I'm going to Spain in a few weeks and would like to buy a phone that works there. I'd like it to be something like tracphone or a phone from verizon or virgin mobile; just something I could buy from CVS or Walmart. Thank you.
Cell Phones & Plans - 2 Answers
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1 :
Your best bet is to get a quadband unlocked gsm phone.That's basically a fancy way of saying that it is a sim card phone that has been modifed to take sims besides the original phone has. Quadband. Means it has all the four gsm radio/cellular wavelengths used both in the US and internationally. The US has two bands, Spain has two bands. They are not compatible. A quadband phone has all four so can be used both sides of the Atlantic. Unlocked, means that you have freed it up so that ANY gsm sim can be used in the phone including most foreign ones. You take an Att iphone and unlock it , it can be used with Tmobile and international sims. Once you get quadband phone, I'll explain what to do. Gsm, a type of technology used in cell phones. Gsm phones are easy to identify because they usually have sim cards. Gsm technology using companies include Tmobile and Att. Cdma/non sim card phones are incompatible and are used by Verizon /Sprint and others. Most of the world uses gsm. Not to be mixed up with iden uses sim cards that look and fit the same but are incompatible with gsm . Biggest difference is that iden has walkie talkie capability too. Boost Mobile and Nextel are iden. Get an Att phone, they are easier to unlock. Don't get the cheapest, because they are not usually quadband. Something like a Razr or better usually is. If in doubt, check the phone out at phonescoop.com. If you buy it from Walmart, whatever, DON'T activate it. Call Att customer service up, tell them you bought it second hand via flea market whatever, you are going overseas and that it is an Att phone. They will usually help even if you are not a customer. Tmobile does not. Ask to have it unlocked. They will email you a code or tell you over the phone. You put a non Att sim in it, like Tmobile, borrow a friends and punch in the code. It should unlock. Go online, buy a Spanish gsm or international global sim , whichever is cheaper, pop it into your new unlocked quadband phone and Hablas Espanol away. Ole!
2 :
Any quad band GSM phone will work there, you may wanna get a local Spanish service even before you leave form RebelFone: http://rebelfone.com/spain_simcards.asp ..
