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      08-23-2005, 02:58 AM   #1
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Old ATT GSM Network.....HELP!

Help me, I'm a cell phone moron.

Here's what I've got:

I'm a charter customer on the old ATT Wireless GSM network...which is now Cingular. My rate plan is grandfathered in at $99/month for unlimited use....I mean really unlimited....as in 10,000 min/month primetime if I need it...and once in awhile I do. Free long distance and roaming...etc etc....the darned plan is $99/mo no matter what. Cingular has informed me that if I want a Treo or Blackberry phone I will have to change plans and that's going to cost me 1-2 THOUSAND dollars/year more for those calling plans......so that's not going to happen.

So I want to purchase a GSM phone and have Bluetooth with a compatible address book if possible. Right now my Nokia 3250 works in my 330 (w/I-Drive) but there is no address book. I'd prefer another Nokia with Bluetooth that's GSM. The Nokia 6310/6310i is listed at BMW's Bluetooth site as being compatible.

Questions:

I want to get a BMW compatible phone and put the SIM card & memory card from my current Nokia phone into it. Do I need to get a Nokia phone or will my SIM/memory card work in other phones?

I understand that the phone needs to be unlocked to the ATT/Cingular network. Are there places that can unlock a phone or sell me an unlocked phone and warrant that it will work?

Thanks in advance for any help. If there are any So Cal or San Diego cell phone gurus out there I need your help.
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Last edited by marcus330i; 08-23-2005 at 03:10 AM..
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      08-23-2005, 06:50 AM   #2
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Marcus,

Your best option will probably be to buy a phone off of ebay. I've bought a few and have never had any problems.

You only need an unlocked version if the phone doesn't originally come from Cingular.

I just had another idea. You could sign up (or have a friend do it) for new service, get the Treo, then cancel the new service, obviously paying the cancellation fee...

Just curious, how much calling are you doing that it would cost you 1 to 2 thousand more a year?
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      08-23-2005, 09:24 AM   #3
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Marcus,

There are plenty of places on the web to buy unlocked phones. I buy my phones from one of the following and here are the links:

http://www.myworldphone.com/
http://www.welectronics.com/

I usually buy from the first one. They are great to deal with and with a unlocked phone you can use it with any service provider. So if you are traveling say to St Barts you can get a sim from a local carrier and have a working phone with low rates.
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      08-25-2005, 04:02 AM   #4
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Thanks Guys....I just bought a Motorola V551 on eBay (new) and I'll give that a shot. The cust service rep at Cingular told me my current plan is still great and to keep it as long as possible. She said my SIM card will transfer from the Nokia to the Motorola....we'll see. The V551 is listed on the BMW site as being completely compatible w/their Bluetooth setup.
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      08-25-2005, 07:20 AM   #5
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Great! Let us know how you make out.

BTW - SIM cards aren't tied to any particular brand of phone, so moving it from one phone to another should never be an issue.
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      08-25-2005, 06:30 PM   #6
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Thanks...I didn't know that sim cards work in different brands of phones. I Googled it and couldn't find an answer. I've always used the same brand of phone so I wasn't sure.

Still waiting for the V551.....will let you know how it goes.
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      08-25-2005, 06:52 PM   #7
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on a partially-but-not-totally related note, my stupid LG phone (I have Verizon) isn't Bluetooth capable and a real piece, so my friend suggested I try to find a phone on eBay. How did that work out for you, Marcus? Just serach and find?


and to relate to your original question - as mentioned, SIM cards are not phone-specific. I used ot have Cingular and I went form a Nokia to a Siemens phone, just swapping the SIM cards. You'll have to make sure your numbers are saved to the SIM card as opposed to the phone itself, otherwise you won't get those numbers not on the card. Some info might end up a little out of whack due to different layouts, but it should be ust fine overall. Well, in my experience
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      08-30-2005, 01:18 AM   #8
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Well my Moto V551 came this morning so I charged it up and did the sync with the car and it works very well. I bought an unlocked phone on eBay and transferred the SIM card into it...presto!
It's great finally having the phonebook on the I-Drive screen (my old Nokia phone had an ancient version of BTooth which didn't provide the phonebook transfer)

I tried calling my Bmer bud in Santa Cruz using his name via the voice-recognition system and it worked using the "Dial Name" command. Boy you have to speak clearly for this to work right. All in all I'm stoked with my new toy!!
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      08-30-2005, 06:43 AM   #9
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Glad to hear everything worked out for you!
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