Cell Phone help in Thailand

I am traveling with a friend in Thailand in November and I was thinking of
purchasing a used cell phone. What kind of phone do I need to buy and how
much are the cards that you load them with? Per minute costs would be nice
also to call inside Thailand and maybe to the US also. I would like some
kind of phone that I could possibly use in other countries as well when I
travel.

Thanks,
Doug

PS if you just want to give me a website to look at that is fine too.

On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 04:22:55 GMT, "Doug T"
wrote:

I am traveling with a friend in Thailand in November and I was thinking of
purchasing a used cell phone. What kind of phone do I need to buy and how
much are the cards that you load them with? Per minute costs would be nice
also to call inside Thailand and maybe to the US also. I would like some
kind of phone that I could possibly use in other countries as well when I
travel.

Thanks,
Doug

PS if you just want to give me a website to look at that is fine too.

You want a "Tri-Mode GSM" Phone. All phones from T-Mobil or Cingular
are GSM but they are not all tri mode. AT&T Wireless also has GSM
service but I think some of there phones are also CDMA. In any case
if you use any of those carriers you may already have a workable phone
or if you want to sign a contract with any of them they will usually
give you a nice phone free or very discounted. Just make sure it is
"Tri-Mode". Otherwise buy any "Tri-Mode GSM" phone and you will be
fine for almost anywhere on the planet. You need it to be "unlocked".
T-Mobil will give you the unlock code free if you call and ask there
customer service for a "SIM unlock code". I don't think Cingular or
AT&T will give you the code but it could not hurt to ask. If you
can't get the SIM unlock code or you buy a used phone that is not
unlocked already, you can get a phone unlocked usually by calling
around to local cellular shops and asking if they can unlock a GSM
phone. Usually this costs $10-$20 here. It can be done much cheaper
at many cellular shops in Bangkok. Then just buy a prepaid SIM in
Thailand or any other country you visit and you are set. I don't
remember what I paid in Thailand several months ago but it was very
inexpensive. In the Philippines last month the SIM cost about US$6
including about US$2 of airtime and then cards were available
everywhere for more airtime which was also very inexpensive.

"Tri-Mode GSM"

For what it's worth, I was in the old Lam Tong dept store in Si Racha
yesterday and there are a zillion cell phone shops on the first 2
floors. The cheapest phone I saw was a used T28w that was sticker
priced at 1800 Baht. Something like that would be fine for your use.

Expect to pay a bit less in Bangkok.
Cheers,
C.



On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 04:22:55 GMT, "Doug T"
wrote:

I am traveling with a friend in Thailand in November and I was thinking of
purchasing a used cell phone. What kind of phone do I need to buy and how