World phone... Additional costs?

[star444]

So the Photon is a World Phone... how exactly does that work? Are there additional costs for using the phone when you are out of the counrty? Voice/data? If so, how expensive is it? Do you have to pay a monthly add-on cost?

 

[itswaycool]

You pay international roaming charges for voice which vary but average around $2 per minute. For data you pay per kb. They used to have a international data plan, but they did away with it. You pay as you go. There is no monthly fee. You have to call sprint and make sure your international capabilities are unrestricted before you travel.

 

[KnowProblem]

Their international data roaming plan was awesome, and very reasonably priced. Too bad they did away with it.

If you are going to roam with the device in a country that doesn't have CDMA coverage (that is, most countries), then you also need to get a SIM card from Sprint. Note that in most instances, CDMA data roaming is a heck of a lot cheaper than GSM data roaming.

 

[busted bones]

Any idea if this will have an unlocked sim like some of the other world phones theyve had? Buying a cheap disposable sim would save a lot of money.

 

[Godfather13]

What about just using the phone in wifi mode for checking email and posting on facebook? Like you would on an iPad etc. Would that cost if you were overseas?

 

[busted bones]

What about just using the phone in wifi mode for checking email and posting on facebook? Like you would on an iPad etc. Would that cost if you were overseas?

It shouldnt since you wouldnt actually be using cell towers and data.

 

[bupolo]

This may be a bit specific of a question, but does anyone know what the costs would be for using the Photon in Germany and Austria this summer? Still $2/minute + $/kb? Anything specific needed like a sim card or anything?

 

[rs_k]

This may be a bit specific of a question, but does anyone know what the costs would be for using the Photon in Germany and Austria this summer? Still $2/minute + $/kb? Anything specific needed like a sim card or anything?

I was over there this summer with my iPhone (don't hate I'm not a trolling fanboy) and what I did was I kept my phone on and since I didn't pay for international roaming, I didn't have any service which was fine. This kept my aGPS on for geotagging pics and wifi for Facebook and Twitter. Then on wifi you can use skype to call phones back home for much cheaper than paying for the GSM roaming through AT&T. You might be able to use gTalk similarly

 

[VDub2174]

Any idea if this will have an unlocked sim like some of the other world phones theyve had? Buying a cheap disposable sim would save a lot of money.

If it's anything like the BB9630 was, then all you would have to do is call Sprint so they can unlock it. When I had the BB9630 I called and they gave me a code to input so I could use an international SIM card. It took about 3 minutes to do

 

[mkvoran]

If it's anything like the BB9630 was, then all you would have to do is call Sprint so they can unlock it. When I had the BB9630 I called and they gave me a code to input so I could use an international SIM card. It took about 3 minutes to do

Interesting. I called Sprint about this several months ago, and they told me all Blackberries (only blackberries) shipped unlocked.

I think maybe I read somewhere that initially they had a problem with phones shipping locked, but that it had been sorted out - she was showing my phone as unlocked in her system.

At any rate, a quick call to to custy service is the way to go. It's quick and easy and is worth it not to get to your destination and have issues.

BTW - definitely get local SIMS rather than paying for the roaming on Sprint. Your calls back to the IUS will still be expensive, but calls around your local area will be dirt cheap. Also most of the providers have daily or monthly data plans as well. I was in Hong Kong for two weeks and paid for a month of unlimited data. Was like 30 USD. totally worth it. Roaming per KB with Sprint would have been 10x that.

 

[VDub2174]

Interesting. I called Sprint about this several months ago, and they told me all Blackberries (only blackberries) shipped unlocked.

I think maybe I read somewhere that initially they had a problem with phones shipping locked, but that it had been sorted out - she was showing my phone as unlocked in her system.

Yeah, I was one of the "lucky" ones that got a locked BB9630

I did remember seeing that it got sorted out but wasn't sure if the Motorola Photon would be in the same boat.

 

[wubbie075]

Interesting. I called Sprint about this several months ago, and they told me all Blackberries (only blackberries) shipped unlocked.

I think maybe I read somewhere that initially they had a problem with phones shipping locked, but that it had been sorted out - she was showing my phone as unlocked in her system.

At any rate, a quick call to to custy service is the way to go. It's quick and easy and is worth it not to get to your destination and have issues.

BTW - definitely get local SIMS rather than paying for the roaming on Sprint. Your calls back to the IUS will still be expensive, but calls around your local area will be dirt cheap. Also most of the providers have daily or monthly data plans as well. I was in Hong Kong for two weeks and paid for a month of unlimited data. Was like 30 USD. totally worth it. Roaming per KB with Sprint would have been 10x that.

Spoke to a manager at my local Sprint Store today about this

The SIM is unlocked. No problem at all to purchase a local SIM card for use when travelling. However, when using a SIM card other than the one that comes with the phone, the phone will not be able to calls to your regular number, only the number connected to the SIM.

You can also get an international plan using the SIM that comes with the phone (with your own number), and even upgrade and downgrade to/from the international plan to cover the time period of your trip. He did say that would likely be more expensive than the rates with a purchased SIM card.

He mentioned that some international phone companies (like Vodaphone) would be able to provide you with a SIM card that will cover multiple regions, so you won't have to have a buncha different SIMs for each country you travel to.

All data usage on a purchased SIM card will use local data rates. Data usage on the SIM card that comes with the phone will be at international data roaming rates or the rate of the international plan you have.

 

[twospirits]

^--- Awesome info. Thanks

TS

 

[tbhausen]

I spent almost two weeks in the Philippines and S. Korea earlier this year and used the hell out of wi-fi without any charges. It was awesome to have such a link to home.

