Hi
I currently live in the UK, but am emigrating to Massachusetts (New Bedford) soon.
I upgraded my O2 XDA II, to an O2 XDA II S primarily for the quad band, and to give a greater network choice when I get to the USA.
Being new to the states (no credit history etc) I will go PAYG to avoid the huge deposits they want from someone with no credit history.
Can anyone suggest a good network both price and customer satisfaction? Are Virgin any good in the USA - I see they use the Sprint PCS network - They certainly are cheap in the uK!
Also if I did upgrade again to a HTC Universal / XDA Exec, what networks in the USA have good network coverage using just the tri band (900/1800/1900?) as apposed to the quad band (850/900/1800/1900).
Cheers for any help or advice!
Dude, how did you get the visa? I went to California for 9 months as part of my degree, all I'm trying to do now is get back after I finish this year!
As for Virgin, no dice on that. Virgin/Sprint use CDMA (not GSM which is what SIM cards are designed for).
I've not heard of the deposits you're talking about, all I knew is you needed a social security number (which I didn't have), but I guess you know more about that than me. T-Mobile let couples talk for free, so if you are going over to live with a girlfriend or something, that might be ideal, but you both need a T-Mobile contract :roll:
I was on ATT Wireless (now Cingular) GoPhone when I was there. It's PAYG, but lets you pay automagically when you run out of cash or the month is up, so it's like a contract but you don't need the credit check. Or you can just do normal top-ups. The rates aren't exactly stellar, but it's a safe bet. Cingular reception was never great for me (had to walk to a very specific window in my house if I wanted to make calls), but in the US you live with the fact the whole country isn't covered.
Cingular should also let you do a SIM only deal at their stores (not online) which saves you 80 bucks buying a phone you won't use.
Don't have any dealings with Verizon, they are bad people. Metro PCS seem to have a good plan (40 bucks each month, all you can talk) but I don't know if that's on CDMA or if that needs a credit check as well.
Don't forget to unlock your phone before you leave!
And how *did* you get that visa?
Chris
Hey, send me a PM as I am moving from UK to Boston, MA with my job in October too! I'll be working in Framingham but I'll live in Boston.
Anyway, I think your best bet is Cingular or T-Mobile as you'll want the same data services as you have here in the UK. e.g. Verizon uses CDMA (not GSM)
As for Visas, I'm working on that now. A company will need to sponsor you. The US government grants 65,000 H-1B visas annually and this is currently oversubscribed. A new allotment of 65,000 visas comes in on October 1st when the new congressional year begins. So if you apply now you won't get one before October 1st which is what I'm aiming at. If you have a masters degree or similar the US make an extra 20,000 visas available to these persons. (that category is not currently oversubscribed).
To get one for October 1st would mean the sponsoring company would need to pay a $1,000 premium which pushes the descision process to within 3 business weeks and get the application off ASAP, like last week. (not done mine yet...)
Lewisham said:
And how *did* you get that visa?
Chris
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It was an extremely long and hard process (not entirely for me), but I will be getting a fabled GREEN CARD in the next month or two, as being a spouse I get the same visa.
My wife is a nurse - a skill they are in dire need of (like every other country around the world). She was sponsored by a nursing agency, revised for 6 months then had to fly to Atlanta to take NCLEX which is the American nursing license. We are currently awaiting Packet 4, the final interview at the London embassy, all the other stages complete. I have got to have a big pile of injections to on Friday, MMR etc which I can't prove I have had over here <OUCH>
It's been a long process, quite often stressful with loads of running around and calling people to find out if they have done there job properly!
The only otherways to get a Greencard straight away, invest $1 million dollars in a business, or marry an American........... Otherwise you just get temporary Visas (H-1B etc) where they can kick you out of the country at any time! Not good if you buy a house etc.... But you can try to get a Green card once in position of having a visa, but it's a slow process, usually 6 - 8 years!
Good luck though, with determination you can do it!
Saldous, I will PM you.....
I never noticed this thread before
First of all welcome to the state - I live in MA too - live in Salem, work in Boston.
