Mobile Phones

[AFruitLoop]

OK, so I'm in Thailand and the mobile phones are CHEAP. Easy question, are the mobiles set for the same GSM as Australia and England (as I will be going to the latter next)? Any help would be good, and also the correct name of the GSM, I think it's called GSM 1800, so I can check before buying one...

[jambo]

Buy a 'tri-band' mobile. Thats guaranteed to work in the US, UK, Europe, etc.

Not sure about AU.

[druid]

GSM phones that work in Australia also work in Europe and vice versa. Thailand is no exception. It's the US and Japan that are problematic when it comes to compatibility and that's when a triband phone will help (not sure about Japan). I think GSM 1800 would be the correct name, hopefully someone else can confirm.

One helpful pointer is to see if your operator has roaming in Thailand and see what they say about the handsets. Shouldn't be any different. You might want to ensure the origin of the electronics there though...and the international warranty.

[Spotgun]

As far as I remember then a triband phone supports GSM900, GSM1800 and GSM1900 - and they'll work fine over more or less all parts of the world.

And while we're on this subject, does anyone know when the Sony Ericsson K700 is released in Europe?

[AFruitLoop]

This is great.... I post a question and later after having a two hour traditional thai oil massage i can come back and get an intelligent response. Tri-band sounds good but from what i've seen the phones are kind of ugly. The last bit of the problem is, do both the UK and Australia use GSM 1800? If they do then I should be all set to purchase something... shopping in the big stores here is fine, warranty is not a problem.

[druid]

I just checked with Spingo and the prominent one in Australia is GSM 900. GSM 1800 is used to a lesser extent.

What I know for sure is that both work in Europe and last time I checked UK was a part of Europe. Get a dual-band phone and you're set. Up here in Finland you (I) can get cheaper calls whenever there's 1800 coverage. 1800 is more of a city thing.

Many of the new Nokias have tri-band but maybe it was them what you meant with 'ugly'. I think it's safe to say that all of them are dual band nowadays.

[AFruitLoop]

Thanks alot, I found one that suits me... Nokia 6600, have a look if you want. It's tri-band.

[druid]

Should be alright feature-wise too. How much are those in Thailand?