New Zealand, K850i on T-Mb & Vodafone PAYG Sim

OGB03

Hello All!

I've done a lot of reading and research and now need some help/advice from others far more knowledgeable than myself.

Going to NZ for 6 months in Jan. I will want to use the phone locally and maybe speaking to the UK if necessary, but will try to email friends back home and/or buy everyone a Skype phone. I wanted to save £2/300 on a digital camera and am a contract customer with T-Mb. Wanted to upgrade to the K850i, but I know it will be locked to T-Mb. I've got a new unused Vodafone PAYG sim. I've also got an unlocked Sagem MYC 2-3 handset.

1. Is it advisable to unlock the K850i (can this be done yet?) and put a local sim in when I get to NZ?
2. Should I use the UK Vodafone sim and add on the 'Passport' feature from here in the UK?
3. Should I take my Sagem(will this work in NZ?) and buy a $2 Vodafone sim when I get there and buy a camera???

More confused now than when I started reading. Lol. What's the most cost effective thing to do?

I'm trying to use gadgets that have dual functions, ie, iPod instead of mp3 and portable dvd, K850i instead of mobile phone and digital camera, mainly because I'm pretty sure I'm overweight already and I haven't even started to pack!!:eek:

Also, I've always been totally freaked out by unlocking SE phones as I'm always scared I'll be the 'one' person who's phone is totally screwed after it's done. If my K750i had more than 2mp I'd unlock that and take it, but on a brand new phone?? I don't even know if they can even be unlocked yet!:o

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

gaming_guy

i think the SETOOL team has only just released the unlocking for the new A2 SE phones (ie. the k850i and w910i)

i'm not sure of the costs though

redux

Vodafone NZ tariffs are not wonderful, unless you can find some cheap favourite numbers deal on there and use callthrough. So taking Vodafone UK with Passport could be worthwhile.

http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/newzealand/voda.html

http://www.vodafone.co.nz/plans/prepay/

But look out for calling cards when you get there, and also find out about callback services, which mean you receive a call to make an outgoing one, thus escaping local tariffs. If you use a Betamax VoIP provider for this, then calls could be almost free between 2 landlines (just a connection fee) up to their fair use policy of 300 minutes per 7 days (halve this for the 2 call legs). Or you can use the account from internet access to call landlines, so needn't rely on your destination having Skype

OGB03

Thanks for your prompt replies. Lots more reading and research for me, then I'm sure I'll be back with more questions.

I'm afraid I don't really understand this:

If you use a Betamax VoIP provider for this, then calls could be almost free between 2 landlines (just a connection fee) up to their fair use policy of 300 minutes per 7 days (halve this for the 2 call legs). Or you can use the account from internet access to call landlines, so needn't rely on your destination having Skype.

I thought Skype was 'everywhere'. Betamax!? Sadly this just makes me think of a toploader VCR. May I ask for a link explaining what this all means? Lol.

I've read up a bit on the callback services but clearly I need to do a lot more reading. Who knew it was such a minefield out there!

Any news on whether the Sagem will work in NZ? It's not 'cutting edge' :eek: but at least it will be an option if i can't get the K850i unlocked. (I may well get laughed out of NZ using it though:o)

redux

Betamax is a German-based company with several voice-over-internet brand names such as Voipcheap, Voipbuster and about 20 others, with some association with cheap calls provider Finarea that also has tons of brands.

Although you can call fellow account holders like Skype users would do, they have cheaper tariffs than Skype for calls to ordinary telephones, some even zero tariffs subject to top-up conditions. As well as calling from your computer or a hardware method on the phoneline, they also have callthrough access and callback methods.

You can read some more about VoIP on this thread

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=47695

OGB03

Ok

It looks like unlocking the K850i will present with a few problems at the moment, including price and actual availability. Only found totalgsm on the net who are charging about £24.

I could go for the 3.2MP SEK770/800/810 but it might just be worthwhile buying a digital camera and taking a regular handset.

With regard to the callback services and the Betamax VoIP, will check out more info and get back. Thanks for the clarification Redux as I totally misunderstood what you were trying to say. Basically, I needn't rely on having to only call other Skype holders, and if I use the services you mentioned, I can call regular landlines at a much cheaper rate, if not free, subject to T&C.

