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unlocked? GSM? TF? SIM card? WTF?

DavezWifeDavezWife member
in Success after IF

I'm on the hunt for a new phone. cheap or free.

someone said to get an unlocked phone off ebay so I could get a new card thingy in CR and have it be cheap.

would this work?

https://cgi.ebay.com/Touch-Screen-Unlocked-GSM-Cell-Mobile-Phone-AT-T-Mobile_W0QQitemZ150426299350QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCell_Phones?hash=item23061b2bd6

. I'm so confused. thanks!

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Re: unlocked? GSM? TF? SIM card? WTF?

  • FaithRocksFaithRocks member
    Um, looks like it will, but I don't know how to get into it to put a sim card in it... is it a fake iPhone? I've never seen one!
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  • FaithRocksFaithRocks member
    PS: Does AT&T work in CR? Your best bet may be to buy a phone when you get down there. I know when we lived in Cayman they had cheap phones that you could pay as you go and "top up" as needed. I know it works that way in many places down there.
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  • AvaLikeLavaAvaLikeLava member

    If this is an iPhone, yes it will take a SIM card (my current iPhone does).

    I was thinking you'd get something generic like a Sony Ericson T610. It's no smart-phone, but it'll do the job.

    BTW: here's a quick site to show you the bands you'll find in CR:

    https://www.gsmarena.com/network-bands.php3?sCountry=COSTA+RICA

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  • DavezWifeDavezWife member

    I don't NEED an iphone, I just can't see spending $180 a month of phones... our current plan is $50 a month for both of us, with a ton of minutes (we have no home phones)...

    So the T610 could work, looks fine to me...

    what about something with GPS? (or are we in smart phone territory there?)

    like I said, I wanna check email, maybe look up a phone number, and have it work int'l. (for CR and beyond)

    Join us - Commit Random Acts of Kindness, and say "I did it for Cricket" Cricket's Cadence
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  • AvaLikeLavaAvaLikeLava member
    imageDavezWife:

    what about something with GPS? (or are we in smart phone territory there?)

    Not necessarily, but you might need a special phone (not the T610) or a subscription to a GPS service. Research that one more.

    imageDavezWife:

    like I said, I wanna check email, maybe look up a phone number, and have it work int'l. (for CR and beyond)

    It will check email for you, but it will be a very rudimentary interface. No bells/whistles/attachments or pics. You can look up phone numbers, and it will call out internationally, but that last bit will depend on the plan you get once you're in CR. If you are able to, maybe your IVF vacay coordinator can help, talk to someone IN CR. Ask them if you can get a temp. GSM card, where from and how much they cost. Ask about intl calling plans. It might actually be cheaper to just get an international calling card, so ask about calling card options too.

    If your IVF coordinator can't help, perhaps someone who specializes in CR honeymoons/vacations can. Or just flat out look for someone that knows someone who lives out there :)

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  • AvaLikeLavaAvaLikeLava member

    Oh, PS, if you have a Garmin device, you can buy maps for other countries. Once you're done you can re-sell it :)

    I bought maps for Europe. Cost a lot, but I know I'll keep using them when we go back.

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  • jcombsjcombs
    And remember how much the international cell phone rates are.  I think hubby pays like $3.29 in Nigeria per minute.  We bought the $70 per month international blackberry plan for him so accessing email and web and blackberry messenger is totally free on an unlimited amount.  Otherwise I'm not sure how much the data charges are down there per minute.  I'm sure CR is much cheaper per minute than Africa though.  And his text messages are 5 cents received per message and 50 cents per message sent.  I couldn't find (for our limited services....we don't have At&T nor TMobile here) one that did unlimited text or call for international.
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  • DavezWifeDavezWife member

    thanks everyone. I know our med facilitator guy mentioned renting a cell from him cheap, I think that's what I'll do for CR, and worry about the phone on the rest.

    THANKS!

    Join us - Commit Random Acts of Kindness, and say "I did it for Cricket" Cricket's Cadence
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  • BRSaugust20BRSaugust20 member

    Have you thought about renting a phone while you are there?  My DH did that when he traveled to Israel and it was much easier and cheaper.

    I would try googling "renting a cellular phone for use in Costs Rica" and see what you get.

    ETA:  I had the reply box open so I didn't see your last post until after i posted.

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
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  • elliek05elliek05
    I think it would work. The sim thing is probably under the battery-- you slide the old one out and as long as it's really unlocked, pop the new one in, and turn the phone on again. I use a payg sim when we're in the states. 
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