There are several GSM pay-as-you-go options:
Carriers:
T-mobile with PAYG: http://www.t-mobile.com/prepaid/rates.asp
Cingular with GoPhone: http://www.cingular.com/myaccount/prepaid
MVNO:
1. Oxygen
2. Locus Wireless GSM
3. CallPlus Wireless GSM
4. POP
http://www.icallplus.com/2html/wireless.html?PHPSESSID=ccb69a994a490423b31b019f4a272adb
5. 7-eleven prepaid: www.7eleven.com (you have to buy a phone, but you can just use the SIM and resell the phone on ebay )
GSM you cannot use:
1. Net10 (www.net10.com)
2. TracFone (www.tracfone.co)
While the two above are GSM prepaid services and do have SIM cards, the SIM serial is tied to an IMEI of a phone with custom firmware. I have not been able to use my TracFone SIM in any "standard" GSM phone
Also for more info on pay as you go worldwide: www.prepaidgsm.net
and/or www.howardforums.com (in the prepaid forum there is a sticky).
BTW: CDMA carriers do use SIM cards (they call them RUIMs). CDMA Carriers in North america, japan and korea don't use SIMs, but there are phones coming out with RUIM capability hopefully all CDMA systems in the future will feature SIM cards
Related
Quick questions for friends of the forum in India. I will be visiting for a few weeks, and roaming with T-Mobile will be a disaster. Are SIM cards easily available for prepaid use? I am looking for something like 100 mins of international use, and maybe 200MB of data. Can anyone tell me what the cost of such usage will be? Dollars, rupees, euros, yen, doesn't matter - Google can help!
My parents just got a phone when they went there. It was simple, but here is a link that should help you out.
http://www.airtel.in/wps/wcm/connect/airtel.in/airtel.in/home/forme_newuser/mobile/prepaid+services/
Depending on where you go and what plan its 50-100p/min ~1-2 cents/min
2gb Data on GPRS is 500Rs ~ $11
Just make sure you bring a copy of your passport.
TrainRekS said:
My parents just got a phone when they went there. It was simple, but here is a link that should help you out.
http://www.airtel.in/wps/wcm/connect/airtel.in/airtel.in/home/forme_newuser/mobile/prepaid+services/
Depending on where you go and what plan its 50-100p/min ~1-2 cents/min
2gb Data on GPRS is 500Rs ~ $11
Just make sure you bring a copy of your passport.
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This is dirt cheap! Wow...
Just looking on AT&T's roaming info, a bunch of carriers in India operate on GSM 800 and 1900 MHz. The T-Mob version of the TP2 is compatible with those bands. So I don't see the point in buying a phone once you get there. Just make sure you call T-Mob to get the code to SIM-unlock your phone before you leave, if you haven't already.
redpoint73 said:
Just looking on AT&T's roaming info, a bunch of carriers in India operate on GSM 800 and 1900 MHz. The T-Mob version of the TP2 is compatible with those bands. So I don't see the point in buying a phone once you get there. Just make sure you call T-Mob to get the code to SIM-unlock your phone before you leave, if you haven't already.
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No.. don't have to buy the phone. My TP2 is unlocked. I was trying to get info on how much the SIM card rates in India are. Roaming through T-Mobile is something like 4-5 bucks a minute, and a dollar per SMS. So it racks up very quickly. I don't mind giving up my US number for the sake of making and receiving in-country calls.
SIM rates might be the same or similar to what the previous reply indicated. Not sure about India specifically, but in foreign countries that I have traveled to, the companies that rent/sell pre-paid phones usually offer the pre-paid SIMs as stand-alone products also, for the same per minute rate.
Hopefully, somebody on here can supply you with some exact info.
Wow, T-Mobile charges a dollar per SMS? That is really steep. A lot of ATT customer complain about their international roaming rates, but they charge $0.50 per SMS, most anywhere in the world.
bipinsen said:
Quick questions for friends of the forum in India. I will be visiting for a few weeks, and roaming with T-Mobile will be a disaster. Are SIM cards easily available for prepaid use? I am looking for something like 100 mins of international use, and maybe 200MB of data. Can anyone tell me what the cost of such usage will be? Dollars, rupees, euros, yen, doesn't matter - Google can help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on the provider and certainly where are you going. There are number of choices. I was there this Jan. Dolphin/Trump which is basically name for 3G on VSNL/MTNL/... (they are all same network but the name change depending on where you are) network works on the same freq as T-mobile US 3g 2100. 64MB data prepaid card was Rs 50.00 ~$1.20, voice was priced very similar to other providers. I did really get 3G most of the times, worked fine from Delhi to southern states. Google map & skype was perfect throughout. You can check the 3G freq for diff providers so you can use 3G data speed. They need identification and sometime insist on local address.
bipinsen said:
No.. don't have to buy the phone. My TP2 is unlocked. I was trying to get info on how much the SIM card rates in India are. Roaming through T-Mobile is something like 4-5 bucks a minute, and a dollar per SMS. So it racks up very quickly. I don't mind giving up my US number for the sake of making and receiving in-country calls.
