What IS a 3G phone????

quidsinquentin

Can any of you phone experts tell me what a '3G phone' is?

My son has damaged his mothers mobile beyond repair - its a Nokia 6630. There's 12 months left on the contract so she wants a new phone. Problem is we understand that it's got to be a 3G one. She doesn't want to buy one from 3 (at £200+), so we're having to buy one from another phone shop.

We don't mind having one unlocked, but we're stumped as to what choice we have - when it's got to be a 3G one.

How can you tell a 3G one from a non-3G one?

(the 3 shop told us the sim won't work with anything other than a 3G phone)

Cheers all.

reehsetin

ok basically you have 3 the network and
then you have 3g which is the technology is available on all networks
and you will have certain phones that are compatible with 3g technology (3g phones)
3 the network mainly run from the 3g signal/technology, therefore you have to have a 3g technology handset for it to work,
even if you get a 3g technology phone from another network, 3the network dont like you using other phones so i dont think you can definately use other unlocked 3g phones so not sure if it will work


you can either (safest bet) buy a paug handset from 3 the network and pop her sim in and it will work or buy another 3g technology handset unlocked and try it

quidsinquentin

Thanks - but how do I know what - payg - handset to get? And I still don't know what a 3G handset is?

ioscorpio

Have a look on 3's website or go into a 3 shop

http://threestore.three.co.uk/payg/default.aspx

reehsetin

if you buy one from 3 it will be a 3g handset
if not youll have to check the specs of the phone usually it will be one of the main facts they put with the phone if it is a 3g handset, hard to point you to them because there is so many out there, if you can specify like a price/manufacturer or phone features we might be able to point you towards a 3g phone that would suit

troykelly

try 3g on ebay?

elljay20

don't forget, a lot of the 3 payg phones have the sims glued in, remember to check before you buy!

Road_Hog

quidsinquentin wrote: »

Thanks - but how do I know what - payg - handset to get? And I still don't know what a 3G handset is?

Okay, here is a simple to understand but not completely technically accurate explanation.

The original phone on analogue was 1G (1st generation). The first digital phones were 2G. Brand new video phones today are 3G.

Cheaper phones sold today, are 2G anything over £100 is usually 3G, but you can get 3G phones from about £50 to £100 as well.

An example of a reasonable 3G phone for under £100 is the SE K800i. There isn't anything obvious on a phone to say whether it is 3G or not, you have to read up. The shop is correct in telling you that you need a 3G phone for the Three network.

If you state what are you main buying criteria for your phone, you will get some recommendations.

Kilty_2

Sony Ericsson K800i is a 3G phone - buy it on "o2" from Carphone Warehouse for £100 and then simply put the 3 contract SIM in it.

It'll be unlocked and unbranded if you buy it from CPW instore so no worries there .

rash.m2k

quidsinquentin wrote: »

Can any of you phone experts tell me what a '3G phone' is?

My son has damaged his mothers mobile beyond repair - its a Nokia 6630. There's 12 months left on the contract so she wants a new phone. Problem is we understand that it's got to be a 3G one. She doesn't want to buy one from 3 (at £200+), so we're having to buy one from another phone shop.

We don't mind having one unlocked, but we're stumped as to what choice we have - when it's got to be a 3G one.

How can you tell a 3G one from a non-3G one?

(the 3 shop told us the sim won't work with anything other than a 3G phone)

Cheers all.

No-one really seems to be answering your question properly mate so, I'll give it a try.

Basically 3g = VIDEO calling and high speed internet (plus usual stuff)
2g = voice, text and MMS (plus SLOW internet access).

To check if a phone is 3g or not search for it here https://www.gsmarena.com.

Normally there is no physical way of telling if a phone is 3g or not - you just have to know.

normal

Kilty and Road_Hog's given the best answers so far. But, presuming you're only looking for a phone to make calls with etc, look at the tech spec of any phone you're interested in. Where it talks about networks/bandwidth etc, if it says UMTS or HSDPA then your 3 sim will work in it. It is a 3G phone. 3G is slang for 3rd generation. The 3rd generation used a different frequency which carries more data and so makes things like video calling, fast internet connections etc possible.
Hope that helps.
Carphone Warehouse sells 99% 'vanilla' stock, which means it is unlocked and you can whack in a sim from any network. Check their website for cheap Pay as you go phones and the spec of these phones. The Sony Ericsson K800i is a good example. Naturally, other phones and shops exist!