Help Going to China

[Josh2]

So I am going to China in October and was wondering if my Incredible will work over there? Also how much is it going to cost to use it for the week I am over there?

 

[MarkyD]

where in China? there is limited CDMA roaming in China, and it's very expensive (think $3 per minute.) a better option is to get a quad band gsm phone for cheap on craigslist. you can buy a prepaid SIM there that will be the best way to go.

My wife is in Kunming (SW China) for 8 weeks, and she said the prepaid sim cards are readily available.

 

[MarkyD]

Calling From China

 

[Josh2]

I will be in Beijing and Hong Kong.

 

[MarkyD]

there is CDMA roaming coverage in both of those places. You'll be on China Mobile's network. MAKE SURE To turn off your mobile data. Roaming is charged at $2/min.

 

[Josh2]

Um, how do I do that? haha. Also is there anyway I can just pay a flat price to use my phone as much as I want while I am over there?

 

[newyorkgreg]

Is there a sim card option in the back of the Incredible?

 

[Josh2]

Is there a sim card option in the back of the Incredible?

No, I would have to buy a phone that can use a SIM card.

 

[drdoom]

Is there a sim card option in the back of the Incredible?

No, there is not.

 

[mrjerryk]

You probably would be better off getting a prepaid cell while you were over there. For calls home you can use Skype on your pc or laptop. If you do use Skype I recommend getting a usb microphone. They work best for Skype calls. This would probably be your cheapest option.

 

[Josh2]

It's 20 dollars per day for internet at the hotel I am staying at.

 

[sabrewings]

It's a week. Learn to deal with it.

 

[lioydran]

hello josh2

i'm a chinese and use incredible in china.
in fact ,china have the same CDMA1X/2000/EVDO network with verzion
the carrier name is CHINA TELCOM

on the other hand,the cdma network in china still something different wich US about we are use UIMcard for CDMA cellphone ,and for US,there are no UIMcard.
anyway,when you move to china and still want to use the incredible too,you should to buy a CHINATELCOM UIMcard,then got the ESN,IMSI,AKEY,EVDO AN/AAA of your phone number,then write to your incredible via cdmaworkshop,QPST,QXDM, and so on.

i'd love to help you for using incredible in china,PM me if you wish.

 

[Josh2]

It's a week. Learn to deal with it.

I have no problem leaving my phone behind. It's my mom who has the issue with it. I am 17 and she doesn't like the idea of me going to the other side of the world and not being able to contact her.Plus that's part of the agreement of letting me go, having to contact her, pretty lame but o well i'll live with it. So I am just trying to get an idea of the cost. I think I am just going to take my laptop and use skype. seems like the easiest way of doing things.

 

[sabrewings]

Then a pre-paid phone is the way to go.

 

[Lars]

Call Verizon. Global roaming unlimited data is $69 per month or double the $30 plan we are used to. Then get Fring and a SIP account. Call home over Fring via ev or WiFi. When you get home go back to he regular plan. Your regular number would work too.

 

[milnivlek]

A local prepaid SIM card and phone is really the way to go. That's what I generally do whenever I'm overseas in Asia. You can often get an el-cheapo phone for little or no extra cost from the prepaid phone provider, similar to here.

 

[sontaikle]

I have no problem leaving my phone behind. It's my mom who has the issue with it. I am 17 and she doesn't like the idea of me going to the other side of the world and not being able to contact her.Plus that's part of the agreement of letting me go, having to contact her, pretty lame but o well i'll live with it. So I am just trying to get an idea of the cost. I think I am just going to take my laptop and use skype. seems like the easiest way of doing things.

I really don't know how things are in China, but when I went abroad in my teens (went to Europe a couple times) I just gave my parents the number of the hotel(s) I was staying at, and used payphones to keep in contact—and my trips were longer than yours! For a week it probably isn't worth going through the trouble of trying to get a compatible cell phone.

You might want to look into international phone cards. My friends and I were able to get a crapload of minutes real cheap and share the cards to call family.

 

[dc006]

hello josh2

i'm a chinese and use incredible in china.
in fact ,china have the same CDMA1X/2000/EVDO network with verzion
the carrier name is CHINA TELCOM

on the other hand,the cdma network in china still something different wich US about we are use UIMcard for CDMA cellphone ,and for US,there are no UIMcard.
anyway,when you move to china and still want to use the incredible too,you should to buy a CHINATELCOM UIMcard,then got the ESN,IMSI,AKEY,EVDO AN/AAA of your phone number,then write to your incredible via cdmaworkshop,QPST,QXDM, and so on.

i'd love to help you for using incredible in china,PM me if you wish.

I am going to China for the Spring 2011 semester to teach business classes at SIAS International University. I am excited to read this post as I was kind of down about having to give up my Incredible for an entire semester. Can you explain your post in a little more detail please? I am confused about the UIMcard...

I also read about the global unlimited data and Fring. Can someone elaborate on that? Thanks for all your help. I would like to figure this out for next Spring.

 

[chigins]

Um, how do I do that? haha. Also is there anyway I can just pay a flat price to use my phone as much as I want while I am over there?

When my father-in-law travels he just buys a go phone while he is there. Check messages on the internet.

 

[simn22]

im pretty familiar with HK. hotel internet fees are just stupid. hopefully they have a business "centre" where they have free internet. otherwise hopefully you can borrow someone's wifi.
all 24 hour Mcdonalds there have "free" wifi but its only for about 30-45 mins

what about wifi through the Incredible and using skype? isnt that free?

 

[PossumK]

there is CDMA roaming coverage in both of those places. You'll be on China Mobile's network. MAKE SURE To turn off your mobile data. Roaming is charged at $2/min.

Yes, be sure to turn off mobile data. I was in China a few weeks ago and turned on my Droid Eris to try to hook up to a wifi network. Before I could disable the mobile network, I received a text message from Verizon saying the cost was $20/megabyte, iirc.

 

[Az Scooter]

Got to pay the censors, somehow.

 

[cman8882]

im pretty familiar with HK. hotel internet fees are just stupid. hopefully they have a business "centre" where they have free internet. otherwise hopefully you can borrow someone's wifi.
all 24 hour Mcdonalds there have "free" wifi but its only for about 30-45 mins

what about wifi through the Incredible and using skype? isnt that free?

I also have this question. I am going to Europe this summer and would like to be able to use the Incredible for calls/texts. Why can't you just connect using Wifi overseas, and turn off mobile network? You should then be able to use Skype Mobile or Google Voice for texts I suspect. If anyone knows the answer to this, it would be appreciated.