Help Me Participate More!

[trendon]

I bought the Hero a few months ago and made a couple of posts. I then promptly moved to Costa Rica and have been stuck with the most ass-backwards old Nokia phone possible.

I brought the Hero with me because I can still use WiFi, but I've officially had it with this garbage phone and I want to enjoy the gorgeous Hero. So, I investigate and find out that all I have to do is unlock the Hero and swap the SIM card.

I found the way to unlock the phone; that's not the issue. However, where the hell is the SIM card? I Google it and all I find are the instructions on how to remove the SIM on Hero's with the chin ... I don't have that.

I open up the phone and I see the micro SD slot, a larger slot underneath the volume buttons, and - to the right of the camera lens - a flap that I cannot seem to open.

In short, where is the SIM card?!

Thank you for your time and your patience with this potentially silly question.

 

[Jaffa]

Under the battery?

 

[dekky]

How did you put it first time...on maybe every phone sim is under the battery.

 

[bluenova]

I presume you are from the US? US CDMA phones do not use SIM cards like the rest of the world.

Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards: In the United States only GSM phones use SIM cards. The removable SIM card allows phones to be instantly activated, interchanged, swapped out and upgraded, all without carrier intervention. The SIM itself is tied to the network, rather than the actual phone. Phones that are card-enabled can be used with any GSM carrier.
The CDMA equivalent, a R-UIM card, is only available in parts of Asia but remains on the horizon for the U.S. market. CDMA carriers in the U.S. require proprietary handsets that are linked to one carrier only and are not card-enabled. To upgrade a CDMA phone, the carrier must deactivate the old phone then activate the new one. The old phone becomes useless.

 

[andy d]

I presume you are from the US? US CDMA phones do not use SIM cards like the rest of the world.

How daft is that.

 

[bluenova]

How daft is that.

Always gotta be different

I've had a look around on the net for you but it seems Costa Rica purly uses GSM, there are no CDMA services.

 

[lekky]

I presume you are from the US? US CDMA phones do not use SIM cards like the rest of the world.

I did not know that.

 

[bluenova]

I did not know that.

Yea, It's purely based on the MEID (IMEI as we know it on this side of the pond) number of the handset.

 

[trendon]

I presume you are from the US? US CDMA phones do not use SIM cards like the rest of the world.

I am equally happy and pissed about this.

Happy because I am not a complete moron for not finding the SIM and pissed because now I have to buy another one.

Thank you for the answer! I'll be back as soon as I play the absurd, bloated price for the Hero they have down here in CR.

 

[trendon]

Always gotta be different

Yep. You go to a store in the US and there is a liter of Coca-Cola sitting next to a gallon of milk.

Also, let me ask you guys this since I am in full newbie mode. What is a reasonable price for a Hero (or any Android phone if you don't mind "selling" me on another one) that I can use here in Costa Rica?

I am completely clueless on this because I am accustomed to buying my phone(s) tied to a contract/telco.