Help Will this phone work in the united states

[TheFunnyBone]

I wanted to buy a orange San Francisco/zte blade from play.com but I wasn't sure if it would work in the USA specifically Oregon If it would make any difference
Though most people here probably know it's specs are

UMTS 900/2100 MHz
GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz

Would it work at all, or would certain services not work, if so what
And I was thinking about getting the lg optimus as an alternative for 169.99
So if the I can't get the San Fran would you recommend the optimus or recommend a different android phone (180$ and below price region)
Thanks in advanced
-thefunnybone

 

[master_yoda]

Depends which network your using.

Example: AT&T use mostly 850mhz transmitters and just a few on 1900mhz for both GSM and 3G, so on the San Francisco you would be up the creek without a paddle. The LG optimus would be much better here because it has the 850mhz band.

T-Mobile on the other hand.. you would be ok for GSM coverage, as they use 1900mhz, but you wouldnt be able to use their 1700mhz 3G on either of the phones, so would be limited in that way to GSM only.

Hope this helps a little

Cheers

 

[TheFunnyBone]

I am on tmobile and I would only be using it for texting calling and picture messaging I don't really care for 3G or 4g since I don't have a data plan and would only be using wifi to get onto the Internet
But I would need to text and call people from other carriers like att sprint and verizon
Would this work?
Thank you
-thefunnybone

 

[master_yoda]

I would need to text and call people from other carriers like att sprint and verizon
Would this work?

The San Francisco will be fine on T-Mobile for calls and texts over GSM to your friends on other networks

 

[Ted_Denney]

Thanks for the information. I wish I had read this a few days ago. Does anyone know if there is a provider in the US that uses the right transmitter frequency to allow the Orange San Francisco to access the internet as well? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[master_yoda]

Does anyone know if there is a provider in the US that uses the right transmitter frequency to allow the Orange San Francisco to access the internet as well? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

You can use the internet on T-Mobile GSM/GPRS/EDGE 1900 MHz, but it will be a lot slower than 3G.

Cheers

 

[BubbaHotepUK]

I can verify that the UK Orange SF works fine in the USA, having used it in Texaslast week. It picked up T-Mobile as the carrier automatically.

I can't vouch for data though as I don't have a roaming data contract - but WiFi in the hotel & office was fine.