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DUDE!~!
You get free Simcards in India, its sold on the roadside, all you have to provide is an Address proof and an ID proof, if you know any Indians around in India they would be glad to help,...
Mally2 from India
I will be touring the US this summer and i'd like to find out which US carrier offers a decent data plan so i could roam the country using google maps & navigation. i would need around 1 or 2 GB dataplan for a month time.
I don't want to buy another phone or make two-year contracts. Anyone knows which carrier i should turn to ? I will traveling in the north east (NY-Mass-Maine-Vermont)
many thanks
The US isn't like Europe when it comes to things like this. You generally can't just go buy a SIM card to use for a short period of time, at least not if you want a data connection. You can get a cheap prepaid phone from AT&T or T-Mobile, remove the SIM card and put it in your phone, but unless things have changed recently, you'll be paying quite a bit for data, depending on how much you use. AT&T and T-Mobile are going to be your only two options when it comes to prepaid GSM here.
AT&T is in the process of buying out T-Mobile right now as well, so probably by the time you are here, you might only have the AT&T option anyway.
AT&T has a prepaid SIM for $2/day (only on days you use it) unlimited talk and text with a data add-on option of 100mb/month for $20. I have one but switch off background data and use wifi whenever I can. I don't know if you can purchase additional 100mb data blocks within the same month. Check out https://www.paygonline.com/websc/index.jsp
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
AT&t ask for a sim. with a line under no contract, since you will not need equipment. Get a number unlimited minutes and unlimited web and text is 90$ a month and less if you need less.
Go to a corporate owned store and walk out with an activated sim for free. Call 611 and tweak your plan with a Rep.
Now the important part is never tell them you are using a smart phone. Tell them its made in Antarctica or something. If they need an imei make one up, as no company has a list other than their branded equipment.
Also if your staying a while message me and route customer relations for a 25$ credit a month for 3 mos. Its simple. Like butter.
Happy trails.
Need to know if a8181, a8182, or a8183. Or specific umts frq. You are using for 3g speeds. Ex. A8183 is 850mhz and 2100 MHz umts.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
thank you for the info, i'll try it out
cheers
What is the best way to travel abroad with the GNEX? I'm currently on AT&T with an unlocked GNEX and plan on going to France in the next few months. Would it be better to setup international roaming with AT&T or find a prepaid sim from a French cell provider? In my situation, having a solid data connection>voice minutes.
Would the gnex automatically setup the correct APN's for a particular carrier or would they have to be manually entered? Also, since this is a "pentaband" device, wouldn't I be rocking a 3G connection?
A couple of years ago when I visited Israel, I setup international roaming with AT&T which worked flawlessly with my iPhone 3GS, albeit only Edge speeds. What sucked is coming home to an $800 cell bill..lol.
Local SIM > international roaming. The fees are outrageous on roaming. Its even better if all you care about is data. You can get good cheap options with data-only SIMs.
Go with local sim unless you absolutely have to keep your US number in use while you're there.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
romaing agreements arent usually too bad for calls and texts for 'normal usage' - they tend to be next to useless for any sort of data usage.
I am from the UK and get a pitiful 25mb a day when i travel to europe, so data services are usually switched off until i check my email etc or find decent wifi.
So if you are going to need a lot of data usage probably a prepaid local sim is the way to go.
I dont know about france (most of my travel is to italy) but always get your sims from the official stores - not the independent ones (i have waited 3 days for sims to be activated).
you should also be able to just stick the sim in and be good to go.
Thanks for the replies!
Yep your phone will set itself up for the new provider once you insert the new simcard. Failing that you could always ask someone in the shop for the manual settings just in case.
In any case you'd be getting a full 3g or h/h+ service on your GN just like I do in the UK.
Rik.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
I use TMoUS. I always just roam. Its a pain to send everyone I would need to a new number. I just eat the cost as part of my trip budget.
