Hello all!
I am going to be traveling internationally for an extended period and am looking to get a new phone. I currently use a Samsung Galaxy S3 on the AT&T LTE network.
I am looking for some advice on what to get, here is some of the things I would like:
Dual SIM support
Work on the USA AT&T network as well as being a global GSM phone
Android custom ROM compatible
Normal bells/whistles: GPS, Wireless, Bluetooth, Camera
Thanks for any insite that you might be able to provide. I have looked through the various China wholesale type sites and there are just SO many phones to choose from its a bit daunting.
JohnnyNVA
Anyone have any recommendations?
Related
As the title states, I'm looking at switching over from my iPhone4 to a Droid since my current telecom provider is going to LTE in a few months (HSPA+, both Upload and Download).
I'm looking at perhaps a Galaxy S II I9100 but I'm not certain about it due to "international" usage. Here's my situation:
Currently we are supporting GSM. Some people are saying we need 1800 MHz, but a lot of sites are saying 1900 MHz, then again most phones cover this.
As I said before, we're supposed to be getting LTE HSPA+ in a few months, something the iPhone doesn't even have yet. I'd like to use a phone that could use this.
We don't have AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, etc. down here. Are there any phones (like the GS2) that could work down here once "4G" is introduced? I ask because I saw people saying how it would only be GSM, etc. etc., and I'd like to make sure it's actually so.
Thank you for your time!
(Also, the local and only telecom we have down here is the Bahamas Telecommunications Company aka Batelco aka BTC. It was recently bought out by LIME, if specs are needed.)
Once again, I'm looking to get a Galaxy S II, but not sure which one to get for what I need. I am free to other suggestions on a phone though.
P.S. One more question: What's the difference between Unlock and International?
I see Unlocked here on Amazon saying, "Samsung i9100 Galaxy S II Unlocked GSM Smartphone with 8 MP Camera, Android OS, 16 GB Internal Memory, Touchscreen, Wi-Fi, and GPS--No Warranty (Noble Black)"
I also see it saying on another listing, "Samsung Galaxy S II GT-I9100 Unlocked Phone with 8MP Camera and Touchscreen - International Version (Black)"
bumping since it's off first page...
Hi folks, I've bought an SIII recently (not much point being on the SIII forums if I didn't have one!) and heard something worrying/interesting the other day that I thought I'd ask about. Show #62 of All About Android (http://twit.tv/show/all-about-android/62) was briefly discussing the SIII and it was mentioned that only AT&T customers can use the "international" version of the SIII for voice/text/data with the other GSM carriers only allowing voice n' text.
I was planning a vacation in the US in fall, and was kind of hoping to be able to get a T-Mobile 30 day PAYG SIM for my SIII (because there's a couple of websites that do queue times as Disney etc - so I'd need data), so this was bad news to me.
Anyone out there know any more about this - like if it's true, and if so, why?
My friend in the US said the GSM version of GSIII is usable in the US but with only 2G data, not 3G.
I'm not sure about what carrier lets what but you should check out the carrier's 3G frequency band and compare it with the international GSIII frequency bands.
Hi
I'm coming from the CDMA world and want to switch to a GSM phone to get out of this 2yr contract cycle (not a lot of month-to-month CDMA options out there). I'm leaning towards a Samsung Galaxy S2 but Looking on Ebay, there are apparently a multitude of SGS2 flavors out there. SGH-T989, I9100G, I9100, SGH-I727 and the list goes on and on. I want to root the device and install a custom ROM and activate on Tmobile first to try their service for a while. I read about some people not getting 3G/4G service using unlocked AT&T phones on Tmobile's network. Is there any certain model of the SGS2 that works well with all GSM carriers or does it mostly depend on what network you want to run it on?
Thanks
I just recently bought a Korean Galaxy S2 (SHW-M250K) on eBay. It's unlocked and in great condition. I've been thinking of switching from Verizon to T-Mobile for a long time now because I don't do a whole lot of calling, and I'm paying $70 a month for a flip phone from Verizon with only 450 minutes and no type of data access at all. With that said, I'm pretty sure this new phone will work in the states with a local SIM, but I wasn't aware that some phones are only able to achieve 2G speeds (can't remember why exactly). Does anyone know specifically if this model will be capable of 3G or not? Thanks in advance.
I saw a couple of tech points in the other threads. I myself have purchased the Att variant and planning to set it up with T Mobile but as I said, someone pointed out that they have different cellular banding or something to that effect. This person went on to say even if we were to get the ATT Gear S version on T Mobile that speeds would probably only be 2G.
From the articles that I've read on the Gear S specs I haven't come across anything saying that Samsung has designed specific versions for each U.S. carrier.
I do not have the answer at this time whether or not full cross compatibility is built into the device or not. Purely going by what has been announced, again I do not think it has been modified to keep us from doing carrier jumps.
I will update when Tmobile gets their networks up and running for the Gear S. If anyone can clear this up with for sure information, please do so. Feel free to speculate but if you're not certain please say so. Thanks.
If I can't get full functionality on the TMobile network with my ATT purchased and unlocked Gear S, I guess I'll have to return it and pony up the extra $50 that TMobile charges and fully join that club. Guys it may not be worth the hassle. I'll have an update soon on how all this works out, however I'd like to welcome feedback on the issue.
hughedee74 said:
If I can't get full functionality on the TMobile network with my ATT purchased and unlocked Gear S, I guess I'll have to return it and pony up the extra $50 that TMobile charges and fully join that club. Guys it may not be worth the hassle. I'll have an update soon on how all this works out, however I'd like to welcome feedback on the issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im doing the same thing tomorrow.
You can go to Samsung.com to check out the official spec. There are 5 different carrier variants but only three listed so far: AT&T (SM-R750A), Verizon (SM-R750V) and Sprint (SM-R750P). The missing two are T-Mobile (SM-R750T) and US Cellular.
Each listed different supported network (CMDA vs GSM) and bands.
It has the Snapdragon 400 which supports a HUGE number of bands and supports a global mode for both CDMA and GSM.
https://www.qualcomm.com/products/snapdragon/processors/400
https://www.qualcomm.com/products/snapdragon/wearables/samsung-gear-s
Someone will figure out a way to get the device to work with them back and forth ... it may be through a rom or a command line. But if you aren't a tinkerer you'll probably want to go with the version of the watch for your preferred carrier.
Update: I did a search through the FCC and didn't see one with T-Mobile specific bands (1700/2100). Bad news though is that there definitely are two variants for CDMA AND GSM. Argh. I stand brutally corrected!