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I've been getting some questions about unlocked GSM phones, and stumbled across this site (from Chicago) while searching for information on how to bring my iPhone to NL without getting charged $1,000 or more for data roaming:
http://welectronics.com/gsm.shtml
They have the most amazing selection of GSM unlocked phones I have ever seen, including the one that I'm bringing (Siemens A70, a very basic phone, but it does the job) for $99!
After reading the Apple forums and seeing some horror stories of people who used their iPhones in Europe and came home to astronomical charges, I have come up with the following strategy:
1. In Settings, Phone, enter a SIM card lock code (this prevents the iPhone from automatically finding whatever network is available when it's turned on...the SIM card code must be entered first)
2. Remove the SIM card from the iPhone and keep it in a safe place
3. This effectively makes the iPhone an iPod Touch, which will work in wifi hotspots and for listening to music as an iPod
4. Use my Siemens A70 phone with Lebara card and make all of my calls for a few cents instead of $1 and up per minute. If any other TA's are going to get a Lebara card, Lebara to Lebara calls within NL are FREE for the first 40 minutes after an 18 cent connection charge!!! Calls back to the USA are 4.5 cents/min since they are now offering double top-off credit!
If you are bringing an iPhone from the USA, be very careful! At a minimum, make sure to turn off international data roaming. Even then, if you receive any voicemails (even if the phone was turned off for several days), they will be delivered soon as your SIM card recognizes the European network and you are charged without even listening to them! Even connecting to wifi when the SIM card recognizes the European carrier incurs a small data charge when the phone receives a signal to switch from data to wifi! If you choose to use AT&T's international calling plan, that's $5.99 a month and takes the cost of a call back to the USA down to 99 cents/min (otherwise $1.29/min)!
It's so ironic that the iPhone is a quad-band world phone that would otherwise work great in almost any country, but AT&T holds it hostage and charges usurious fees to use it anywhere outside the USA. IMO, Apple should switch to a different carrier, but at least there are other options available if you don't mind carrying 2 phones!
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Last edited by in2muzikk on Feb-03-2009 at 07:48
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hehe)
