Hi, I'm thinking of importing either a motorola MS200 or motorola ms150 from Korea but, not having bought a phone that was made for another market before, I just want to check that it will still work on the Verizon CDMA network and I will still be able to roam the US and make and recive calls. Can I also recieve calls from people who call me from another country? Advice from you guys is really welcome, cos it ain't gonna be cheap getting the phone but all the US versions suck techno wise Thanks
Welcome to WA. Cell phones are expensive and the last thing you want to do is pay good money for a phone that does not work. If it were me, I would try to find out the ESN number then call my provider, to see if it will work. In lieu of that, call your provider and ask them, giving the phone model number.
Just to add on to what Rich was saying, from what I remember about Korean phones in past discussions here, many if not most of them don't utilize the 1900mhz band - so an imported phone would only be able to utilize VZW towers on the 800mhz band (and wouldn't work on Sprint at all). Also, many popular features (TXT and picture messaging, for instance) may not function. Just bear that in mind before you import anything.
For the most part, if you're located in NYC, a Korean phone will work. What part of NY are you in? I'm in Manhattan and New Jersey most of the time and both my phones work flawlessly. You should check whether your area is 800/1900 or if it's only 1900. You should be able to receive calls from say Korea. My friend has a Startac 2004 and he receives overseas calls. It's true that Korean phones are much more advanced but the one thing you have to remember is that most of the features will not work (wireless internet, MONETA, video, etc.). For me it was purely a design standpoint that made me choose a Korean phone. I didn't need all the bells and whistles, just something that made calls and was light and small. Also keep in mind that once you bring it over, it will cost $100-$200 for a dealer to assign an ESN for you.
Thanks for the info. I'm living in Manhattan but receive a lot of calls from outside the US. It's just that the Korean market has the phones that, lets face it, are what you should expect from a phone these design in terms of design and functionality. Good to know that some of them may not work over here though so I've got a lot of good questions to ask the dealer before stumping up the cash, thanks J
Twopiece, Do you have the national single rate plan? What happens if you go to an area that only has 1900? Thanks
I'm on the AC 400 plan. It didn't dawn upon me until after a few months that it was possible to connect a dual mode phone on the AC plan even though VZW says it's mandatory that it be a tri-mode. Back when AC first came out I wanted to connect my Motorola V8160 to it and the dealer told me it was not possible. I would assume that my phone wouldn't work in an all 1900 area.
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