Unlocked GSM Phone Suggestions?

[dgauvreau]

Hey guys and gals,
I'm currently a Tmobile subscriber and I have their SDA phone, which is a candy-bar style smartphone. Very cool phone and can do all kinds of stuff with it, but I find myself nostalgic for just a small, simple phone that I can keep in my front pocket without getting strange looks :eek:

My understanding with the gsm phones (cingular, tmobile here in the U.S.) is that I can move my SIM card to a new phone if that phone is "unlocked".

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good, small GSM phone which can be easily unlocked? I was able to unlock my current phone (the SDA) with a few pieces of freeware and just a couple minutes of my time.
Thanks,
Danny

[castlecraver]

Most stuff can be unlocked using similar methods nowadays -- the guys at HowardForums have instructions for nearly every manufacturer. If worst comes to worst, there are places online where you can pay $5-10 or so for an unlocking utility.

You can simply move your SIM card to the new phone and it will operate. However, you usually (manually) have to set up your SMS/Wireless Web settings. Fortunately, the HF folks have a handle on this as well. I'd recommend going over there and doing a quickie search on whichever models you're considering buying.

Do you like the SDA? I've got the same phone basically. The nice thing about going unlocked is that you've got a better list of phones to choose from -- ones that AT&T might carry exclusively, or ones that simply aren't available in the US. The last phone I had was a Moto V600 series, and although I hated the software interface, it was an extremely reliable and well-made phone. I hear good things about the newer Razr series phones. I much prefer the Samsung software to the Motorola, but their phones don't seem to be as full-featured on the lower end.

[dgauvreau]

Most stuff can be unlocked using similar methods nowadays -- the guys at HowardForums have instructions for nearly every manufacturer. If worst comes to worst, there are places online where you can pay $5-10 or so for an unlocking utility.

You can simply move your SIM card to the new phone and it will operate. However, you usually (manually) have to set up your SMS/Wireless Web settings. Fortunately, the HF folks have a handle on this as well. I'd recommend going over there and doing a quickie search on whichever models you're considering buying.

Do you like the SDA? I've got the same phone basically. The nice thing about going unlocked is that you've got a better list of phones to choose from -- ones that AT&T might carry exclusively, or ones that simply aren't available in the US. The last phone I had was a Moto V600 series, and although I hated the software interface, it was an extremely reliable and well-made phone. I hear good things about the newer Razr series phones. I much prefer the Samsung software to the Motorola, but their phones don't seem to be as full-featured on the lower end.

Pat,
I do like the SDA...if you don't need to write email message on a regular basis, it does pretty well. It syncs up perfectly with outlook, and I really don't need a separate PDA when I carry it. The built-in wifi means I can surf the web when I'm at home or near a hot spot, and I don't have to pay for data service on the phone.

One of the big reasons I switched from Verizon was that I was tired of having my phone coupled so tightly to my wireless contract. (And I was also tired of the way Verizon ties you into their add-on services where you pay for little applets and ringtones, etc.. And they lock down all of the bluetooth services except for the headset.) I really couldn't complain about their coverage, though.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with Tmobile and I think another (unlocked) phone will do the trick. I noticed that Amazon and Tigerdirect sell them, but they're pretty expensive because they aren't subsidized by the service providers. I'm sort of leaning towards the razr or krzr phones - something I can just slide into my pocket and not know it's there. If I carried a purse I'd be all over the blackberry pearl :biggrin:
-Danny

[fia1331]

Another option is just buying an unlocked phone from ebay. For an upcoming trip, I just bought a cheapie unlocked phone. If the phone gets lost, stolen, broken on my trip, I won't mind as it was much cheaper than my daily phone.

[dgauvreau]

Another option is just buying an unlocked phone from ebay. For an upcoming trip, I just bought a cheapie unlocked phone. If the phone gets lost, stolen, broken on my trip, I won't mind as it was much cheaper than my daily phone.
That's a good tip..at first glance, it looks like they're still getting a decent chunk-of-change for some of the unlocked gsm phones. Maybe these folks are charging a premium for the "unlocked" versions, whereas I could unlock it fairly cheaply myself. Do you mind me asking which phone you bought as your "disposable"?

[fia1331]

I was able to be a Blackberry 7105t (refurbished) for about 60 bucks shipped. Granted, it's not new but it works perfect. Quad-band GSM, GPRS, email, browser,bluetooth, sync-to-pc etc. Doesn't have the most latest features but it's alright. Another thing it lacks is a camera, but I don't really need a cameraphone.

But I do agree, there is a premium for unlocked phone. You just have to keep an eye out for the deals. Also, you have to remember that you're getting this phone without a contract (and the phone discount given with the contract), so they will seem more than they're mobile service provider branded counterparts.

[JohnP]

I've had T-Mobile for almost 4 years now, and have been using unlocked GSM phones from non-T-mobile sources for 3 of it. My first phone with T-Mobile was a SonyEriccson T300, which I promptly broke. As I was flat broke when I first got it I didn't have the insurance, and the T-Mobile store offered to replace it for the (non-new contract price) of over 300 dollars and a renewed 2 year contract.
I promptly went to GameStop, purchased an unlocked Nokia N-Gage with a lot more capability and a few GAMES for it, worked flawlessly. A year or so later, I purchased a Siemens SK-65 from Ebay.
It is only Tri-Band here (made for Europe/Australia/Canada) but I love it.
A quick call to T-mobile and they had the blackberry feature up and running for me; I never did get the blackberry browser in the thing working (it has 2 browsers, a WAP browser, and whatever the blackberry one is that doesn't work on mine). I downloaded Opera Mini and a few other things like that and haven't looked back. In fact, now that I of late seldom have computer access to the web, I've even used it to post here. I wish the battery lasted longer, but the thing has been a real workhorse of a phone; I've dropped it, gotten it wet, generally abused it, and it still works. No camera, but that's all I could find to complain about. None of the features is disabled on it, no complaints at all, and no new contracts signed.
Unless I find a dramatic discount on a phone I like that makes it worth it, I'm all for unlocked phones from here on out....
Just my opinion.
John P.

[roughrider]

I see a ton of people on Craigslist offering unlocking services.