# The SBHonline Community Daily > Digerati Discussions! >  >  Cell Phone Question

## katva

I'm shopping for a cell phone for Tom's business.  We need to be able to be reached any time of day, and also while we travel--including overseas.  And, don't need a smart phone......and we would set up a separate account for this, not add on to our existing Verizon plan (I think).  I'm not having much luck finding a GSM basic phone.  I did find a Casio G-z Commando (or something like that), but reviews are so-so.  Any ideas?  Should we just get a smart phone, and pay for the data plan which we won't need?  Also, do any phones have the functionality of removing the SIM card, and putting in a new one, from, say Orange in SBH or France?  The Nokia smart phone gets good reviews.....

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## JEK

Sounds like a unlocked Razr would do just fine. If you want the same number all over the world, AT&T would be the best service, or perhaps T-Mobile. Both roam quite well. Putting a country SIM in when you travel will defeat the one-number-everywhere scheme.

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## JEK

http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-V3-Un...nlocked+razors

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## andynap

Look at the ATT Samsung GSM Flip phones. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=...lectedIndex=19

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## Goooner

We actually got a very good deal by adding lines to our Verizon account. Overall, less expensive than adding a new carrier.

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## Petri

Amazon has a section for "unlocked cell phones".

I'm not sure why anyone would want to buy a 10-year-old Razr V3 today.  It's a quad-band 850/900/1800/1900 GSM phone and considering 3G has been available more than 10 years, you really want a phone that also has a multi-band 3G.  The carriers are moving bandwidth from GSM to 3G and simply don't care about the GSM coverage any longer.

For travel 3G you want at least 850/900/1900/2100 3G, perhaps 1700-2100 as well.

Nokia has some models in their Asha line with a keyboard that may be useful.  Also check out what Samsung has, they're big outside of the smartphone market as well.

Another feature that may be useful when travelling is dual-SIM support.  You can use two different carriers, perhaps because the other has better prices, or better coverage, or whatever the reason might be.  Don't forget that with a nice pre-paid SIM card with mobile data you could just enable the WiFi hotspot feature on the phone and have your laptop connected.  It's 2013 and being in the middle of nowhere doesn't mean you need to be disconnected :)

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## katva

Thanks all.  Petri--yes, I agree.  I want a new phone, and the old Razr, as much as I loved my years ago, won't do for this.  Looking at prices, plans, etc. I'm actually thinking a smart phone might be the way to go.  The basic cell phones w/GSM are a couple hundred $$, and reviews aren't good, unless I get a super cheap looking (Pantech), free one, that looks like it's designed for kids!  There is a Nokia Lumia 822 for $ 20 on Verizon.  And, I think we'll just pay the roaming charges---we will need to keep the same phone number wherever we are, so a European SIM won't help.  Or, I could get the iPhone 4s for $100.  Or, a Samsung ATIV Odyssey for free.  Thinking I'll just add on to our Verizon account....if we need to add phones later, we can switch over to a business account if needed.

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## JEK

Verizon uses CDMA in the States, so make sure you get a phone that has GSM capabilities as well. Check Global Ready to find.

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## katva

JEK--yes, I only was looking at the Global-ready phones, so the list I gave above all comply.

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## Petri

Dual SIM (two subscriptions in one phone) would be pretty useful for that kind of use.

SIM #1 is the US SIM (T-Mobile?) that people call to.

SIM #2 is the local (prepaid) SIM that you can use for calls, local mobile data, etc without paying the roaming fees.

You could have a Skype number in the US and purchase a prepaid SIM with mobile data abroad and use Skype over it (or WiFi when available).

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## katva

Well, I'm posting from our new Nokia 822 Windows phone.  It was a pretty good deal. Free!  And so far, I like it Ok. 
Tom will have fun with it, regardless.  Verizon didn't have any dual sim card phones. We will just use WiFi when needed, and pay the roaming charges when traveling.  This phone is a bit older -- came out last November, I think. It was a very popular phone, but now there's a new one, which isn't as popular, they said. Free is good!  And, just added on to our Verizon--much less expensive than adding a new carrier, and I had forgotten that we get a 20% discount, so that made it an even better deal.

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## cassidain

> Dual SIM (two subscriptions in one phone) would be pretty useful for that kind of use.
> 
> SIM #1 is the US SIM (T-Mobile?) that people call to.
> 
> SIM #2 is the local (prepaid) SIM that you can use for calls, local mobile data, etc without paying the roaming fees.
> 
> You could have a Skype number in the US and purchase a prepaid SIM with mobile data abroad and use Skype over it (or WiFi when available).



Does Skype work on 4G/LTE? I thought not...not even consistently well on WeeFee in my experience. Are there any compelling alternatives to Skype for international use?

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## JEK

It does work on cellular data, but it would be might expensive from the island. I use Skype voice to call overseas all the time over WiFi and it works quite well.  For video I tend to use Facetime more that Skype, or Google Hangouts to do multiple locations which FT doesn't support. I also have a Skype number with a number from my local calling area so I can be called overseas and no charge to family and friends and low cost to me.

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## cassidain

OK, thanks. That's what I've done before too. Skype is just very annoying to deal with. Don't even have a phone number for customer service.

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## JEK

The website is very good for support questions.

https://support.skype.com/en/

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## cassidain

thx

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## Petri

> Does Skype work on 4G/LTE? I thought not...not even consistently well on WeeFee in my experience. Are there any compelling alternatives to Skype for international use?



It will work fine on 4G/LTE.

We use it frequently to call parents back at home, adapts quite nicely to the available bandwidth and had to turn off video in some places in Africa.  We've also used it on the phone, using 3G data (our aussie subscriptions have unlimited data but international calls cost $$$).

I've added some credit to the account and used it for some business calls, cheaper than using the mobile.  Also use it for calls to AA RTW Desk in the US to change our flights.  I use a bluetooth headset that makes it very convenient (http://www.jabra.com/Products/Blueto...a__SUPREME_New).

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## cassidain

> The website is very good for support questions.
> 
> https://support.skype.com/en/



Yes, there are some FAQ's to be found there, but I see no way to ask specific questions. For example, I purchased my Skype number, activated voice mail, recorded my outgoing message, but only the generic message is heard. Don't find any means to inform them of the problem or ask for help to solve the problem.

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## JEK

I updated mine from the Skype Mac application. Red button to record over the standard canned greeting.


Screen Shot 2014-01-06 at 12.59.31 PM.jpg

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## cassidain

Yes, I did exactly that as well. But, I still hear Skype's generic message when I test my Skype number...

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## JEK

Strange -- mine works fine. When you press the play button on the desktop version you hear your recording?

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## cassidain

Affirmative.

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## cassidain

Ok, figured it out. Typical Skype quirkiness. When I reactivated my Skype acct the other day it showed $0.00 Skype credit, so I purchased a measure of credit plus my Skype number. Apparently there was some old, frozen Skype credit attached to the acct, so when I reactivated it my outgoing message began working. My Skype number and voice mail already worked just not the OM. Really arcane and abtruse.

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## JEK

MSFT

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## cassidain

Yeah, but Skype was same way before MSFT purchased them. I love the intuitiveness of Apple. Is that the right word, "intuitiveness"?

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## Petri

Listening AA's "music" on Skype right now.  Changed seven flights and the flight from Santiago to Bogota was originally booked to economy instead of business class, which is now causing some background work at the tariffing..

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