Cell Phone Costs and Reccomendations

[<<恒心>>]

Hey, everybody--

I am looking for some advice here about cellphones. I'll be traveling to Beijing next month for 10 days to meet up with with friends, translation biz people, looking at degree programs, and to take the HSK. I may return in the fall for another week or so, then be back next summer on a permanent basis after that.

Since I'll be very busy, meeting up with a lot of people, etc. it seems like a cell phone will be a must-have. After reading an article in the NYT this week about cellphone use (and costs) in foreign countries, I'm thinking it would be easier + cheaper to just buy one while there. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/15/technology/15basics.html?ex=1174708800&en=87dd4919fedbbe32&ei=5070&emc=eta1

I'm aware of the the Shenzhouxing pay-as-you-go serviceif I used that, then I could just buy enough time for while I'm actually in Beijing, no? When I return long-term next year, I would already have the whole cell phone question settled. Well, that's my theory, anyway...

My question then is: how much are cell phones going for these days, on average? Any models better/more reliable than others? Any service providers better than others? Any hidden fees or other pitfalls that I should be aware of? Registration, residency or other odd requirements?

Thanks for your help with this!

[banjo67xxx]

If you want an all-singing-all-dancing cellphone, then its cheaper to buy an unlocked GSM phone in the US or UK (but you'll need to change the firmware if you want to text in Chinese).

If you just want something you can talk to people with and send text messages, esp. if you want to send and receive texts in Chinese, then the basic phones are about as cheap in China.

As for service providers, there are only two China Mobile and China Unicom. China Unicom is generally cheaper, but I've not had one from them which permits outgoing international calls/texts. (I believe you only need id if you want to purchase a SIM card which allows international calls/texts, but you shouldn't do that anyway as using a calling card is cheaper).

[ironfrost]

If you only want your phone for voice and text messaging, you can pick up a low-end GSM handset for around 300-350 RMB. If you want one that does a little more then the best low-mid range phone is probably the Nokia 2610 - it will set you back about 550 RMB and can run java programs and access the internet through GPRS. Because operators don't subsidise handsets, they're more expensive in China than they are in Europe / the US, so if you're wanting anything more advanced than that you should probably buy it at home and get it unlocked.

Those prices are without sim cards, and the price of the sim card varies depending on the phone number attached to it. The cheapest Shenzhouxing pay-as-you-go card costs 40 RMB, but the ones that price will have a '4' as the final digit, which is considered unlucky. More auspicious numbers will cost 55-80 RMB, or more if you want one with lots of 8's in it. You can buy sim cards at China Mobile stores or at booths on street corners; you're supposed to provide ID (just your passport is enough) but most of the street booths don't bother checking.

The call price on the Shenzhouxing tariff is 0.6RMB per minute rounded up to the next minute, incoming or outgoing, and you buy credit in units of 50RMB. I think SMS are 0.1 RMB each - it could be 0.15 RMB. Some useful extra packages are 500 minutes of incoming calls for 10RMB, and 10MB of GPRS data for 5RMB - both of these are monthly subscriptions, so remember to cancel them when you leave. The low value top-ups only last for 3 months (higher values last longer) but the sim card itself doesn't expire, so you can come back next year and put more money on to reactivate the same phone number.

Unicom is slightly cheaper than China Mobile, but their network doesn't do GPRS, so if that's important you should use Mobile. Both companies have virtually 100% coverage in Beijing and other major cities.

[<<恒心>>]

Thank you both for all the useful information and advice-- I've got options to consider now! I really appreciate all the technical and pricing details-- thank you!

I guess that a phone capable of Chinese language messaging is what I'm looking for, just 'good enough' for now, but capable of becoming my main phone in the future. So long as the phone is useable in the US, then I wouldn't mind spending a bit for that. (Currently I am using a company-provided phone, and don't have my own phone per se.)

It sounds as if buying an unlocked phone here might be cheaper, but then I'd have to load in the Chinese firmware once there (and presumably unload it once I return here.) Maybe that's not a big deal... or is it?? Alternately, I could buy a phone there, and reconfigure it once I return here.... but are unlocked phones available in China?

Lots to think about, but now I've got specifics to consider-- thanks again! This forum has proved its' worth already!

[Lu]

I've never bought a cellphone in China, but in Taiwan the sim-card expires if you don't use it for half a year. Don't know when you plan to come back and use yours again, but maybe you can ask when you buy the card if there is a similar rule in China. I plan to give my card to a good friend when I leave here, and ask her to call someone with it every once in a while, just to keep it working.

[banjo67xxx]

It sounds as if buying an unlocked phone here might be cheaper, but then I'd have to load in the Chinese firmware once there (and presumably unload it once I return here.) Maybe that's not a big deal... or is it?? Alternately, I could buy a phone there, and reconfigure it once I return here.... but are unlocked phones available in China?

You shouldn't need to remove the firmware when returning to the US, as Chinese firmware will still allow you to use the 26 letter alphabet. You can probably get a firmware upgrade in the US if you know where to ask (there's a Chinese guy in our town who can install Chinese firmware, and we are over 3hrs from London).

I don't think they lock phones in China, but if there are any, then they can be unlocked for very few RMB.

I've never bought a cellphone in China, but in Taiwan the sim-card expires if you don't use it for half a year.

When I checked my available credit on China Unicom, it said (in English surprisingly) that my SIM card would expire in 12 months.