buying cell phone in bangkok

[june11]

Are there any past articles or links anyone may have,

explaining the basics on how to buy a cell phone in bangkok

that can be used in other countries as well, and to call USA with it. All I know is I'll need to buy a gsm phone, and new cards in each country i go to (philippines, vietnam, mexico???). But i like to learn alot before going shopping (MBK?). Brands, costs, etc. I don't speak thai, so not sure how easy it will be to buy one there.

[torrenova]

Prices vary enormously from Bt1000 or so for an old 2nd hand phone to over Bt20,000 for a brand new top of the range.

 

You'll be on prepay and I'd suggest Happy Dprompt if for no other reason than to stop Toxin getting any richer by supporting AIS.

 

From the UK, I've found phones cheaper in the UK than in LOS. You also get what you want with a guarantee etc. If need be, get it unlocked in LOS for a couple of hunderd baht.

 

Calls to USA and UK now Bt7 per minute with prefix 009 I believe.

[Guest]

I recently bought a Samsung E600 in MBK,it was £30 pounds cheaper than the uk,i also bought a sim card in 7 eleven,that worked fine,same as my uk o2 sim,my only problem was the instructions book was in french,,but i went back and they had an english copy.

The selection at MBK is very impressive,and you will not have a problem,they all speak english.

Just dont get there too early in the morning,after 12 is best,all the stalls will be open then.

[rchapstick]

First, you need to have a gsm phone that supports the gsm networks (frequencies) you want to use. The safest approach is to buy a tri-band (900, 1800, 1900) or quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900) phone. You can look up carriers' frequencies at www.gsmworld.com . Obiously, if you only care about carriers one one or two frequencies, you can find phones that only support those frequencies.

 

Secondly, you need to make sure the phone is "unlocked". Carriers sometimes sell phones that are locked onto their network, and thus will not support sim cards off their network. Lots of places in MBK will unlock phones for a small fee, or you can buy unlocked phones. Just ask.

 

As others said, no problems finding vendors in MBK that speak English. If you have trouble communicating with a shopkeeper, just walk 5 meters (or less) and find another. These are so many shops that you won't have a problem finding someone who can communicate and sell to you at a fair price.

[Guest]

Your problem might be finding somebody who will sell you a simm card in the US. What I have found is that it is easier to buy a phone with service in the US instead of trying to buy only the service. If somebody has found service cheaper then phone and service as a package for usage in the US, I would like to hear about it.

 

I have found that not all areas are coverd in th US so make sure you have coverage for the area you are interested in before purchasing.

[Saiphon]

I bought a brand new Nokia 7250i in Thailand last year. It was about £50 cheaper than I could find in the UK or on the net at the time. Used it in Thailand with my Thai AIS pay-as-you-go card and simply stuck in my UK pay-as-you-go Vodafone card when I got back home. (Didn't require unlocking - already network open at purchase.) Plenty of places at MBK, but I got mine at a Nokia agents in a shopping mall in Chiangmai.