simple term phone advice

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laurapasinifan

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Sep 19, 2005
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Ok for the guys in the know this is a boring question...and i know it has been hacked around many times...but the info I am looking for would take me many many threads to find....so Ill ask it straight out hoping to get clean new fresh answers.
I want to know what a SIM card is exactly and what it does and why it effects phone service differently in the DR as opposed to the US.

On my last trip I swore the sales person where I bought my GF a new phone (again..stolen at the hardware store while we were there!!!), said that the motorola phone we were looking at with the words SPRINT on the cover would work with verizon......she will only use pre paid cards...not get an account........is that true?

I wanted her to get verizon because I have it... and she has always had it...I worry about changing many things.

next question... I have to buy my daughter a new phone, and am going onto ebay most likely...and i figuire Ill get another phone for me at the same time for use in the DR with pre paid cards. so......

the phone I need for myself for use in the DR. with verizon...it has to be what?.......

basically I need the specifics of the phone that need to be such that it will work right off in the DR once i activate it there....

if it easy to do...Id accept a phone that I can change back and forth myself...or if it very technical...Id just as soon not bother...and get a phone SOLELY for the DR.

so what are the differences in the types of of phones....I think I have heard of two different bands or styles... and maybe one that does both....but I may be transposing my info.....thus the direct question again.

dont forget to tell me what the SIM card is and what it used for.

I think Ill wait for a few responses before i ask any more questions...because i know the info I get will trigger more questions...and thanks for the replies

bob
 
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AZB

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Jan 2, 2002
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The Sim card phones only work with orange phones in this country. I personally can't stand any phone company besides Verizon. Its difficult to contact an Orange phone person. The answering machine always kicks in because they just don't have enough lines in air available to service all clients who are making calls. The SIM card is the core of the cell. It has all the information of your phone company and also your saved setting and phone directory. When you get a SIM chip phone, just slip in the orange sim chip into it and now its a dominican phone. You can slip in this tiny chip card into any sim phone and it becomes a reprogrammed phone with the same number. Your contacts will also be transfered into that new phone if you have them saved on the SIM card. My brother uses his sim phone all over the world. When he comes to DR, his cell phone works here as well with atlanta number but the calls are expensive. Now if he would go to orange phone company and take out a new contract, they will give him a sim card with DR number programmed on it. He slips in that card and his phone becomes a dominican orange phone with a 809 or 829 number.

Now all sprint phones in USA are CDMA phones which means they will work well with verizon. Any new phone that has verizon printed on it will also work with verizon here. All you do is to take it to a call store and have them program PRL into it for free or for 100 pesos including unlocking it. Then you can have this programmed for verizon. Actaually the same phone works with centennial and tricom as well, but they are inferior services. Verizon is the way to go.
AZB
 
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Steve Costa Azul

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Jul 15, 2006
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Telus Phone

I too, have a question regarding cell phones in the DR. I have a Telus phone here in Canada which is the sister company to Nextel. My phone is a sim card phone. I am coming up for a month in 9 days and would like to have a phone with me. I usually just turn the phone off and leave it in the vehicle and same the battery charge for when we get back to Toronto. If I find out that I can use my phone in the DR, then great!
Another option is simply getting a land line for the house in Cabarete. If anyone can tell me the cost of that, it would be helpful. It might make sense too, if we rent it out after we are there. We haven't rented it yet but if we did, it would be nicer to have a phone, I would think.
Azb, I will keep the Verizon info in my heads hard drive in case I go that route.
Thanks,
Steve
 
cobraboy

cobraboy

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AZB said:
My brother uses his sim phone all over the world. When he comes to DR, his cell phone works here as well with atlanta number but the calls are expensive. Now if he would go to orange phone company and take out a new contract, they will give him a sim card with DR number programmed on it. He slips in that card and his phone becomes a dominican orange phone with a 809 or 829 number.

AZB
Click to expand...
If I lived in the DR, I'd go Verizon. But like your brother, I use Orange because all I have to do it pop in my Orange SIM card into my US phone, and I have my entire phone book and features as before.