Sent from my GSM Galaxy Nexus on TMoUS using Tapatalk
I've been out of the country pretty much the entire time I got my Galaxy Nexus, I've been roaming on Swisscom and using WiFi. I'm going to Paris in a few days and I don't expect to have WiFi so I'm going to get a prepaid data SIM. That's what I did when I went to London earlier this year. I texted over Google voice used Whatsapp, twitter Facebook because I knew I wouldn't have WiFi most of the time. You can also tether to other devices such as a tablet or laptop.
If you do decide to pick up a local SIM card, you will need to bring (as a minimum) your passport to prove to the local government that you aren't hoarding SIM cards and selling them to third world country terrorist organizations. Some places won't even accept cash, and will require a credit card when a non-EU citizen is buying a SIM Card.
...and most of the place you go to buy a simple SIM card are NOT the places you are gonna want to leave your credit card number with. Shop wisely (i.e. T-Mo, Vodaphone, Citrus, etc chain stores...) and keep an eye on your credit card statements.
Check with AT&T as well about switching to an international plan for the length of your duration. They were willing to switch my wife's plan when we moved to Germany, but the rates weren't all that attractive. In the end, we simply just bought a new SIM card as you suggested, as the data limits imposed by AT&T USA in Europe were ridiculously (250M / month).
One more piece of advice, do not expect to "leech" onto open WiFi hotspots with the same frequency as the USA. There is a heightened sense of internet paranoia (in Germany at least) and VERY FEW people leave their WiFi networks open. If you DO happen to find an open WiFi is usually because there is a third party proxy involved in getting a valid IP address.
Good luck and have fun!
Best bet is to use an old dumb phone, setup roaming and put your AT&T sim in there. Then you'll at least receive urgent calls. Then pick up a local Pay as you go sim, and use it in your nexus for data. I personally keep an unlocked nokia 6100 handy, as its small and has great battery life on standby and talk time.
Don't worry too much about all this passport, terrorist business, its NOTHING at all like that. Just walk into any big carrier's store over there and they'll sell you a sim no problem at all. No passport, credit card, or ID needed. If you try and buy 10 or 50 or something they might impose a limit. Its got ZERO to do with terrorists or third world countries, and more to do with GSM gateways where people route minutes using VOIP and GSM boxes. If you only buy 1 or 2 sim cards they won't ask you anything.
There's a few countries in the east and africa where they insist on ID, and that's due to them being used on the black market for crime. I think its fairly obvious france isn't one of those countries lol.
I travel a lot for work, so I know first hand.
EDIT: Yeah you'll get full 3G, and since its a GSM nexus you'll get HSPA+ too. Roaming data is usually over £1 or $1 a mb, so don't even bother. A local sim will probably give you unlimited (possibly capped at 3gb) for a 10 or 20 EURO topup. (haven't checked rates recently).
If you do travel a lot and only need data, you can also pick up a world sim (there's loads of them so check thoroughly), and for a £50 credit per month (about $75) you get unlimited data in most countries.
Europe is great for prepaid sim cards with decent rates for calls and really good prices for data especially if its only for a short while on vacation. Just bring your phone into one of the many cell shops and they will be more than happy to program the new SIM and also add whatever money you want on the card. Too easy. I have separate SIM cards for Germany, Italy and The Netherlands.
While most European countries have a very simple process to get a data enabled SIM, it is almost impossible in France. I tried 5-6 shops during my vacation few months ago with no luck. Sweden, Switzerland, UK, Belgium, Germany were all a breeze (most airports and train stations sold data enabled SIMs for around 10 euros)
Get a local SIM card or use xcomglobal for a MiFi.
I am in Europe often and either way works great.
Skickat från min ASUS Eee Pad TF101
Overseas right now, picked up AT&T international traveller feature and only using WiFi for data with a local backup SIM handy for trips. Just not worth the inconvenience to use two phones personally.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
I am planning a trip to England this summer and possibly France as well. One of the main reasons I purchased the GSM Galaxy Nexus was the pentaband radio and it's ability to work everywhere.
What I would like to know is what plans are you guys (and I think I have seen one lady here as well) who are in Europe are using. I will be looking for a plan that would be good for up to 2 weeks, I don't really care about having too many minutes or text messages but Data is a must. I estimate 2GB of data use when traveling, knowing I will be able to use a lot of hot spots too. Not living there I do not know what the regional carriers reputations are, who has the fastest network etc.
I have been doing a little research and it looks like most carriers offer good prepaid sim only plans, I could just use some local knowledge for this.
