buying unlocked phone in London

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

In the UK "Cheap" and "Unlocked" don't really go together!

The Nokia Shop will sell you an unlocked Nokia - but some of them are
North of £250 (nearly $500 at this time) JUST for the 'phone.

Will your 'phone not roam?

Jump off the 'plane - wait until you are inside the airport, turn on
the 'phone and you will get a text message (SMS) from the carrier you
are now "roaming" with and your operator logo will change to that
carrier's logo for as long as you are on their network.

Or if your 'phone is unlocked and supports the UK frequencies then buy
a "pay as you go" SIM card for a few £ and top it up on your credit
card - and then pop it in your 'phone and make calls. This works well
when your provider does not have a roaming agreement with a provider
in your area.

I have seen 02 and Vodafone "pay as you go" SIM cards for sale here in
the UK for as little as 3.50 GBP - about 7 USD. They are available
from corner shops, garages, cell 'phone shops etc. Anotherwords they
are EASY to find in the UK.

Worst case - you can buy a "pay as you go" handset and SIM package
from Woolworths starting at 50 GBP (about 100 USD) - this would be
more than good enough to last you the duration of your vacation here
in the UK.

Doesn't help you when you are in the rest of Europe though UNLESS you
are prepared to roam in Europe with Vodafone or O2 and top up the "pay
as you go" minutes on your credit card.

However - costs of roamed calls in Europe on a UK network are going to
be more expensive than UK calls while in the UK.

Hope this helps??

Casper





On Tue, 31 May 2005 12:30:29 GMT, lister@nospam.com (lister) wrote:

>I'll be heading off to the UK in a few days and would like to buy a
>cheap unlocked dual-band (900/1800) phone to use while I am in Europe.
>
>Where is a good place in London to buy such a phone?
>
>Heathrow would be most convenient, but I assume that carriers with
>shops there (Vodafone, Orange,etc) lock their phones. I need an
>unlocked phone, since I'll be going to other countries after the UK
>and want to be able to switch SIMs.
>
>So where does one buy unlocked GSM phones in London?
>
>TIA
>Sorry for the antispam inconvenience.
>
>Please post reply to: lanesville AT taagloucester.org

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

Lister - you are welcome!

Try this link:

http://www.phones4u.co.uk/shop/shop_payg_main.asp

It has a link to search stores by location (post code is similar to
the USA's ZIP code system but is letters and numbers so a London post
code may look like NW10 2AB where NW is North West London - I made
this post code up by the way it may or may not exist) and gives you an
idea of what is available here in the UK and at what price.

Phones 4U is just one of MANY chains here in the UK that offer the
sort of thing you are after - just so happens they were top of the
Google search!

Casper


On Sat, 04 Jun 2005 19:26:32 GMT, lister@nospam.com (lister) wrote:

>Casper
>
>Thanks for the helpful post.
>
>I can't roam with my US phone in Europe (wrong frequencies), so will
>need another phone. From what you say about prices in the UK, I think
>I'll pick up a cheap unlocked 900/1800 phone in the US (they are
>available for around 50 GBP).
>
>Then I'll buy pay-as-you-go SIMs when I arrive in the UK . Glad to
>hear they are cheap and easy to find
>
>
>
>On Fri, 03 Jun 2005 21:55:09 GMT, no@way.com (Casper) wrote:
>
>>In the UK "Cheap" and "Unlocked" don't really go together!
>>
>>The Nokia Shop will sell you an unlocked Nokia - but some of them are
>>North of £250 (nearly $500 at this time) JUST for the 'phone.
>>
>>Will your 'phone not roam?
>>
>>Jump off the 'plane - wait until you are inside the airport, turn on
>>the 'phone and you will get a text message (SMS) from the carrier you
>>are now "roaming" with and your operator logo will change to that
>>carrier's logo for as long as you are on their network.
>>
>>Or if your 'phone is unlocked and supports the UK frequencies then buy
>>a "pay as you go" SIM card for a few £ and top it up on your credit
>>card - and then pop it in your 'phone and make calls. This works well
>>when your provider does not have a roaming agreement with a provider
>>in your area.
>>
>>I have seen 02 and Vodafone "pay as you go" SIM cards for sale here in
>>the UK for as little as 3.50 GBP - about 7 USD. They are available
>>from corner shops, garages, cell 'phone shops etc. Anotherwords they
>>are EASY to find in the UK.
>>
>>Worst case - you can buy a "pay as you go" handset and SIM package
>>from Woolworths starting at 50 GBP (about 100 USD) - this would be
>>more than good enough to last you the duration of your vacation here
>>in the UK.
>>
>>Doesn't help you when you are in the rest of Europe though UNLESS you
>>are prepared to roam in Europe with Vodafone or O2 and top up the "pay
>>as you go" minutes on your credit card.
>>
>>However - costs of roamed calls in Europe on a UK network are going to
>>be more expensive than UK calls while in the UK.
>>
>>Hope this helps??
>>
>>Casper
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>On Tue, 31 May 2005 12:30:29 GMT, lister@nospam.com (lister) wrote:
>>
>>>I'll be heading off to the UK in a few days and would like to buy a
>>>cheap unlocked dual-band (900/1800) phone to use while I am in Europe.
>>>
>>>Where is a good place in London to buy such a phone?
>>>
>>>Heathrow would be most convenient, but I assume that carriers with
>>>shops there (Vodafone, Orange,etc) lock their phones. I need an
>>>unlocked phone, since I'll be going to other countries after the UK
>>>and want to be able to switch SIMs.
>>>
>>>So where does one buy unlocked GSM phones in London?
>>>
>>>TIA
>>>Sorry for the antispam inconvenience.
>>>
>>>Please post reply to: lanesville AT taagloucester.org
>>
>
>Sorry for the antispam inconvenience.
>
>Please post reply to: lister AT taagloucester.org