international cell phones, GSM, quad band HELP!

[Jesse Marunde]

I have a quad band phone through Cingular. I don't really like my phone, and I'm irritated with Cingular. I'm considering buying a new phone and service plan. I need a phone with a PDA. What's the best way to set up international calling? I pay 2.50 per minute for calls to the US from outside the country and it costs like 2.00 to answer calls. Text messages are .50 each to send and recieve.

what are the best deals out there? Is there a cheaper way to use cell phones internationally?

thanks!

Jesse

[Chris Bartley]

i work for cingular part time, and i don't really like cingular. as far as overall service, most of the employees at my store agree that verizon takes the cake. we feel that while verizons service is the best, our phones are the best .. i don't really know much about verizons
specific rates, though. as far as pda's, if verizon is carrying the treo 600 and up then that'd be a good bet.

do you have cingular world on your current plan? and make sure that you're out of contract or you will be charged a large cancellation fee :EP:

[Mac Smith]

Jesse,

I'm actually the Regional Market Manager for a cellular service master agent. My company represents all the major carriers (Sprint, Cingular, Verizon, and T-mobile). To answer your question: The international rates aren't really determined by the Carrier (Sprint, Cingular, etc). The are actually determined by the country and the carrier your calling. International rates are always going to be pretty high. Your best bet is to go with a GSM phone since you tend to travel and call quite often. Most European and Asian countries utilize GSM services. And GSM phones (if unlocked) can accept SIM cards from any GSM provider, which allows you to utilize cell phone services overseas. Since it seems GSM is your best bet, you are limited to Cingular and T-mobile (in most cases). I would only switch from Cingular to TMobile if you aren't happy with Cingular's coverage. Otherwise I would check sites like ebay for unlocked GSM phones. The newest TREO 700 is not available for GSM service here in the US yet, but you may be able to purchase that phone from an overseas supplier that can accept your SIM (but all your features may not work). The best GSM PDA phone IMO is the new Blackberry 7100. But there are some better phones available overseas that you should look into.

[JohnCarlsson]

I am between countries all the time. I have a quad band phone and just switch sim cards. You just need a contact to get you an active sim card in that country. Then I just use a phone card from somewhere like Noblelcom.com and then all I have to pay on that Sim card is the price of dialing a 1-800# in that country plus the .10 a minute price of the phone card to make the international call.

[Ryan Rhodes]

I almost got screwed with international calling last August when I went to Aruba to play poker, but apparently I was paying for some sort of international add-on plan you can buy in addition to your regular monthly service that allows you to call to/from overseas at greatly reduced rates; it saved my butt I'm sure T-Mobile has the same thing. If you're going to switch service providers, check out Wirefly.com. They've got the best deals ANYWHERE for any carrier, and they're fast.

I also like the Blackberry 7100 but there are better out there IMO. CNet.com has pretty accurate reviews of most (if not all) phones on the market.