Use the palm Pilot part as a Palm Pilot
flyguy said:
I currently have a Canadian cell phone with Bell Mobility which I would like to keep when I move to the DR, as it has an integrated Palm Pilot
The Cdn phone will still operate as a Palm right? (Better yet since an adequate Palm Vx is CDN $90 buy that).
If you insist on this route and money is not an issue find out from Bell what protocol they use (Rogers is TDMA and newer service GSM, Fido is GSM, no idea what Bell and Telus are, one assumes they are CDMA and if they also have world phones, GSM) then find out which service in the DR will work with that phone (Orange is GSM, Codetel, which is now called Verizon since they own it, isn't - they are CDMA I think) .
Then find a competent shop to do the dual NAM thing and heed the warning about having the CDN NAM wiped out, hope that they can unlock it (if it isn't a paid up contract with Bell you may not be able to add NAM's to it) , pay a pile, hope they do it in a few days, hope they don't wreck it, and then you have a dual use phone.
Or do what I have seen 99% of regulars do, if you are living in the DR just get a new phone (minus Palm Pilot, camera, MP3 player all of which work better in devices designed for that purpose).
Orange is popular because they are seemingly everywhere (and basic phones are dirt cheap) - I use Codetel and get better service than Orange in some areas. I phone someone from Canada who has Orange and at times it is a chore getting through. Of course you don't have a choice if you bring a phone since you will have to find the carrier that meets the phone's specs.
Another option is to go to a compra venta store, buy a street girls pawned phone and have it reactivated. I have considered that to get a smaller and fancier phone at times but them common sense surrounds me, I realize my phone is just a phone and actually makes and receives calls and then I forget it.
And never, never roam even if roaming seems to work - you will pay a bundle per minute local or to N. America.