My fiance has Verizon. There are quirks in both systems, but Verizon seems to be the stronger company overall.

But for the occasional visitor, Orange works well in a GSM environment.
 
cobraboy

cobraboy

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Steve Costa Azul said:
I too, have a question regarding cell phones in the DR. I have a Telus phone here in Canada which is the sister company to Nextel. My phone is a sim card phone. I am coming up for a month in 9 days and would like to have a phone with me. I usually just turn the phone off and leave it in the vehicle and same the battery charge for when we get back to Toronto. If I find out that I can use my phone in the DR, then great!
Another option is simply getting a land line for the house in Cabarete. If anyone can tell me the cost of that, it would be helpful. It might make sense too, if we rent it out after we are there. We haven't rented it yet but if we did, it would be nicer to have a phone, I would think.
Azb, I will keep the Verizon info in my heads hard drive in case I go that route.
Thanks,
Steve
Click to expand...
Go to Orange and get an Orange Card. You (most likely) can then use your cell phone in the DR, and just purchase time as you need it.
 
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Drro

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Mar 22, 2006
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Steve

I have a Nextel phone and all I needed to do is buy a phone that works international and swap my sim card from my US Nextel into the phone I bought and it worked. The problems are two-fold. #1 Nextel = Orange in the DR and the service isn't that great, especially where my apartment is - no service. And secondly, while I keep my cell phone number in the states, both incoming and outgoing calls cost $1.99 a minute. There is an option to have all calls go directly into voicemail so you're not paying $1.99 even for missed calls and then you call in to check your voicemail.

I'm coming in on Saturday and going to get Verizon prepaid at Playero - for local calls. Unless someone else has a better idea where to get it.

I bought a phone off Ebay that is the right format (so I've been told) to get the prepaid. It's not a sim card phone.

Hope this makes sense and is helpful.
Ro
 
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laurapasinifan

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Sep 19, 2005
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so in a verizon phone....what holds all the info if it is not a SIM card?

and if I have a verizon phone is there a way to go back and forth from the US to the DR and change the phone some how each time.

I dont want to make calls from the DR with my current USA based verizon plan...as it is roaming and costs about $1.69 per minute...sending or recieveing....

I want to learn all this but I am only going to use verizon....I hate dead zones and dropped calls.. and I am convinced verizon has better service over all for making the calls.....and since i dont use a "plan" and will only use pre paid calling cards where you PUT the time into the phone initially, then use it up as you make calls( thus never dealing with the calling card again until that time has expired)...I want to stay with Verizon as my carrier....

and as far as this sim card goes...where does it plug in?...under the battery?...or someplace else?

bob
 
cobraboy

cobraboy

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Verizon requires a separate phone from your US phone, you can't interchange without great difficulty. Many are available in the DR depending on what you want to spend.

The SIM card goes under the battery in both my Moto Razr 3i, and in my old Moto v400.
 
Tamborista

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One Phone>>>>TWO Numbers

Actually, it is possible to switch numbers back and forth on the same CDMA phone.

Most phones have "Dual NAM" functionality. This enables you to have a US number installed simultaneously with your DR number. NO they don't function simultaneously! This allows you to switch fron "NAM A" to "NAM B" without having to go to Verizon after the initial visit.

When you get home to New Yawk, just switch your "NAM". The worst case scenario, you log on to your Verizon account online and reactivate the phone for US usage, takes 2 minutes, and even BOB could do it!
 
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laurapasinifan

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Sep 19, 2005
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so If I take my verizon phone to the verizon store....will they show me how to do it?

or will they frown upon doing that...or will they scratch their heads???

watching is way better than messing around.....

the only problem with converting the phone I have to another number in the DR...is that anyone in america that needs to get a hold of me for any reason...will need that second number.....hmmm

bob
 
Tamborista

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Never Mind!

If you need to keep your US line active while in DR, get a cheepee second phone. Just buy one on eBAY for under $30 including shipping.
 
