TomLogan
Joined: Jul 29, 2009
Posts: 38
PM |
Hi all!
I will be calling AT&T and maybe even Sony Ericsson later; but I wanted to throw this out there on the forum in hope of finding out if there are any more user-recommended, cost-efective methods for using my phone abroad.
Obviously, I'm trying to avoid a huge cost and still stay in touch with family and friends. When in the UK, I'll need to contact: family in the US; they'll want to know that I'm OK (or if I need money!); and friends in the UK; so that we can find eachother!
I've heard several ideas on how to make this work as cheaply as possible when in the UK:
i.e., unlocking my phone and buying a local SIM when in the UK and using that in my US phone to make calls locally. Or,
buying a 'no questions asked' UK phone at a 'street market' and using that for UK only. Or,
having AT&T unlock my phone, and getting on their 99c/minute UK 'plan' - I guess this means keeping the same SIM.
Questions
I'll be taking two working phones with me - my C905 and my W580i - is there another option inaddition to the above perhaps?
Could I use one for UK calls and one for US calls? The C905 is touted as a quad band 'world phone', supposedly able to handle many supported bands / networks; can I use this to my advantage at all? What do 'quad band' and 'world phone' even mean??
What happens with my unlimited internet and text plans which I'm currently using in the US? I'm guessing these are only valid in the US, right? But when I'm traveling I'll probably really need to use the data-heavy apps like google maps or whatever true GPS the C905 has to find my way around. I don't want any part of 'roaming internet' charges AND 'over byte limit' charges!
I'm certain there's someone out there who has come across this issue. Is there anything I should know before calling AT&T only to (probably) be told that I need to buy something?
Thank you all very much in advance,
Tom
P.S. I'm wondering if I should have received or asked for a new SIM card with my C905. All they did at the store was take the SIM from my W580i and drop it in the new C905a. The SIM does indicate '3G' on it; but the W580i is not a 3G phone, right? I'm hoping that I'm not hindering the C905's performance with a 'less-advanaced' SIM card in there.
P.P.S. How do I even remove the SIM from the C905a? I got no manual with this phone and the SIM is trapped in a metal cage under the battery! |
Posted: 2009-08-06 22:14