Also need to find out what this Vodafone Passport actually means cost-wise. I've read some horror stories on here about them changing their T&C without informing their customers, and people being hit with extortionate bills. I'm thinking it won't be so much of a problem on PAYG, but I will need the ability to make and take calls at all times when I'm away for safety reasons.

redux

On Passport pay as you talk, try to make your outgoing calls in the cheaper tariff off-peak periods. They've told me in the past that this is adjusted to local time.

Hopefullyuseful1

OGB03 wrote: »

Also need to find out what this Vodafone Passport actually means cost-wise. I've read some horror stories on here about them changing their T&C without informing their customers, and people being hit with extortionate bills. I'm thinking it won't be so much of a problem on PAYG, but I will need the ability to make and take calls at all times when I'm away for safety reasons.

Hi,

I can help with Passport for anyone who is unsure

When the EU enforced the new roaming charges to all UK networks, we were told that Vodafone can keep Passport charging as long as we can prove that customers had requested the passport service. Any customers who had it by default or hadn't requested it, had to be taken off it and have the new EU roaming rates instead. However those customers were given the option to opt back into Passport instead of the EU rates if they wanted to before the change in charges was implicated.

What Vodafone had to do was contact all customers who had Passport that hadn't necessarily requested it and ask them if they wanted to keep it or not. We explained how the new EU roaming charges worked and asked them to text us with a code to a specific text line or call us and ask us to retain passport on their tariff if they didn't want to go over to the EU rates instead.

Due to the system automatically defaulting all customers to the EU rates on a certain date in August, unless customers specifically asked to keep passport, they were taken off it. For those customers who had originally asked for passport or text us to say they wanted to keep it, we had to duplicate all of our tariffs with Passport2. Customers with Passport2 would not then be taken off passport and given the new EU rates when the changeover happened.

Passport2 is exactly the same as normal passport, it's simply the way we had to manage the new EU rules to ensure that those customers who requested it originally or contacted us and asked to retain it could therefore keep it.

Customers who didn't ask us for Passport originally before the EU rates but wanted to keep it and didn't contact us in advance to let us know, they went to the new EU rates. They were therefore starting to pay 38p per minute to make a call and 19p to receive one. So when making longer calls, these customers paid more than they would have done with passport charging.

With Vodafone passport, you need to be in a passport supported country and have it on your tariff. The cost is 75 p for the connection of every call and then your standard UK rates while you are on the line. When receiving a call, there is only the 75p connection charge and nothing else, the person calling you then pays their normal rates for the rest of the call because they called you.

If you have inclusive minutes in your tariff you would just use these and pay the 75p connection. For pay as you talk customers or those with no minutes in their tariff to use, you would pay the 75p and then your standard rate as though you were making the call in the UK.

I hope this helps to give an overview of how the Passport/EU rates were managed during the pricing changeover and how passport actually works.

Hopefullyuseful1
Vodafone UK

OGB03

Ok, I'm going to take the unlocked Sagem with a PAYG Vodafone sim and buy a digital camera as well. I'll upgrade to the K850i and downgrade my tariff to the minimum available for 12 months so I'll have it when I get back.

I'll use the Passport2 service on PAYT from Vodafone and put £40/£50 on it. I'll register online so I can top up from there.

Still lots of investigating re: Skype/Betamax et al.

d123

OGB03 wrote: »

Ok

It looks like unlocking the K850i will present with a few problems at the moment, including price and actual availability. Only found totalgsm on the net who are charging about £24.

If you are a T-Mobile customer, just contact CS and they will arrange the unlock code for the phone. Will cost £15, normally added to your bill if you are on contract. Takes between a week and 28 days for them to send the code to you.

Far more simple than using the online unlockers.

OGB03

d123 wrote: »

If you are a T-Mobile customer, just contact CS and they will arrange the unlock code for the phone. Will cost £15, normally added to your bill if you are on contract. Takes between a week and 28 days for them to send the code to you.

Far more simple than using the online unlockers.

!!!!!!!!! Never thought to do that. I'd heard they were notoriously 'reluctant' at providing unlocking codes, especially on brand new phones. Don't mind paying £15 though. Will give them a call and see what they say and report back with their answer.