Re: [SAGE] ATT Phones

[Brad Knowles <brad.knowles@skynet.be>]

At 11:17 PM +0000 2004/01/02, Phil Pennock wrote:

>  This is GSM?  If so, please excuse my market ignorance but why does the
>  set of offerings from the network provider matter?

	To the best of my knowledge, all providers in the US lock their 
phones to their network, even if they use technology that is widely 
available throughout the world (e.g., GSM).

>                                                       Unless things are
>  massively different in the USA (which would be difficult if it's still
>  GSM), they sell the access via SIMs, either contract-based or pre-pay.

	If you can bring in phones from another provider that are 
unlocked, you may (or may not) be able to use them with a SIM from a 
US provider.

	That is, for networks based on GSM technology.  For networks 
based on CDMA or TDMA technology, that's not possible -- they don't 
use SIMs.  So, you're dependant on what hardware the vendor makes 
available on their network, and what is compatible with it.

>  You'll probably have to pay more for a phone which isn't tied to a
>  particular SIM card, though.  Heh -- that can hurt a little.

	That is very difficult in the US, if not impossible with many carriers.

>  I've had two personal phones and two work phones (one of each being the
>  same model) which were all sim-lock free.  GSM rocks.  But visiting the
>  USA at the end of 2002 for holiday plus LISA, I was disappointed at the
>  inavailability of pre-pay SIMs for GSM.  I wanted a cheap way of being
>  reachable for a couple of weeks.  I had to stick to my regular personal
>  SIM card, go easy on it and just wince as I burnt through the credits.
>  (Antenna coverage was weak on the main car-trip, but I didn't care.  I
>  can still close my eyes and see the beautiful scenery of northern PA).

	I think T-Mobile sells pay-as-you-go accounts, which you can use 
for GSM, combine with WiFi access, etc....

	Of course, that assumes that you can get GSM coverage in the US. 
In many cases, the GSM coverage seriously sucks.  Even CDMA and TDMA 
(which have been used in the US far longer than GSM) can have poor 
coverage, compared to AMPS/NAMPS.  And there are no dual-mode 
AMPS/NAMPS GSM phones that I know of.  So far as I know, there is 
only one quad-band GSM phone available anywhere, and that's the Treo 
600 (which doesn't seem to be available in Europe, at least not yet).

>  Sounds like Bluetooth is now available though.  I was surprised at the
>  scarcity of that too -- I'm definitely not used to the USA being _more_
>  expensive for tech.  :^)

	The US is frequently a year or more behind Japan and Europe when 
it comes to technology, especially telecoms stuff.  In these areas, 
it's also usually more expensive, too.

-- 
Brad Knowles, <brad.knowles@skynet.be>

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
     -Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania.

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