I'm looking for a Bluetooth phone for my TL (preferably Cingular) and I'll be travelling to Europe soon (speficially Sweden) and I would like a phone that will work there if possible.

I looked at the V600 and liked it but its expensive and doesn't seem to work very well with the TL based on what people here say. I think it might work in Europe though, but I'm not sure.

People seem to be raving about the Sony Ericsson T637 which isn't a flip-phone but less expensive and seems to pair nicely with the TL. But is this phone usable in Europe?

Any other I should be considering?

Thanks!

 

as long as its a GSM-based phone... then yes. at the airport you can rent a euro sim card to swap with yours... will be cheaper

 

In order for a GSM phone to be usable in Europe it has to have at least one of the two European bands (900,1800) In the US we use 850 & 1900. The V600 is an excellent choice because it has all 4 bands. The newest firmware loads should take care of its interoperability with the TL. The 637 is tri-band but only has one of the European bands (1800). You should check to see which bands are in use in Sweden. However, if you do a lot of European travel, I suggest the V600 if you also must have Bluetooth. Otherwise the V400 is an excellent choice as it has a higher db rating and gets better reception than the V600. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks. This is exactly what I was looking for.

I'll wait and see if the firmware upgrade solves interoperability problems between the V600 and V400. It seems like people aren't thrilled with the V600 for some other reasons though.
Since I have a TL, I think Bluetooth is really a requirement for me.

I found this interesting website where they list bands by country. If its accurate, it looks like they use both 900 and 1800 (http://www.refreq.com/Facts_Stats/country.htm).

 

Hi there,

While the V600 is of course an excellent choice because it is quad band, most of the other GSM phones Cingular offers with Bluetooth are tri-band (850/1800/1900). The 1800 band is widely used in Europe, and Cingular has roaming agreements throughout. Yes, there may be a few small towns or places where the 1800 band has no carrier or no agreement, but that is highly unlikely. The Ericsson phones with BlueTooth actually work the best, you get the full display (battery meter and signal strength). Nokia phones give you only the antenna, and Motorola phones give you signal strength.
If you have more questions about a particular Cingular phone you are looking at, reply to this thread and I'll give you more info.

Good luck!

 

Thanks.

I'm looking at the Sony Ericsson T637 through Cingular.

I checked the Amazon website and if I'm reading this correctly it seems like they are selling it for $149 less a $50 Cingular rebate and a $150 Amazon rebate that expires today. That means that they pay ME $50 to buy this phone? Doesn't seem right, but here's the link:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...231015-7935854

My local Cingular store has it for $129 less the $50 Cincular rebate.
In either case its significantly cheaper (and apparently less problematic) than the V600.

I don't actually travel to Europe all that often but I would still like the phone to work while I'm there (especially on this trip since I have to meet up with someone who's also American and cell phones would be convienient). What do you know about the Cingular roaming agreements over there?

 

Your phone must be unlocked if you want to use it in Europe without roaming charges. Try to purchase a mobile that is unlocked and they buy or rent a sim card.

 

I was in Sweden not two weeks ago and my Sony Ericsson 616 (which I got when I just couldn't deal with the v600 problems any longer) worked just fine out of Stockholm. The poster who recommended getting the European SIM card was giving good advice; Cingular's per minute rates in Western Europe are $1.29. You can get much better rates by using the European SIM. I think the company called "Orange" is one that works particularly well with the tri-bands that Cingular offers. I was too lazy to do so, since I knew my calls would be short and I was willing to pay the premium. The phone also worked just fine in Helsinki, Oslo and Copenhagen.

 

Can you just insert a European SIM card in the Cingular phone or does it need to be "unlocked", whatever that means?

 

Unlocked phones will be necessary. Since T-Mobile or Cingular or any other service providers offer these free or low-cost phones to their customers, they usually lock the phones at least for an year... I'm talking about those phones with providers' "logo"...

 

All the phones Cingular is selling now should be unlocked. In the end they found out that it was just easier to deal with this way. AT&T is still sim-locking phones but that should end when Cingular takes them over.
As for the 637, it's a very good phone. What makes the 637 cool is you get full functionality on the TL. Ericsson is the only one who has correctly implemented the BT spec, so it integrates really sweet with the TL.
As for access in Europe, first you'll have to make sure that International Roaming is enabled (this is true for all cariers). For specific country access, go to http://www.cingular.com/roaming/intl_roaming and put in your zip code (or the zip of where the phone is billed) and then you'll see whether or not you have access.
Cingular has roaming pretty much worldwide right now. In fact you can even roam in CDMA only locations like Korea and Japan by renting a CDMA SIM based phone at the airport, popping your SIM card in, and you're ready to go. In Korea KTF charges $1 a day to rent the phone, and all your calls are billed to your Cingular account. Of course this is also true with T-Mobile and AT&T as well.
Hope this helps.