Thanks in advance...
bmolloy said:
I am planning a trip to England this summer and possibly France as well. One of the main reasons I purchased the GSM Galaxy Nexus was the pentaband radio and it's ability to work everywhere.
What I would like to know is what plans are you guys (and I think I have seen one lady here as well) who are in Europe are using. I will be looking for a plan that would be good for up to 2 weeks, I don't really care about having too many minutes or text messages but Data is a must. I estimate 2GB of data use when traveling, knowing I will be able to use a lot of hot spots too. Not living there I do not know what the regional carriers reputations are, who has the fastest network etc.
I have been doing a little research and it looks like most carriers offer good prepaid sim only plans, I could just use some local knowledge for this.
Thanks in advance...
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I'm from Texas and just moved to the UK... I'm sure you will find many great pay&go sim cards..... I prefer o2.... just go to the web site or shop and get a sim... you can bolt on as much data as you need and the calling/sms start around 15 pounds.....
I would recommend Three whilst in the UK if you need lots of data. Their coverage is excellent in most places for 3g/HSPA+ I get 5-7meg in most places I go. Other UK networks aren't that great for data speed.
Go to https://www.three.co.uk/Support/Free_SIM/Order for a free pay and go SIM.
A £15 add on gets you UNLIMITED DATA, 300mins to UK landlines and any UK mobile network, and 3000 texts for 30 days.
They have other add ons too(make sure to select pay as you go phone). http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Phones/Get_better_value_with_an_Add_on
It's free to receive incoming calls on any UK mobile network by the way. If you go to France you would be best off finding a SIM card for a french network too as it will cost you to receive calls to a UK SIM card whilst outside the UK.
Hope this helps.
Rik.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
My €0.02...
It also depends on where you're going... 'Europe' is a mish-mash of different countries with different carriers, plans and systems.
If you're travelling to multiple European countries on your visit, and especially if you don't want to change your phone number all of the time, it may just make sense to get a Vodafone pre paid SIM.
Whilst Vodafone aren't the least expensive, they are the most expansive across Europe. Dealing with one company can often just be simpler.
If you get a Vodafone pre paid SIM and load on the "Passport" service you can then buy a data bundle that will work pretty much across Europe at a lower rate (but still somewhat expensive - expect around €10 for 25MB). Casual roaming data rates can be as high as €10 per *single* MB.
I don't think you'll get this flexibility on another carrier but I could be wrong.
Finally... price also depends on where you get your SIM card from in the first instance. With this approach you only buy one SIM and the country where you buy it establishes the price you pay across Europe. If you purchase in Turkey or Greece (for example), you will pay less than if you purchase in the UK or Netherlands (per min and per MB typically).
Edit: Here's an old article... http://www.tracyandmatt.co.uk/blogs/index.php/cheaper-data-roaming-with-vodafone
Thanks for the replies. It is surprisingly overwhelming looking at how many prepaid options there actually are in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. In the States prepaid sims are almost non existant, and when you do find some service that offers it Data is super expensive.
Here is another question. I saw that the 3 Mobile prepaid sims do not allow for tethering. Has anyone with a GN been able to get this to work, or will I have to pay for hotel wifi the whole time? I haven't seen if O2 blocks this, I will have to look into that as well.
Most don't seem to allow tethering on pre pay but they don't disable the option on your phone either(they just stick it in their terms). I think you'll be OK. The worst they can probably do is take off pre paid credit if they found out.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Hi bmolloy, how was your trip?
like u, im planing a trip cross european, basicly france, london, budapest and barcelona; so i have de same cuestion, what is de best option for me?
here in mexico i have an option to contract traveler plan but the cost is huge, is 20MB for 52USD, if i cant find an option y will buy this one.
i will loking into the vodafone options and i imagine i will have to buy that there in europe.
tnks for all guys
Two things
Will at&t sgs iii work in japan
If it do, where can I get a sim card
thats not a rental from softbank
no1 =(
The answer to your first question is yes the ATT SGSIII will work/roam in Japan if you have it enabled (just got back from a business trip to Tokyo a couple of weeks ago).
Sorry, can't help you with the second question - usually just easier to just get a rental phone while in Japan instead of trying to find a sim rental.
pinoymutt said:
The answer to your first question is yes the ATT SGSIII will work/roam in Japan if you have it enabled (just got back from a business trip to Tokyo a couple of weeks ago).
Sorry, can't help you with the second question - usually just easier to just get a rental phone while in Japan instead of trying to find a sim rental.