 

[wubbie075]

Yeah, WiFi works anywhere, but I was in Korea and the roaming rates were ridiculous even though it's CDMA. I was back in the stone ages paying 50 cents to send a text lol.

World Phone capability is one of the main reasons I'm (probably) getting this over the 3vo, but I was extremely concerned about how much it would actually cost to use it abroad. I feel much better about the situation now.

 

[itswaycool]

He mentioned that some international phone companies (like Vodaphone) would be able to provide you with a SIM card that will cover multiple regions, so you won't have to have a buncha different SIMs for each country you travel to.

All data usage on a purchased SIM card will use local data rates. Data usage on the SIM card that comes with the phone will be at international data roaming rates or the rate of the international plan you have.

I just got back from Europe using my blackberry tour with a vodaphone sim cards purchased in Italy and France. I was unable to get data to work despite purchasing a plan with data. It may be due to the Blackberry not being in service prior to travel so I did not have service books on the device. Blackberries are a little different in the way data is provisioned so I wonder if it would work with an android device. Voice and text messaging worked fine. Same thing happened in argentina with Personna (sp?). I will be interested to see if an android device will work. BTW, it is difficult to find carriers that offer data and voice sim cards. I wasted quite a bit of time looking at different wireless services.

 

[SporkLover]

I just got back from Europe using my blackberry tour with a vodaphone sim cards purchased in Italy and France. I was unable to get data to work despite purchasing a plan with data. It may be due to the Blackberry not being in service prior to travel so I did not have service books on the device. Blackberries are a little different in the way data is provisioned so I wonder if it would work with an android device. Voice and text messaging worked fine. Same thing happened in argentina with Personna (sp?). I will be interested to see if an android device will work. BTW, it is difficult to find carriers that offer data and voice sim cards. I wasted quite a bit of time looking at different wireless services.

Did you get the Vodaphone pre-paid plan that supported BIS? Up until the last few months there was not any provider in Europe that provided pre-paid SIMs with BIS support. The first was Vodaphone, as long as you ordered the right one. Here is the one for Germany CallYa Smartphone BlackBerry

 

[SporkLover]

Spoke to a manager at my local Sprint Store today about this

The SIM is unlocked. No problem at all to purchase a local SIM card for use when travelling. However, when using a SIM card other than the one that comes with the phone, the phone will not be able to calls to your regular number, only the number connected to the SIM.

You can also get an international plan using the SIM that comes with the phone (with your own number), and even upgrade and downgrade to/from the international plan to cover the time period of your trip. He did say that would likely be more expensive than the rates with a purchased SIM card.

He mentioned that some international phone companies (like Vodaphone) would be able to provide you with a SIM card that will cover multiple regions, so you won't have to have a buncha different SIMs for each country you travel to.

All data usage on a purchased SIM card will use local data rates. Data usage on the SIM card that comes with the phone will be at international data roaming rates or the rate of the international plan you have.

Great news. This is exactly how Sprint treated the TP2. Domestically, you couldn't use the TP2 on a competitors network, but overseas you could choose your carrier.

 

[yungwunn911]

I'll be traveling to Lebanon next week and will try this phone out with a prepaid sim.

I'll be bring my (current) BB9630 just in case.

I really hope it works welll....

 

[SporkLover]

I'll be traveling to Lebanon next week and will try this phone out with a prepaid sim.

I'll be bring my (current) BB9630 just in case.

I really hope it works welll....

Check out PrePaidGSM.net Forum

Informative forum members can tip you off to the best pre-paid sim for the purpose you may use it.

 

[itswaycool]

Did you get the Vodaphone pre-paid plan that supported BIS? Up until the last few months there was not any provider in Europe that provided pre-paid SIMs with BIS support. The first was Vodaphone, as long as you ordered the right one. Here is the one for Germany CallYa Smartphone BlackBerry

I don't know, but I paid extra for a sim that was supposed to include data for blackberry. This was in mid-June in Italy. The sales person seemed to understand what I was looking for.

 

[twospirits]

I'll be traveling to Lebanon next week and will try this phone out with a prepaid sim.

I'll be bring my (current) BB9630 just in case.

I really hope it works welll....

keep us posted when you get back. Have a safe trip.

Check out PrePaidGSM.net Forum

Informative forum members can tip you off to the best pre-paid sim for the purpose you may use it.

Awesome info, thanks

TS

 

[Drunk NPC]

Pop in a SIM and you should be good to go.
Personally I ordered one from TruPhone as they have the most reasonable rates (spent hours on this) and their cards work in 100's of countries. One card to rule them all and it's all pay-as-you-go.

 

[KnowProblem]

Pop in a SIM and you should be good to go.
Personally I ordered one from TruPhone as they have the most reasonable rates (spent hours on this) and their cards work in 100's of countries. One card to rule them all and it's all pay-as-you-go.

I checked out their rates... there seems to be a large discrepancy between what's on their web page and what's in their "official tariff" pdf. Certainly if their rates is what's in the pdf then it's only okay.

There are a lot of players in this roaming SIM market and it's importatnt to careflully evaluate each. Still, one's best bet usually is to buy a local SIM instead.

 

[nero]

I checked out their rates... there seems to be a large discrepancy between what's on their web page and what's in their "official tariff" pdf. Certainly if their rates is what's in the pdf then it's only okay.

There are a lot of players in this roaming SIM market and it's importatnt to careflully evaluate each. Still, one's best bet usually is to buy a local SIM instead.

I agree, get a local SIM and call it a day. Still want folks in the states to call you, then let them pay for dialing you from the US as most international pay-as-you-go SIMS are free incoming ftw!

Can gVoice calls be forwarded to international numbers? If so, for whatever country you frequent, that could be a work around for friends/family calling you from the states whilst you're abroad...??