[jurassic5]

I posted this in the old tech section before the great crash of 05.

I visit the tech section everyday and notice that there are always questions about cellphones. I hope this post will help some of you in either picking a cellphone or upgrading yours.

Before I begin, I must tell ya that in the USA there are various types of mobile technology/frequencies etc. In the North America, the 2 most commonly used are CDMA and GSM.

Q: What's the difference between CDMA and GSM?
A: There are many differences and similarities, but to make this as simple as possible...GSM uses a SIM card/chip, CDMA does not use any SIM chip.

Q: What carriers are GSM and CDMA?
A: In the USA, Verizon and Sprint are the major CDMA providers, while T-Mobile and Cingular (AT&T) are GSM. In Canada, Bell and Telus are CDMA, while Roger's and Fido are GSM.

Q: How can I use a phone from Asia in N. America?
A: This can be a bit tricky to answer. S. Korea and Japan use CDMA (Japan has a new WCDMA/GSM mode, but it is still devloping. The rest of Asia for the most part uses GSM. If you want to use a CDMA phone from South Korea, it must be a phone that is compatible with SK Telecom (011). Why? Because SK compatible phones use the same frequency that Verizon uses (800 mhz).
That is the first step, next you must get your phone programmed and activated with Verizon. This step can be solved by either going to a cell phone store in K-town and asking if they are able to do this...or use a place from online.
If you want to use a GSM phone from Asia (this is much easier to do than CDMA), you must make sure that the phone is unlocked so that you may use it with your GSM carrier.

Q: How do I unlock a GSM phone from Asia or any other country?
A: This can be done by either entering a special code into the phone via keypad. Or you may need special software and a cable. These things can be purchased online and done at home. If you do not want to do this, then your next best bet would be to purchase the phone already unlocked.

Q: Does my phone's software need to be updated like a PC?
A: Yes, just like our computers, the software on a phone is updated every so often. Updating a phone's software is known as flashing. Flashing can be done at a store, support center or at home.

Q: Where can I purchase Korean phones that will work in N. America?
A: Check out Celly Spot for a selection of some imported Korean phones already programmed to work on Verizon. Also check out those stores for programming your Korean CDMA phones. It's expensive, but can be done.

*edit: with Verizon becoming more wary of non-Verizon ESN's on their system, less and less dealers online are featuring imported Korean phones. some stores around K-Town still carry these phones, but just may be a bit harder to locate.

Q: Where can I purchse unlocked GSM phones?
A: Unlocked GSM phones can be found on Ebay and other sites such as Mobile Bee or My World Phone. Remember, unlocked GSM phones cost more than locked GSM ones. The same phone locked may be 200 less than an unlocked one.

Q:How do I get a caller ring (the person calling hears a song instead of a ring) like Korean cell phone providers have?

A: Caller ring has been quite popular in Korea and other Asian countries. It is slowly making its way across the oceans to Europe and N. America. Verizon and T-Mobile USA both have this feature. Cingular does as well.

Q: The imported Korean phones are too expensive, when will phones similar to Korean phones come to the USA?
A: The answer is very soon. In 2006, SK Telecom's entry into the US market will be branded under the name of Helio. Korean style phones are the goal of this venture. The homepage is here. Helio will be coming out in the next few weeks. One of the features of Helio will be allowing people to text message to phones in South Korea (still unclear if it will be only to SK customers or not).

Q: Why are cell phones so expensive? My friend got one for free...
A: Phones bought from your provider are discounted and sold at either cost or below cost (ex: free phone). Cell phone providers make their money from your service and not the phone.

Q: When's the best time to buy a phone?
A: If you are looking for a good deal at a store, the best time can be at the end of a month because the sales people are trying to reach their sales goal for the month. You probably can't do much with the price of the phone, but you may get some accessories or free minutes thrown in as a bonus.

Q: Why are imported Korean phones so expensive?
A: When you purchase a phone in Korea, they do not give you an ESN (unless you got someone on the inside), they only give you the MIN. So to get that phone into Verizon's system, you have to be able to convert the Korean phone's MIN to a valid ESN that will be accepted into Verizon's system. This process is only done by a few people here in the USA, so thus the expensive prices. Checking out a Koreatown near ya is the best bet.

