best carrier for travel in Southeast Asia?

[PollyRice]

I will be traveling in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and possibly India. I don't plan to use the phone a great deal, but would like to find a good plan which includes text messaging. I currently have Cingular but haven't explored their options yet. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Also, will need to get a new world phone, any model suggestions.

Thanks!
Polly

[ShoresGuy]

Welcome, your phone should definitely have GSM 900/1800. If you have a US model with just 1800, your coverage would be ok but you won't have the full backup potential of being able to use GSM 900 which is the standard GSM band in a lot of countries. Most providers definitely have text messaging, just make sure that they offer incoming and outgoing SMS since in some countries, you can only receive SMS.

Here are your provider options:

Cambodia: http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_kh.shtml
India: http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_in.shtml
Laos: http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_la.shtml
Thailand: http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_th.shtml

Your roaming options from Cingular:

http://onlinestore.cingular.com/weba...&svcAreaId=SBC

What phone do you have now?