Pre-paid card: UK Samsung Nexus S.

[Emmadw]

I've just read this thread - and was wondering how I can check for sure what bandwidths my Nexus S has? It was bought unlocked & I'm currently using it on 3 in the UK.

We're visiting the US at the end of the week & had thought about getting a sim only deal, mostly, (if not entirely!) to use the phone as a Sat nav (not got one, and it seems pretty expensive to get one & to then get the US maps data ... ); so having used the phone at the weekend, it struck as an affordable alternative, albeit not as powerful as a proper sat nav (but, combined with using Internet cafes etc, to plan the route, mostly just for when we get lost!)

However, the more I read about it, the more I realise it's not as straight forward as I thought! I've googled both the baseband version & the serial number, but neither told me the bands it uses; ( Nexus S - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia says it's got several variants ... )
As the baseband version is I9020XXKi1 - (without an A anywhere) - is it the I9020? In which case, is it the one that's got 900 / 1700 / 2100 MHz UMTS??

 

[mogelijk]

From what I can tell, you have the i9020t. It looks like a way to further verify this would be to go into the Google Maps app, go into Settings>About and check under "Device". If it lists the device as "soju" you have the i9020t, if it shows "sojua" you have the i9020a.

If you have the i9020t, T-Mobile will work best for you in the US. You can get an activation kit for $10 from a T-Mobile retail store, Walmart also carries them. T-Mobile has a $30/month prepaid plan that gives 100 talk minutes and "unlimited" data (throttled to 2G after 5GB). This plan must be activated either over the Internet or at Walmart; though if you specifically ask about it in a T-Mobile store, you might be able to get them to set it up for you. If you can get setup on that plan, it seems like it would be perfect for what you are wanting.