Cheapest Phone And Type For Europian Use

kozmo · 27-03-2006, 17:59

Any suggestions? I know I need an unlock GSM phone, but do I need a tri or quadra band type? What are the bands specifically that are used in Europe? It will be used mostly in Italy and Norway but ultimately I'd like it to work in as many places as possible.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Kozmo

**Effendi** · 27-03-2006, 18:45

In Europe, Asia, Africa and Pacific you need just 900/1800 dual-band. Of course you cannot find any phone with this specifics in the US since there the 850/1900 are used.

My suggestion is to buy one on eBay, you can find really a lot of and at any price. If you buy a Triband (900/1800/1900) you will be able to use it on T-Mobile in the US as well, while for Cingular it would be better a quad-band.

Bossman · 27-03-2006, 18:48

If you want it to work mostly in Europe or any, you can just get an euro Triband 900/1800/1900. You can also get away with an euro triband in the US, if you are with tmobile. You may just as well get a quad-band. Thet will give you coverage pretty much in any country that uses GSM.

kozmo · 29-03-2006, 06:09

Thanks for the replies! It's a little confusing to the uninitiated. I bought a Quad band (Razr) for about $235 all in, but no card. I found it on the web and it seems to be a pretty decent deal. Ebay was about $270+ and Cingular was $329 not including tax. I might have gone with only the Euro frequencies but I was nervous about being certain it works before traveling and I could end up traveling pretty much anywhere. Plus it can always double as a spare at home. Thanks again for the help. Great site!

Kozmo

DRNewcomb · 29-03-2006, 12:52

You could probably buy an adequate phone for about $200 less than a Razr. The minimum would be an old single band 900 MHz phone but I would not recommend it, since some of the better prepaid deals are with 1800 MHz carriers. An old dual band (900/1800) or tri band (900/1800/1900) would do nicely.

kozmo · 31-03-2006, 00:24

Please excuse my newbie ignorance. Where do the various simm cards come from? From the various prepaid companies? It occurred to me I have a phone on its way and I don't know if it comes with the card and is just programmed or what.

Thanks,

Kozmo

DRNewcomb · 31-03-2006, 02:06

The SIMs come from the wireless carriers (e.g. Cingular, T-Mobile, Telefonica, etc). You buy them from authorized agents or comany stores.

jdh449 · 23-04-2006, 16:28

To add a suggestion for an inexpensive phone for use in Europe, I just bought seven used Motorola model V66 phones on ebay for an average price of $32 including shipping. Be sure to get an "unlocked" phone. If you do an ebay search on "V66 unlocked", you will see about 100 auctions at any given time.
I then bought a T-Mobile SIM card with 150 minutes ($30 face value) for less than $10 on ebay to test the phones in the USA.

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	(#1 (permalink))
kozmo (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 3 Join Date: 23 Mar 2006	27-03-2006, 17:59 Any suggestions? I know I need an unlock GSM phone, but do I need a tri or quadra band type? What are the bands specifically that are used in Europe? It will be used mostly in Italy and Norway but ultimately I'd like it to work in as many places as possible. Thanks in advance for any help. Kozmo

	(#2 (permalink))
Effendi (Offline) The great Dictator! Prepaid Prophet Posts: 2,330 Join Date: 13 Jan 2004 Location: Genova & Sarzana Country:	27-03-2006, 18:45 In Europe, Asia, Africa and Pacific you need just 900/1800 dual-band. Of course you cannot find any phone with this specifics in the US since there the 850/1900 are used. My suggestion is to buy one on eBay, you can find really a lot of and at any price. If you buy a Triband (900/1800/1900) you will be able to use it on T-Mobile in the US as well, while for Cingular it would be better a quad-band. Working Prepaids: IT: Wind, Vodafone IT, UNO Mobile; SM: Prima; UK: 3, Virgin; INT: TravelSIM, Truphone. Deceased Prepaids: CZ: Oskar, Eurotel; SK: Orange; DE: E-Plus, Aldi, Simyo; GE: Geocell; AM: Armentel; PL: Heyah, Plus; LT: Tele2; LV: Amigo; EE: Elisa; UA: Kyivstar; NZ: Vodafone; INT: UM, UM+, ICQSim. GSM/3G Phones: Nokia E71, HTC Wildfire

	(#3 (permalink))
Bossman (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Guru Posts: 1,117 Join Date: 22 Apr 2005 Location: Chicago Country:	27-03-2006, 18:48 If you want it to work mostly in Europe or any, you can just get an euro Triband 900/1800/1900. You can also get away with an euro triband in the US, if you are with tmobile. You may just as well get a quad-band. Thet will give you coverage pretty much in any country that uses GSM. Phones: Iphone4, HTC Inspire, Nokia E63, BB Curve 8310 Sim cards: AT&T (Contract), Tmobile USA, Virgin UK, TelnaMobile, Ekit

	(#4 (permalink))
kozmo (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 3 Join Date: 23 Mar 2006	29-03-2006, 06:09 Thanks for the replies! It's a little confusing to the uninitiated. I bought a Quad band (Razr) for about $235 all in, but no card. I found it on the web and it seems to be a pretty decent deal. Ebay was about $270+ and Cingular was $329 not including tax. I might have gone with only the Euro frequencies but I was nervous about being certain it works before traveling and I could end up traveling pretty much anywhere. Plus it can always double as a spare at home. Thanks again for the help. Great site! Kozmo

	(#5 (permalink))
DRNewcomb (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Professionist Posts: 1,253 Join Date: 27 Feb 2004 Location: Mississippi, USA Country:	29-03-2006, 12:52 You could probably buy an adequate phone for about $200 less than a Razr. The minimum would be an old single band 900 MHz phone but I would not recommend it, since some of the better prepaid deals are with 1800 MHz carriers. An old dual band (900/1800) or tri band (900/1800/1900) would do nicely.

	(#6 (permalink))
kozmo (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 3 Join Date: 23 Mar 2006	31-03-2006, 00:24 Please excuse my newbie ignorance. Where do the various simm cards come from? From the various prepaid companies? It occurred to me I have a phone on its way and I don't know if it comes with the card and is just programmed or what. Thanks, Kozmo

	(#7 (permalink))
DRNewcomb (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Professionist Posts: 1,253 Join Date: 27 Feb 2004 Location: Mississippi, USA Country:	31-03-2006, 02:06 The SIMs come from the wireless carriers (e.g. Cingular, T-Mobile, Telefonica, etc). You buy them from authorized agents or comany stores.

	(#8 (permalink))
jdh449 (Offline) Junior Member Amateur Member Posts: 10 Join Date: 16 Apr 2006 Location: San Francisco CA USA Country:	23-04-2006, 16:28 To add a suggestion for an inexpensive phone for use in Europe, I just bought seven used Motorola model V66 phones on ebay for an average price of $32 including shipping. Be sure to get an "unlocked" phone. If you do an ebay search on "V66 unlocked", you will see about 100 auctions at any given time. I then bought a T-Mobile SIM card with 150 minutes ($30 face value) for less than $10 on ebay to test the phones in the USA.