# Recommend a cell phone that works in North and South America, por favor

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-cell-phone-that-works-in-north-and-south-america-por-favor/287559>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [January 31, 2005, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-cell-phone-that-works-in-north-and-south-america-por-favor/287559 "2005-01-31T08:07:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![False\_God](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee7513/32.png) [@False\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/False_God)\
**Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-cell-phone-that-works-in-north-and-south-america-por-favor/287559/1 "2005-01-31T08:07:46Z")

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Here’s the deal: at the beginning of March, I leave Sri Lanka to go on a month of paid leave, during which I will be driving cross-country. Then, once I reach DC, I have a few months of training, after which I go to my next assignment as a consular officer in Lima, Peru. Naturally, I’m looking for a cell phone I can use in the States as well as in Peru, and have ascertained the following:

– it has to be tri-or quad-band

– it has to be “unlocked”, i.e., not tied to a service contract

– it should have a removable SIM card

There are some nice ones at SimonCells, and I’m leaning towards the Handspring Treo 600 GSM. At USD 400, it’s a tad on the high side, although affordable. Anyone else have any experience with this type of equipment or recommendations?

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**Author:** ![Jeff\_Peanut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/db5fbb/32.png) [@Jeff\_Peanut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Peanut)\
**Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-cell-phone-that-works-in-north-and-south-america-por-favor/287559/2 "2005-01-31T15:40:44Z")

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Im not sure of its model number in the US, but the Sony Ericsson Z1010 will be perfect for all your needs.

Your welcome!  
Jeff

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**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\
**Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-cell-phone-that-works-in-north-and-south-america-por-favor/287559/3 "2005-01-31T15:52:19Z")

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The locked/unlocked part is down to the individual supplier/network, not the manufacturer. The Nokia 6600 is a brilliant phone, tri-band, 32Mb of memory, camera, Symbian OS, and stuff like GPRS email. That should do you.

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**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\
**Post date:** [January 31, 2005, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-cell-phone-that-works-in-north-and-south-america-por-favor/287559/4 "2005-01-31T16:10:35Z")

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I’d recommend quad-band, because there are parts of the Americas that use:  
only GSM-1800 (Brazil)  
only GSM-850 (Ecuador, Panama)  
only GSM-900 (Venezuela)  
only GSM-1900 (among others, Peru)  
See [GSM WORLD](http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/index.shtml) for info on GSM cellphone networks in various countries. Here is my cellphone provider’s [info](http://www.fido.ca/portal/packages/international.jsp?lang=en#maps) on roaming in various countries.

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**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-cell-phone-that-works-in-north-and-south-america-por-favor/287559/5 "2005-02-02T14:04:00Z")

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Who (if any) is your current cell phone provider? Your current cell phone may already meet your specifications.

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**Author:** ![False\_God](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee7513/32.png) [@False\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/False_God)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-cell-phone-that-works-in-north-and-south-america-por-favor/287559/6 "2005-02-13T04:13:52Z")

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Thanks for the recommendations, I’ll check around.

And **Cleophus** , no dice on my current cellphone – it’s an Embassy issue and it gets returned.