Mobile Phone Help

[teelack 8,361]

Last time in Pattaya I bought a copy smartphone. It was OK but I had problems when I got home. It would run fine on Vodaphone sim but on on the other major provider, Telecom. Having done some homework I note that Telecom is a bit on its own running, and I quote " 850 Mhz"

My question is to you phone geeks, how can I be sure when I buy a phone in Pattaya that it will be compatible with this frequency? Any advice appreciated.

[Baht 9]

You want to ask them for a quad band phone. Quad band phone will cover all the world or it should. If you buy copies then you might have problems. Any good mobile phone dealer will be able to tell you the best phone and the bands it has. 850mhz is America and a few other places in the Americas. If you just want a phone that works on 850 mhz then just ask them,they should have them or be able to get one I should think.

 

Just to add,I would have thought that all top notch smart phones would be quad band and work anywhere in the world.

 

Telecom in New Zealand use two frequencies, 850/2100 mhz Vodaphone use 900/2100 mhz so your phone should work on telecom if it works on Vodaphone.Most phones companies in Thailand run on 850mhz but if your copy was made in China then they run on 2100mhz,maybe that is where your problem is,in that it is a copy phone from China that has been programed for 2100 mhz only but still it should work on telecom in New zealand. My advice,do not buy a copy.

Edited May 30, 2012 by Baht

[ktappinen 52]

My advice,do not buy a copy.

Good advice. If you are willing to settle for the limitations and risks of a copy product, you could as well settle for the limitations of a brand-name Nokia. Nowadays their name is mud, so the prices are pretty cheap, but the products are actually quite good. Their smarter phones (Symbian or the Asha 302/303 products) have offered pentaband 3G connectivity (HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100) since 2010.

 

Actually you could nowadays expect any noname phone to offer (slow) quadband (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900) GSM connectivity, but you can find even new (dual-SIM) products limited to GSM 900 / 1800.

 

In Thailand AIS uses 900/2100 MHz for 3G while DTAC and TRUE use 850/2100 MHz. The 2100 MHz frequency is supported rather universally around the globe, but the lower frequencies offer a much better coverage since they propagate farther than 2100 MHz. As a result, in some country your phone might be supported in theory but not in practice since the only base station in the neighbourhood is using the 'wrong' lower frequency.

[Baht 9]

Pentaband,new on me.I have not entered the smart phone age yet.

[ktappinen 52]

Pentaband,new on me.I have not entered the smart phone age yet.

Pentaband has not directly anything to do with smartphones, since it refers to the number of radio frequencies supported by the hardware. In the days of plain vanilla GSM networks you knew that your phone was going to work in any country with a GSM network if you bought a "quadband" product. 3G complicated things, and it is still common that phones do not handle all 3G frequencies so that either 850 MHz or 900 MHz are not supported. Some manufacturers even sell in different countries the 'same' phone model so that it is configured to use a different set of frequencies. You need to check the details if you want be be sure that your phone works properly outside the country in which it was bought.

[Grandpollo 364]

The other strategy is to buy a phone for where you are for $30 or less and that's what you use, keeping a good phone for where you live.

 

I have phones from four different countries and even though they are mostly locked to one provider they were even cheaper as a result and all I use them for is that country for when I go back. No phoneys and the phone company warranties them for six months to a year. Tukcom warranties them until you switch floors at Tukcom.

 

Tukcom was busted not long ago for selling counterfeit phones so quad or pentaband you may not even be getting a real phone anyway so limit the risk to a phone that is so cheap that nobody bothers to counterfeit it.

 

I have found smartphones are like a jack of all trades and master of none anyway. Too small to read well, mediocre cameras touchy touchscreens and costly.

 

I prefer disaggregating them to have an iPad for the reading, a proper camera for pictures , a Flip or Kodak HD camera for video and a phone to use as a phone, with a real vs. virtual keyboard for texting. Better quality all around especially the picture and video quality.

Edited May 30, 2012 by ricktoronto

[Baht 9]

 

Tukcom was busted not long ago for selling counterfeit phones so quad or pentaband you may not even be getting a real phone anyway so limit the risk to a phone that is so cheap that nobody bothers to counterfeit it.

 

 

 

I remember being in Carrefour a few years back and having a look at the phones with a Thai girl I know well and asking her why what seemed like the same phones in the case were at different prices and the sale guy told her that the cheaper one was a copy. So even in a big international store like that they were selling fakes.

[teelack 8,361]

Thanks for the responses guys. I will keep the thread as a reference when next in LOS, not that I am really planning to get another copy.

[samfreeland 64]

Last time in Pattaya I bought a copy smartphone. It was OK but I had problems when I got home. It would run fine on Vodaphone sim but on on the other major provider, Telecom. Having done some homework I note that Telecom is a bit on its own running, and I quote " 850 Mhz"

My question is to you phone geeks, how can I be sure when I buy a phone in Pattaya that it will be compatible with this frequency? Any advice appreciated.

This looks interesting for travelers abroad.http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/11/prweb10160501.htm

[yorta2 664]

Thanks, Sam. It does look interesting, and I will wait to hear from others who may have tried it.

[Gary 4,066]

If you bring a phone that only works on 2G 850, you are going to be disappointed. It won't work. The two major 2G providers are AIS on 900 and Dtac on 1800. Many of the cheaper phones here in Thailand come with no 3G capability and only 900 and 1800 for 2G service.

[too_mutt 10]

I have an older Nokia candy bar style phone I bought at Big C 4 years ago.

 

Will it still work (with or without) a new SIM card, or am I better off just getting a new phone when I arrive?

 

[jacko 8,578]

I have an older Nokia candy bar style phone I bought at Big C 4 years ago.

 

Will it still work (with or without) a new SIM card, or am I better off just getting a new phone when I arrive?

It will still work......

[s77656769 5]

I have an older Nokia candy bar style phone I bought at Big C 4 years ago.

 

Will it still work (with or without) a new SIM card, or am I better off just getting a new phone when I arrive?

 

Should still work. Will probably need a new SIM if you haven't used it for 4 years.

[too_mutt 10]

Are the "Happy" SIM cards still available in the arrival hall at Swampy airport?

[Guest bernard20]

You might want to take a look at the Pantech Breakout Android smartphone. It will not hurt your pocket and it's loaded with nice cool features.

[LocalYokul 177]

My question is to you phone geeks, how can I be sure when I buy a phone in Pattaya that it will be compatible with this frequency? Any advice appreciated.

 

I find GSM Arena.com has all the info you'll need.

 

http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one-5313.php

 

Trouble is, buying a COPY means it probably won't have the same specs as an OEM phone, so I wouldn't buy a copy if I was planning on using it back home.

[jacko 8,578]

Are the "Happy" SIM cards still available in the arrival hall at Swampy airport?

Probably in the shops but they weren't giving them out as I de planed this time.

[short 215]

I picked up an unlocked Samsung GT-S7562L from Tiger direct for about $225 USD.

 

It is not 4G but it does do HSDPA 7.2 Mbps which is fast enough for video streaming.

 

Here are the specs

 

Dual Sim

HSDPA 7.2 (850/1900/2100)

Quad band (850/900/1800/1900)

4.0 WWGA TFT screen

5MP AF w/FL + VGA

Android 4.0.4

Wifi n,

Hotspot,

GPS....etc

 

I use the dual sim card to get cheaper voice on AT&T and cheaper data on T-mobile in the US.