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laurapasinifan

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ok to continue.....last time I had a phone in the DR I let my GF brother use it while I was in america.......but I got it wet on sosua beach and it died......I didnt mind him using it, but really wished I had it when i arrived at the airport....instead I needed to make calls with my US verizon phone....so this time if I get a second phone...I will bring it back and forth...which leads to the question how much time of no use is allowed before they didable the phone number...i am not worried about the 100 pesos worth of time on the last card i bought...just the phone number

bob
 
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AZB

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Bob, ask your family members of friends to see who has a spare old sprint or verizon phone sitting in drawer or tossed in garage. take that phone and call me in santiago. i will take care of the rest for you.
AZB
 
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laurapasinifan

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Sep 19, 2005
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what about pre paid phones sold in america....are they or can they be conveted to work in the DR

I was surfing Ebay tonight and came across some verizon pre paid phones as well as some verizon INPULSE phones...which are pay as you go phones..

that site is just too dammmm big......

it would take days to surf it

bob
 
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2LeftFeet

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Dec 1, 2006
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Can SIM cards have minutes on it already. A friend was trying to explain this to me and I had no idea what she was talking about. I'm not the most phone savvy. She got a chip and 200 free minutes-- after the minutes run out she was going to sell the chip-- I couldn't understand why the chip would have minutes-- I thought that only the tarjeta had minutes-- she said that she had a tarjeta-- I was throughly lost. So now there are 2 chips and 1 tarjeta. When the minutes run out-- 1 targeta and 1 chip because the 2nd chip will be sold.

Is this the "phone fell off the truck wink wink"

Any ideas????
 
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2LeftFeet

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Got my answer-- the tarjeta actually downloads to the phone chip--not to the phone. Each chip needs a tarjeta.

2 chips --2 tarjetas---
 
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bigbird

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2LeftFeet said:
Got my answer-- the tarjeta actually downloads to the phone chip--not to the phone. Each chip needs a tarjeta.

2 chips --2 tarjetas---
Click to expand...

1-chip (sim card) can be loaded over and over again using the PIN on multiple "tarjeta de telephono".
 
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suarezn

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LPF: You've gotten most of your answers already. I have a sprint phone which I take with me every time I go. If I'm going to last more a couple of days I just go to a phone activation place and have it activated. Just make sure they don't wipe out your contact list. It cost 300 pesos in San Francisco de Macoris and they give you a calling card worth 150 pesos. When I come back to the US I just call Sprint and have it reactivated. That simple...

If you wish to have two separate phones then buy a cheapo one and have it activated down there with calling cards. You're supposed to put in a minimum of a 50 pesos calling card every month to keep it activated.

The other thing I did last time was I bought an orange phone for about 1000 pesos and it works great. Orange actually has better service in my hometown than Verizon as they have one of their towers right over there. Cell phones are definitely cheaper down in The DR.

The one question I have is what about blackberries? I'm thinking about getting one as my new phone, but need it to work down there so I can answer e-mails, etc as I'm on the move. Any way to activate these down there just like the phones? AZB or anyone know?
 
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laurapasinifan

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Sep 19, 2005
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well I actually never heard if the verizon phone with a contract plan....would work with a pay as you go card in the DR..

like I doubt if I buy a trac phone , that they would allow me to have a contract with it later on....so my question is the reverse....can a phone originally bought for a verizon ACCOUNT, later be used in the Dominican Republic as a PAY AS YOU GO PHONE?????

I dont have that answer...

I now plan to renew my contract basically because my daughter needs a new phone. So we will both get new phones when i sign up for this new contract... and ill use my current motorola V710 down in the DR....IF..it will work with pay as you go verizon cards.......the ones you call up to INPUT the minutes into your phone...and usually they call you right back with some bonus minutes...I usually buy my GF the 600 peso cards.. and they call her and say she got an additional 150 pesos......

next question has anyone ever been able to send pictures Via their text message format to the DR from america......verizon doesnt seem to allow that now...and I have international text messaging.....

bob
 
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