My first international trip with this phone

[thepro8]

So I'm leaving for my first international business trip using cingular and the Q9h. I've had verizon in the past. Am I going to have any issues using my phone in Japan or Singapore?

[lbmmoh]

I think you will have a problem in Japan. Japan and Korea are the only two problem countries for this "global" phone.

[mexiken]

What frequencies do Japan and Korea use ???? Won't he still be able to use the 900/1800 MHz GSM frequency band ???? Or do they use something different ????

[jpwoof]

i would like to know your experiences too when you come back from your trip.

question... since Q9 Global is a global gsm phone, does that mean, it would work outside US (i.e. Philippines) using a foreign sim card without having to unlock the phone?

[mexiken]

I can verify that a quad band phone works in the Philippines. A friend of mine with a quad band Blackberry just returned from there, and had no problems using her phone.

I would have assumed it to work in Japan or Korea, but someone said the Q9h would give people trouble there, and I was wondering why.

[thepro8]

Originally Posted by jpwoof

i would like to know your experiences too when you come back from your trip.

question... since Q9 Global is a global gsm phone, does that mean, it would work outside US (i.e. Philippines) using a foreign sim card without have to unlock the phone?

You do have to unlock the phone if you want to use a foreign sim card (I already did this). But I shouldn't have to change sim cards, I'll just pay roaming.

[lbmmoh]

CDMA and UMTS 2100 bands are used in korea and japan, so you cant use the Q9h. That is the one advantage the BJII has over the Q9h.

Just get the phone unlocked through ATT, they do it for free if you request it. THen you can buy a prepaid sim card in the country you go to. It worked great for me in Hong Kong last month. The data did not work, even though the phone saw a 3G signal. If I tinkered with it, it would probably work, but it would eat my pre paid minutes faster.

[mike250rs]

a prepaid sim card should be much cheaper than roaming I would think

[mexiken]

Yes, a prepaid SIM will work, and honestly, will be much cheaper. Only drawback is it won't be your same number. If you don't mind that, you're golden.

AT&T's policy is to let you unlock the phone ONLY after 90 days. If this is you, then call in. If they give you trouble (which they might, they are a huge company after all with assets to protect), ask to speak to a supervisor. Tell them you are aware of the 90 day policy.

If this isn't you, then they are not under any obligation to give you the unlock code within the 90 days. The stipulation is in your Terms of Service somewhere, hidden with all the other mumbo jumbo. Hope this helps.

[lbmmoh]

I called in 3 ays after singing up and had no problems; its worth trying.