cell phone and SIM cards? Are they needed?

2834 Views 17 Replies 9 Participants Last post by SilverSurfer2, Aug 17, 2005

SilverSurfer2

Discussion Starter · Aug 14, 2005

I just ordered my first cell phone, i know I must be the only one to roam the earth without one until now.

If i sign up an account/contract with the service provider, do I still need a SIM card for the phone??

What exactly is a SIM card used for mainly?

And is anyone on a pay as you go T mobile phone?? If so, do you still get the voicemail and text message features? And is it better to go the prepaid route or through a contract??

1 - 18 of 18 Posts

the.godfather

· #2 · Aug 14, 2005

A SIM card is needed yes.
It provides you with an individual phone number, storage room for numbers, names and addresses, it allows you to (sometimes) use the sim card in another phone too. This can be handy at times.

And your not the only one.
I havent used a mobile phone (or cell) for the last 4 years. I am starting to need one now though, what with friends going off to University, me starting work. One would come in handy.

But up until now, I havent had a need for one.

fettouhi

· #3 · Aug 14, 2005

'what phone have you ordered

. Good thing about prepaid that you aren't locked to a contact for many years or months with a service provider, the minus is (maybe) that you only have fixed amount minutes/SMS on it each month. With a contract you can use the phone as much as you want (depends on the contract) but you are bound (again depending on the provider) for certain time. In the end you should choose based on what you need and on how much you are going to use the phone.

Regards

André

jemsite

· #4 · Aug 14, 2005

in the USA t-mobile has the best prepaid plan. you need the $79 starter kit (rebate available if you order online) available in most drug stores, target. then you buy minutes. most all of the other plans have a $1/day access charge and TM's minute cost is very reasonable... glen

darren wilson

· #5 · Aug 14, 2005

SIM = Subscriber Identity Module

No GSM phone will operate without one. However, if you get an unlocked phone, you can use the SIM cards from any provider with that phone. This makes it really convenient if, say, you go to Europe, where you can just buy local prepaid cards and drop them into your phone, so you don't have to pay roaming on your U.S. account to make local calls.

bammbamm

· #6 · Aug 14, 2005

Darren is right, but in the event you DON'T want to go with a GSM provider, there are still CDMA and TDMA providers (Along with the PCS network from Srpint) that don't use SIM cards. Verizon is CDMA along with US Cellular. ATT/ Cingular has legacy support for it's older TDMA customers, but it is being phased out. GSM IMO is the better of the technologies and as it is more widely adapted reception will only improve. I've been to Europe a number of times and have had solid reception in train tunnels.
Anyway, SIM cards at this point are not entirely needed, but I prefer them, as you can transfer all your contact info with the card should you decide you want a new phone in a year.

Bamm

bammbamm

· #7 · Aug 14, 2005

BTW, I do some unlocking of GSM phones for 10 bux, (Sony Ericsson and Nokia) in the event you ever wanna take your phone overseas.

SilverSurfer2

Discussion Starter · #8 · Aug 14, 2005

Cool, thanks for all the info guys!

I bought the Motorola Razor V3. It is brand new, unlocked, without a sim card....

So if i set up an account with T mobile, my phone will become "locked" or will i still have the option to use other sim cards in case i need to use it overseas?? I will be going overseas before the year is over, so I will be needing my cell phone over there. So maybe buying my minutes when i'm over there would be a good idea.
But T mobile has a plan with free weeknight and weekend minutes, that I know I would take advantage of and would end up being cheaper than buying minutes. So i'd probably go that route.

Everyone I asked so far, has told me that I need one......so I finally ordered one to stick in my phone, when i get it. Knowing me, i like to update stuff, so it wouldn't surprise me if i end up going for another phone 1 or 2 years from now.....by then, some of these phones might have wireless cable on it, ok maybe not but you know there will be something really cool!

Nice to know that I wasn't the only one that didnt have a cell phone

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fettouhi

· #9 · Aug 14, 2005

SilverSurfer2 said:
Cool, thanks for all the info guys!

I bought the Motorola Razor V3. It is brand new, unlocked, without a sim card....

So if i set up an account with T mobile, my phone will become "locked" or will i still have the option to use other sim cards in case i need to use it overseas?? I will be going overseas before the year is over, so I will be needing my cell phone over there. So maybe buying my minutes when i'm over there would be a good idea.
But T mobile has a plan with free weeknight and weekend minutes, that I know I would take advantage of and would end up being cheaper than buying minutes. So i'd probably go that route.

Everyone I asked so far, has told me that I need one......so I finally ordered one to stick in my phone, when i get it. Knowing me, i like to update stuff, so it wouldn't surprise me if i end up going for another phone 1 or 2 years from now.....by then, some of these phones might have wireless cable on it, ok maybe not but you know there will be something really cool!

