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Cell Phone Question

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BoxCar_Willie

BoxCar_Willie

The World's Favorite Hobo
Rather than just call my cell phone provider, I'm too lazy to walk up all those stairs. Hoping that someone knows the answer to my question.

I have Sprint but want to buy a phone from Sony Ericson
Can I buy one unlocked and then make it work with my current provider?
 
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BoxCar_Willie;778818; said:
Rather than just call my cell phone provider, I'm too lazy to walk up all those stairs. Hoping that someone knows the answer to my question.

I have Sprint but want to buy a phone from Sony Ericson
Can I buy one unlocked and then make it work with my current provider?
Click to expand...
No. I don't know whether or not Sprint has SIM cards, but they will not work in an unlocked phone.
 
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BoxCar_Willie;778818; said:
Rather than just call my cell phone provider, I'm too lazy to walk up all those stairs. Hoping that someone knows the answer to my question.

I have Sprint but want to buy a phone from Sony Ericson
Can I buy one unlocked and then make it work with my current provider?
Click to expand...

Sony Ericsson is a GSM phone manufacturer where Sprint is a CDMA carrier. If you had a GSM carrier an bought an unlocked SE phone you would be okay. Unfortunately, you are out of luck when it comes to an SE phone. Sorry.
 
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BoxCar_Willie;779193; said:
In english please :)
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GSM is a type of carrier that carries certain phones like Cingular, T-Mobile...while Sprint and Nextel and others are on CDMA. GSM phones can be unlocked and switch SIM cards between them. FWIW, almost all of Europe is GSM.
 
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BoxCar_Willie;779193; said:
In english please :)
Click to expand...

Taking this a step further. You can only buy a Sprint phone to work on a Sprint network. Not only can you not use a GSM phone, but you can't use a CDMA phone from Verizon, Alltel, US Cellular, etc., either. Just a little FYI. :)
 
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I thought they were CDMA when they merged. I'll have to google around and see whats out there on that.

On another note: America is way behind Europe in cellys. I was shocked when I went online and found some of the phones they had out that they hadn't released over here yet. We are getting ripped off over here, were paying top price for last years models.
 
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lord vegas;779310; said:
I thought they were CDMA when they merged. I'll have to google around and see whats out there on that.

On another note: America is way behind Europe in cellys. I was shocked when I went online and found some of the phones they had out that they hadn't released over here yet. We are getting ripped off over here, were paying top price for last years models.
Click to expand...
I haven't bought a phone from America in a long time. I buy all my cell phones on eBay sometimes from Europe, but mostly from Asia and Australia.
 
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BoxCar_Willie;779493; said:
Well, which is the best then?

GSM CDMA??

That fuckin sucks, Sprint has some shitty phones comparitively. I'd really like to pick a cellphone I want, not just one that sprint has.
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No one is the best. I like GSM because I buy phones on eBay. It depends what gets the best quality where you need it. As far as phone selection goes, GSM (unlocked phones) will have a far better selection than others.
 
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bigballin2987;779497; said:
No one is the best. I like GSM because I buy phones on eBay. It depends what gets the best quality where you need it. As far as phone selection goes, GSM (unlocked phones) will have a far better selection than others.
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I agree wholeheartedly, don't let anyone tell you "Carrier X is the best." It depends on where you live, work and travel. Each carrier has spots they aren't as strong and others where they are great. So you choose based on your needs.

Now as far as phones are concerned. The largest selection is GSM and CDMA carriers tend to cripple their phones - or limit your phones abilities.
 
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I disagree about CDMA phones being limited. While you don't have the option of using a phone from another carrier with Sprint, I've found that I can do just about anything I want with my Sprint phone. I've always liked their phone selection compared to other carriers, and I'm especially partial to the Samsung handsets that Sprint has had.

GSM has a larger selection of handsets - not only because you can have a phone unlocked for use with another carriers - but also because phone manufacturers make more phones for GSM carriers because that's the easiest way for them to reach the largest segment of the market. Almost the entire world uses GSM exclusively, with the USA and South Korea being the strongholds for CDMA. Because manufacturers more often than not make phones for GSM carriers first to reach the widest segment of the market, that means there are also a lot of new concept or experimental handsets. Some would argue that leads to GSM having more innovative handsets, but I believe that means that the market is flooded with a lot of awkward, crappy phones mixed in with the good ones. Really by the time any new phone innovation has all the kinks worked out, it likely will have spread to all major carriers.

On a sidenote, if you want data service, CDMA has the upper hand on GSM, and Sprint has the upper hand on the other carriers in most cases.
 
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