Quick and to the point: Should I buy a cell phone here in America and bring it to the Philippines (and feed it a new SIMs card) or wait and buy a package (everything) when I arrive in the Philippines?
I'm, thinking high end and with a a real keypad and camera capability.
Personally, I hate cell phones but I realize there is a rule that NO ONE is allowed to live in the Philippines without one.
--Rich--
richard90027
Member
Hi Rich, I have bought several cell phones here in the US to send to my wifes family members. I think they are cheaper here but keep in mind that they must be a GSM 900/1800 MHZ Phone and not locked to a company here. In the US we use 850/1900mhz so make sure you buy a quad band phone that is unlocked. You can get it unlocked anywhere in the PI for about 300p if it is locked. You might want to check out ebay or amazon where you can find plenty of unlocked quad band gsm phones.
Bob New York
Member
Rich321, I'm with you, I also hate cell phones and I don't ever see me having one here at home.
I was just beginning to think however, I wonder if there are cheap, low end cell phones available in The Philippines that might be useful to me when I come to visit. I think most or all of the cell phone activity there is on a pay as you go basis and no contract.
Use it while I am there for a visit, then just get rid of it, or possibly save it for a future visit and use it again. What I presently do is either use the landline in the hotel or pop into the nearest internet cafe and get in touch with my friends on an instant messenger.
Anyone else have any ideas on a temporary , low cost , disposable cell phone ?
JohnM
Member
Rich: As mentioned above by Richard, make certain the phone is tri-band and unlocked. Most of the deals you see advertised in the States for cheap phones come with plans... insist on unlocked. If you go to Best Buy or Staples or somewhere similar, nearly every phone you see will be locked and bundled, so Internet is best before you leave. If you buy locally, there are several simple Nokias and so on for under 3,000 pesos, some as low as 2,000... crappy phones, but they work over the short term (They are a bit larger and heavier, and no fancy features, but they make calls). If that is all you need, it may be not even worth the hassle to buy abroad. If you will transit Hong Kong on the way out, that is the absolute cheapest place to buy cell phones, even at duty free. Keep in mind that most cell service here is prepaid, with limited functionality on Blackberries and such. If you want email and so on, better to get your US provider to allow roaming (at an often dear price... My phone bill for work on my US phone approaches $3K per month).
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