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me and the family will be there for 3yrs , i guess we will just get new phones from softbank >_<
:silly:
dharkness said:
If it do, where can I get a sim card
thats not a rental from softbank
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Click to collapse
you can sign up for a prepaid plan, but you will need to provide proof of residency.
dLo GSR said:
you can sign up for a prepaid plan, but you will need to provide proof of residency.
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weaksauz, we will not have proof of residency. we will be living at base housing
dharkness said:
weaksauz, we will not have proof of residency. we will be living at base housing
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military? then why wouldn't you be a resident? i'm 100% sure all US military can sign up for any cell pre/post paid plan.
by resident i mean you need an address in japan, and proof of it (lease document, etc). not that you have to be a card-carrying japanese resident or anything. for example, i rented out an apartment in harajuku from a gaijin-house agency and all i showed was my lease i signed with them and my US passport and i had no problem getting a prepaid SIM.
dLo GSR said:
military? then why wouldn't you be a resident? i'm 100% sure all US military can sign up for any cell pre/post paid plan.
by resident i mean you need an address in japan, and proof of it (lease document, etc). not that you have to be a card-carrying japanese resident or anything. for example, i rented out an apartment in harajuku from a gaijin-house agency and all i showed was my lease i signed with them and my US passport and i had no problem getting a prepaid SIM.
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got cha' sorry im a noob to gettin stationed overseas. right now att have refurb phones for 50bucks, i can get them and rent sims, i tried to search for sim information here but they are outdated =(
Sent from my htc_jewel using Tapatalk 2
Softbank... Good Luck
Three Things:
(1) You must ensure that your AT&T Model Galaxy S III is SIM unlocked (AT&T is hit and miss with unlocking smartphones still under contract)
(2) If you want a data plan with Softbank that is compatible with a smartphone like the GS3, you will not be able to get that with a pre-paid SIM Card (only normal service plans offer data for smartphones)
(3) Your biggest hurdle will be in finding a Softbank store that will provide service to your non-Softbank phone
Your best bet would be to make sure there are no AT&T insignia on your phone (like the back plate/battery cover) when you go to the Softbank store since they also sell the Galaxy S III and many of the associates have no understanding of how GSM technology works. (the AT&T logo will cause a typical employee to immediately say your phone cannot be used with Softbank - that was my experience when using a Factory Unlocked iPhone in Japan, some representatives knew there was no difference between my iPhone and the ones sold by Softbank, and other representatives were plain dumb)
In my opinion,
If you are going to be in Japan for an extended period of time, you might as well just get a phone from Softbank (or AU KDDI or NTT Docomo) since they allow you to pay for the cost of the phone over time as part of your rate plan. It's a nice advantage if you don't want to front the cost of the phone at signing.
Either way,
Good luck to you in your pursuit of phone service in Japan.
Don't rack up a big bill when calling local land lines in Japan, its cheaper to call cellphones silly, I know
mathewrice said:
Three Things:
(1) You must ensure that your AT&T Model Galaxy S III is SIM unlocked (AT&T is hit and miss with unlocking smartphones still under contract)
(2) If you want a data plan with Softbank that is compatible with a smartphone like the GS3, you will not be able to get that with a pre-paid SIM Card (only normal service plans offer data for smartphones)
(3) Your biggest hurdle will be in finding a Softbank store that will provide service to your non-Softbank phone
Your best bet would be to make sure there are no AT&T insignia on your phone (like the back plate/battery cover) when you go to the Softbank store since they also sell the Galaxy S III and many of the associates have no understanding of how GSM technology works. (the AT&T logo will cause a typical employee to immediately say your phone cannot be used with Softbank - that was my experience when using a Factory Unlocked iPhone in Japan, some representatives knew there was no difference between my iPhone and the ones sold by Softbank, and other representatives were plain dumb)
In my opinion,
If you are going to be in Japan for an extended period of time, you might as well just get a phone from Softbank (or AU KDDI or NTT Docomo) since they allow you to pay for the cost of the phone over time as part of your rate plan. It's a nice advantage if you don't want to front the cost of the phone at signing.
Either way,
Good luck to you in your pursuit of phone service in Japan.
Don't rack up a big bill when calling local land lines in Japan, its cheaper to call cellphones silly, I know
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Click to collapse
thank you ^_^ , we will probably goin to get it from softbank at sasebo NEX.