 

I really don't know Cingular's trend is towards unlocked phones. Good to know.


However, as I know Cellular system in Japan could be quite different than what we're talking here. They "may" have GSM or CDMA, but it's quite rare with limited reception abilities. They used to have two "closed" systems, PDC & PHS.

PDC includes NTT DoCoMo, JPhone(also provides GSM, too), and TU-KA. PHS has NTT DoCoMo, and DDI pocket. Most of them are already using 2.5G speed and don't use SIM card or ID card, but use built-in chip as CDMA or TDMA phones in US. My 0.02.

 

I bought the T637 yesterday from Amazon $149 less $50 Cingular Rebate and $150 Amazon rebate. I stopped by the Cingular store on my way home last night and the guy couldn't believe that deal, but we looked it up together and there it was.

That's exactly the information I was looking for, thanks!
I don't plan on using it a lot so I might just stick with the roaming plan rather than rent a SIM.

Couple more questions:
What if I call back to the USA? Is it still just $1.29/minute or do I have to pay long distance on top of that?

Would people from the US be able to call me on my regular number? If I was calling another Cingular phone while we were both in Sweden would I dial the regular US number? Also, what about a call from my cell to a local Swedish number? Do I have to dial 011+country code as I would if I was calling from the US?

Sorry to be a pain in the ass but you really seem to really know how this works!

 

If you're roaming to other countries, anyone in US could reach you by simply dialing your #, as long as your cell is on and has open-access and good reception.

If you're in Sweden, your cellular phone will act like their cellular phone. For example, if you want to call Dell in Sweden, dial 08 585 365 98 directly. If you want to call Dell in US, dial xxx-1-800-999-3355. (xxx is their phone provider's access prefix for all the international calls)

If you like to call your buddy who is also using US cell in Sweden, you have to call him as you dial International call from Sweden.

If your Swedish partners like to call your cell while you're in Sweden, they have to dial international calls to reach you.

 

All of Cingular's bluetooth enabled phones come unlocked. btw, Europe rarely uses 900mhz these days. That's their "old" technology. Roaming in Europe is so easy. *sigh* too bad its not like that in the U.S.

 

This is bumping an old thread.... but,

...even with Cingulars Int'l Roaming plan, calls are $1/min whether incoming or outgoing! Everyone at home that doesn't know where I am will be calling me! That's going to be expensive. Then, others in my family have Verizon phones so, although we are traveling together and may be a few blocks apart, we will be collectively paying about $2/min. That's MORE expensive.

I have an AT&T V600 which I have had for a year and a half. It works good in the TL. I have no complaints. I have called Cingular twice and told them I was going to be in Europe for several months and needed to unlock my phone. They said thay will NOT do that. "We do not support that."

Now what? Who knows how to unlock this phone?

 

OR try seaching on creagslist for peple who can unlock phones. They charge anywhere between 10-20 dollars.

 

try seaching on craigslist for people who can unlock phones. They charge anywhere between 10-20 dollars.

 

I did. Nothing there for unlocking cell phones. Lots of other stuff, though.

Why wouldn't Cingular unlock an AT&T phone? Isn't that "restraint of trade" or some other monopolistic no-no? It's my phone. How can they tell me I must buy service from them at their inflated prices?

 

I've been using the Motorola V3 (RAZR) for about 8 months now. Its a quad band GSM phone so it will work pretty much anywhere there is GSM (assuming Cingular has a roaming agreement). It will definately work in Europe with Cingular if you dont mind paying through the nose for roaming - or you can use the phone and buy a pre-paid SIM card locally (assuming its unlocked by the carrier).

Works well with the TL (2005) except of course that bluetooth sucks the life out of a phone battery.


- Ross

 

My Blackberry 7100t worked great in Gothenburg last week. It's a quad band phone.

Mike

 

They don't unlock while you are under contract beacuse they sponsor a low price for the phone.
They don't unlock afterwards because they are bastards.

 

Cingular unlocks phones after a customer has been with them for 3 months. Not sure how that works with previous AT&T customers though

Unlocking phones is easy...just takes a little know-how.

Correction: Cingular phones come locked now...all of them. To the original poster, try checking out the Sony Ericsson Z520. it's a quad band phone that just came out. Would work great in Europe as well.

 

YES YOUR RIGHT ABOUT THE 3 MONTHS. when you call cingular tell them that you bought the phone at retail price b/c you need you use it overseas and that is the only reason you bought the phone. it will take a few days but u will get it.

 

No need to call cingular, just unlock the phone yourself.

 

and how is that?

 

depends which phone but its pretty easy

 

i know the nokia's are easy(i can do most of those), but how can you do the others? PM if you cant post it here. thanx

 

Email me and ask me more specific questions