[parttimetechie]

Not sure if this is against the rules or not, so if it is just let me know and that will be the end of it.

I have a Samsung A437 from ATT i would like to be able to unlock the network function, and I have seen codes online to do this but while some report great success, others report phone freeze. Has anyone tried this with any samsung A437 phones?

[JohnWill]

It's perfectly legal to unlock cell phones in the US, don't know about other countries.

I've unlocked Motorola RAZR phones, don't know about the Samsung you have.

[parttimetechie]

When you unlocked them, all that allows is for you to use different SIMs correct? It does nothing for the coverage or anything like network selection?

[JohnWill]

Yep, I had a pair of T-Mobile RAZR phones, and I moved to AT&T and still wanted to use them. They now work for either, and I presume any other GSM network provider.

[parttimetechie]

So do you buy two different prepaid Sim cards or do you have two different accounts with each company? What are the other GSM carriers?

[parttimetechie]

bump

[JohnWill]

Originally Posted by parttimetechie

What are the other GSM carriers?

For the US: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...vice_providers

If you're interested in other countries, most of Europe runs pretty exclusively GSM from what I've seen when I've been there.

[parttimetechie]

Will CDMA be phazed out in favor of GSM or will the two always compete? Any chance of CDMA going international or the infastructure just isnt there to support it?

[JohnWill]

I have no idea if CDMA will go away, but it's not happening any time soon. Verizon and Sprint have too much money tied up in infrastructure to go GSM in the near future.

[parttimetechie]

Is getting cell phone service pretty much a crapshoot? Hope for the best and if it doesnt work out oh well, or are there definite carriers for better service?

[daniel_b2380]

hope y'all don't mind me chiming in -
i used to travel a LOT - accumulated probably nearly a dozen different phones to be able to have service for whatever part of the country i was in

like everything else in life - the plans evolved, changed and upgraded, etc
i began to use the verizon service more and more as the coverage increased - and as the other plans' contracts expired, just let them go - besides, today, with all the buy-outs, there aren't as many as there used to be anyway

for your particular area you need to travel in, you might just ask people what sevice they are using - and how happy they are with it

[parttimetechie]

Ya, a lot of my friends around me have Verizon, so I think thats who i will go with. Next question, is an ETF always 175 or could it be more? Cuase im going to dish out over 450 to ATT before my contract is up so im wondering if its better to pay the ETF and then just get verizon

[parttimetechie]

Just saw something else that interested me tonight. The Verizon Renown is CDMA and GSM capeable. How does this work? Do I get my choice of what signal type I want to use? Does ATT have any phones like this? Seems like this would be the best of both worlds

[JohnWill]

If you have that phone from Verizon, you'll need to verify if you can roam on GSM networks without having a compatible plan. I know that when I looked into Verizon for phone service, they were in no way compatible with Europe or Mexico, and so I rejected that option.