherever they fancy. Moodswingers idea is very good,a fine example of lateral thinking, and would work with a few additions. Now I might sound like an "old fart" saying this but, I'm amazed that in this day & age people whom you don't know are willing to give advice so freely . Every forum I use has enabled me to sort out problems that were difficult. thanks,
Max
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Posted: 2003-06-17 15:21:14
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