[kwlug-disc] android phone, anyone?

[Dave Cramer]

Well, you can put a bell sim card in some rogers phones and it "just works"

On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 9:15 PM, Khalid Baheyeldin <kb at 2bits.com> wrote:
> HSPA seems like a data protocol. I don't think it is worldwide.
>
> GSM is for voice, and is worldwide.
>
> On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 3:48 PM, Dave Cramer <davec at visibleassets.com>
> wrote:
>>
>> HSPA that bell is selling is not world standard ?
>>
>> Dave
>>
>> On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 3:10 PM, Khalid Baheyeldin <kb at 2bits.com> wrote:
>> > If you ever travel, specially outside of Canada/USA, then GSM is the
>> > standard to have. If you have a handset that can do GSM (tri-band or
>> > quad-band) then you are good for most of the world.
>> >
>> > What this means is that you can buy a local SIM card and pop it
>> > into your handset and you are good to go.
>> >
>> > Prices are far cheaper in other parts of the world than here, for
>> > example
>> > I am told that a SIM card (effectively a phone number and a prepaid
>> > plan)
>> > is 10 LE in Egypt (that is CAD $1.92), and you can load it with 25 LE
>> > (that
>> > is CAD $4.81!) for 100 minutes.
>> >
>> > This beats roaming charges which can rack up in the 100s.
>> >
>> > Only Rogers and Fido have world standard GSM in Canada.
>> >
>> > A new player that opened for business yesterday is WIND Mobile. I was
>> > initially happy to hear that a new entrant is coming the the market.
>> > They
>> > are backed by an Egyptian magnate who made lots of money putting cell
>> > phone networks in many parts of the world.
>> >
>> > My enthusiasm was dampened after I found out that they operate in the
>> > AWS spectrum which is non-standard in the rest of the world (i.e. not
>> > GSM compatible). What this means is that unlocked phones will not
>> > work with them, meaning they have less handset choices and you have
>> > to buy it from them (something that is totally alien elsewhere).
>> >
>> > It is good ot have competition though. Perhaps Rogers will lower their
>> > prices eventually.
>> >
>> > For handsets, there is a new Android "Droid" phone that is getting good
>> > reviews. There is also the Nokia N900 which is Debian Linux.
>> > --
>> > Khalid M. Baheyeldin
>> > 2bits.com, Inc.
>> > http://2bits.com
>> > Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
>> > Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
>> > Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
>> >
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>> >
>> >
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> Khalid M. Baheyeldin
> 2bits.com, Inc.
> http://2bits.com
> Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
> Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
> Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
>
> _______________________________________________
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> kwlug-disc_kwlug.org at kwlug.org
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