Nice to know that I wasn't the only one that didnt have a cell phone

Congratz

and to answer your question your phone will not be locked when you open up a T mobile account. Does this one have a camera?

Regards

André

bonehead189

· #10 · Aug 14, 2005

Congrats on your phone! I don't have one yet, even though I'm pretty good with them. I was once thinking about the Sony Ericson T616 with a Cingular or TM plan. I still can't believe that the Razor's are only $200, compared to $400 when brand new!

SilverSurfer2

Discussion Starter · #11 · Aug 14, 2005

fettouhi said:
Congratz and to answer your question your phone will not be locked when you open up a T mobile account. Does this one have a camera?

thanks, Yes, this phone has a camera on it, it was one of the reasons why i bought it, but certainly not the main reason.

bammbamm

· #12 · Aug 15, 2005

bonehead189 said:
Congrats on your phone! I don't have one yet, even though I'm pretty good with them. I was once thinking about the Sony Ericson T616 with a Cingular or TM plan. I still can't believe that the Razor's are only $200, compared to $400 when brand new!

Yeah, get the 616, I think it is one of S.E.'s better phones.
Camera, bluetooth, ton of features.
Customizable with aftermarket products such as colored cases (I have an anodized blue one (OEM) from Sony Ericsson, looks sharp.
I'm a bluetooth fan and LOVE the functionality it provides in all the available devices, as well as the ones on the way.

BTW, way to go on the Razor, nice phone.

Bamm.

David Ho

· #13 · Aug 15, 2005

SilverSurfer2 said:
Cool, thanks for all the info guys!

I bought the Motorola Razor V3. It is brand new, unlocked, without a sim card....

So if i set up an account with T mobile, my phone will become "locked" or will i still have the option to use other sim cards in case i need to use it overseas?? I will be going overseas before the year is over, so I will be needing my cell phone over there. So maybe buying my minutes when i'm over there would be a good idea.
But T mobile has a plan with free weeknight and weekend minutes, that I know I would take advantage of and would end up being cheaper than buying minutes. So i'd probably go that route.

Everyone I asked so far, has told me that I need one......so I finally ordered one to stick in my phone, when i get it. Knowing me, i like to update stuff, so it wouldn't surprise me if i end up going for another phone 1 or 2 years from now.....by then, some of these phones might have wireless cable on it, ok maybe not but you know there will be something really cool!

Nice to know that I wasn't the only one that didnt have a cell phone

If your phone is factory unlocked phone - meaning the phone has never been locked to any service provider - then you have nothing to worry about. Many phone dealers sells aftermarket unlocked phone, or many non-service provider stores offer unlocking services which IMHO not the best way to go. Aftermarket unlocking software usually does a good job unlocking so you can make calls, but you may have trouble using WAP or GRPS.

If you plan to use your phone overseas, you need to watch out for the roaming charges. They can get very expensive. Check with your service provider on roaming rates in the countries you plan to visit. As far as I know, roaming charges can go anywhere from $1.50 to $2.50 per minute. It doesn't matter if you call out or receive a call.

When you go overseas, buying a prepaid SIM card is a good money saver. The only drawback is your phone number will now be a local number of the country you are in, not the original US number you have, so your friends cannot reach you calling your US number.

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SilverSurfer2

Discussion Starter · #14 · Aug 15, 2005

bonehead189 said:
Congrats on your phone! I don't have one yet, even though I'm pretty good with them. I was once thinking about the Sony Ericson T616 with a Cingular or TM plan. I still can't believe that the Razor's are only $200, compared to $400 when brand new!

thanks! A lot of people are still trying to sell them for over $200, less than $400....i can't imagine spending $400 on a cell phone.

SilverSurfer2

Discussion Starter · #15 · Aug 15, 2005

David Ho said:
If you plan to use your phone overseas, you need to watch out for the roaming charges. They can get very expensive. Check with your service provider on roaming rates in the countries you plan to visit. As far as I know, roaming charges can go anywhere from $1.50 to $2.50 per minute. It doesn't matter if you call out or receive a call.

When you go overseas, buying a prepaid SIM card is a good money saver. The only drawback is your phone number will now be a local number of the country you are in, not the original US number you have, so your friends cannot reach you calling your US number.

I will be using the prepaid SIMs for overseas, for sure. I know roaming rates are ridiculous.
But can you just swap out sims, so that people from US can reach me, and then put the prepaid SIM in only when i have to make a call from overseas??

bonehead189

· #16 · Aug 16, 2005

SilverSurfer2 said:
i can't imagine spending $400 on a cell phone.

I wouldn't even consider to spend $400 on a cell phone. I would only go for a phone in the $0-$100 range if possible.

red5

· #17 · Aug 17, 2005

The real question is... are cell phones needed?

SilverSurfer2

Discussion Starter · #18 · Aug 17, 2005

red5 said:
The real question is... are cell phones needed?

According to most people, I think they would say yes

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