[VietChink]

Wow, this is really informative!

[ginaz s t y l e]

my phone came with T-mobile
but i didn't have to unlock it or anything.

i just put in my sim card,& it recognized my
cingular sim card and it works fine.

[fawse]

Thanks for the info. Learned a lot from it.

[fiiona]

thanks for the info.

[malicious_]

thanx for the info =)

just a quick question.. if u buy a cellphone that is CDMA and is compatible w. SKT right.. that means u can onyl use it w. verizon? wat if there's no verizon in canada? @___@a then can i use fido or rogers?

[baoi]

wow... thanks for this very informational seminar....

I learned a lot.. But what about Japanese brand cell phones? You've talked a whole bunch about the Korean Brands, but the Japanese Brands are High-tech too... [Am i right? -- not sure..]

Thanks for the info..

[skwannabe]

its really not worth buying a phone from overseer. you cant use internet and i dont think you can use txt message with it. thats what i heard. just wait.

[HT2791]

i was waiting for this thread to be created again

i wish a mod wud pin this up, and the ringtone making tutorial i posted

[Mentos]

so there is hope xD so many people told me that it definately won`t work if I buy a cellphone in Korea and bring it to America :/

[HT2791]

Q: How can I use a phone from Asia in N. America?
A: This can be a bit tricky to answer. S. Korea and Japan use CDMA (Japan has a new WCDMA/GSM mode, but it is still devloping. The rest of Asia for the most part uses GSM. If you want to use a CDMA phone from South Korea, it must be a phone that is compatible with SK Telecom (011). Why? Because SK compatible phones use the same frequency that Verizon uses (800 mhz).
That is the first step, next you must get your phone programmed and activated with Verizon. This step can be solved by either going to a cell phone store in K-town and asking if they are able to do this...or use a place from online.
If you want to use a GSM phone from Asia (this is much easier to do than CDMA), you must make sure that the phone is unlocked so that you may use it with your GSM carrier.

mmh, must it be verizon?
What about Sprint?
they use CDMA.

If i were to get a CDMA phone from korea, cud i just ask a sprint representative to let me use that phone?
(reason is, my family is on sprint)

[Luly]

wow thanks for the info.

i have another qn.... what's the difference between tri-band or quad-band? does it affect the phone's sound quality?

[WO_AI_ NI_ kev05]

i have a qestion how can you download korean wallpaper to your phone ? example pucca and stuff i got a website but i donno how
please help !

[HT2791]

if u have the wallpaper on your computer, send it via text mesage by
http://www.funformobile.com/pages/screensa...ScreenSaver.php

[mp.ARK]

wow... finally some good decent info on Korean-imports. thanks!

[WO_AI_ NI_ kev05]

i got a samsung t309 i try it but it not working ! help ?

1. Read the text message with a web link.
2. Click on "Options".
3. Select "Save Address".
4. Highlight the URL (http://www.funformobile.com/...), Click on "Option" again and select "Connect" to start downloading.
5. The downloaded media will be saved in "My MEdia".

when i get to step number 4 then i click option mine it sai
1) send picture msg
2)store to phone
so weird even i try to upload music !

[justwildbeat]

If I buy an unlocked phone from one of the online sites, do they come with a sim card or would I need to buy one?

[simply_ayu]

^well for me i had to buy a sim card

[erure]

um my dad lives in korea and he got me a phone from korea [one of those phones with screens that can flip sideways] but it needs to be "adjusted" so that it can be used here... he claims that any korean cell phone store will be able to do this [or so his friend who gave him the phone said or whatever] and is there any way i can get the phone to work here? thank you.

[justwildbeat]

Hehhe another one ^_~ There are deals online where if I buy the phone I can get it for cheap if I couple it with a plan as well. Since I'm switching over, is it recommened to go through the online way or just stick with going to the store itself (even though you don't get the deals/rebates). Also is it a hassle if I wanted to keep my number, if I use this method?