1. Home
  2. Electronics Design
  3. OT: Daul Band GSM + AMPS Cellphone

OT: Daul Band GSM + AMPS Cellphone

My carrier (Cingular) is beginning the arm twist to get their customers off of their old TDMA phones and onto GSM in the form of a monthly surcharge.

I stopped by one of their phone stores and said I'd be willing to switch, with one caveat: my current phone is a dual mode TDMA + AMPS (analog) cellular and I find myself in quite a few situations where there is no service other than analog. Their response: Sorry. We have no such phone.

I asked if I would be required to purchase a phone through them. Seeing how GSM was developed to be portable between providers (by switching a little memory card), I'm wondering if anyone out there makes a dual mode GSM + AMPS phone. One additional requirement is that such a phone should not be 'locked'. I take that to mean that the carrier has some means of securing a phone's configuration so as to prevent a customer from switching to a different service.

Has anyone been through a similar situation and, if so, can recommend a particular phone brand and model?

--
Paul Hovnanian     mailto:Paul@Hovnanian.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
David Bradley (IBM programmer who created the Ctrl-Alt-Del reboot
keyboard sequence), "I may have invented it, but Bill made it famous."
Reply to
Paul Hovnanian P.E.
Loading thread data ...

My advice is simple, never but a phone from a carrier. That is when they play lockin games. I buy from Best Buy as it has phones from many manufacturers and they can set you up with any of several carriers.

--
 JosephKK
 Gegen dummheit kampfen die Gotter Selbst, vergebens.  
  --Schiller
Reply to
joseph2k

Usually you can just have a GSM phone unlocked. Lots of small shops perform the service for a pittance, something between $20 and $30 for a few minutes work.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

--
"it\'s the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog  Info for designers:  http://www.speff.com
Reply to
Spehro Pefhany

That deals with a separate topic I've been following: World phones. Basically tri or quad-band GSM phones. Available here in the USA, but (obviously) also in Europe. Since people over there tend to use prepaid SIMs when traveling (rather then paying roaming charges), unlocked phones seem to be the standard.

I'll be over there in a few weeks and I'll be checking out some prices.

This doesn't solve my immediate problem of maintaining AMPS (analog) coverage in the USA where there is no GSM. I haven't found any quad-band GSM + AMPS equipment yet. I can get a camera/iPod/PDA/Web Browser in one phone, but find one that places calls reliably anywhere? Hah!

--
Paul Hovnanian     mailto:Paul@Hovnanian.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
I think you left the stove on.
Reply to
Paul Hovnanian P.E.

ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.