Cell Phones

[PunjabiBallar]

What's good everybody?.

Ok so to my knowledge, cell phones that have been unlocked and take sim cards can work in St. Kitts. Am I right about this?

Are most of you going to take an unlocked phone from here and use it there?

Or just get whatever cell phone is available at the island?

[IAUPREMED]

just taking my unlocked nokia or Iphone. we can use local pre paid simcards. then use skype to talk back to the US. ive experimented and installed skype on my cell phone, works amazing over wireless internet.

[PunjabiBallar]

Word.. I was thinkin of gettin a unlocked iphone as well.. do you have any idea how the data plans and text messaging plans will work?

[IAUPREMED]

there is no data plans on the island, or if there is its VERY slow and VERY expensive, your iphone wont work on the island, well it will BUT it will only work as a phone and text messaging, all the internet functions wont work unless its through wifi. I am only taking the iphone because I have installed Skype and can use skype to call the US for 2 cents a minute as long as I am in a wifi area, for example, since I am at school all day,UMHS campus is all wifi so if anyone from the US calls me on my LOCAL US skype phone number, it will ring on my iphone in st. kitts as long as I am connected to a wifi connection, which I wil be connected to a wifi connection all day on campus and the rest of the time at my apartment. Other than that, the iphone serves no real purpose. International texting is very expensive using a local prepaid sim card.

[medstudent99]

I think that connecting skype to your cell phone is the way to go. Which phones have wifi capabilities and can you buy these phones on St. Kitts? :)

[IAUPREMED]

i have done extensive research with wifi phones, actually bought a few different kinds and did some other dorky type research stuff with different phone operating systems, basically here it is in a nutshell: out of the new phones out on the market, you can either get ANY phone with wifi that has the "Windows Mobile" operating system, for example the tmobile dash, the htc touch and the list goes on and on. Thats option one, the OTHER option is get any NOKIA phone with wifi that runs the symbian operating system. Here are the differences, the NOKIA operating system, uses Less data transfer per minute of talk time through skype, so its going to be a clearer voice quality becuase the internet is probably not that fast on the island. I have tried many phones and I ended up with the new nokia e51, its very small, a decent price ($320), its quad bank unlocked (will work all over the world), skype works flawlessly on it, and it has the new battery technology ( i swear the battary life is amazing i charge my phone maybe every 2-3 days its crazy it has some new 8 cell battery technology). thats my recomendation. There is one more option, the iphone now works with skype also, BUT you have to get it unlocked and NO OTHER features of the iphone will work on the island apart from the regular phone, text messaging and skype and you will probably end up breaking it, so I would recomend something a little mroe practical. have any questions let me know

[butterflymd]

I personally got magick jack not a bad piece of equipment you can whip out the USB wherever you are. As long as their is an internet connection you can call anywhere in the US and anyone can call you. Pretty interesting equipment.

[UMHS]

In addition, you will be given a free cell phone when you arrive. It will already b programmed with a number and have some prepaid minutes on it. Past that point, you can top off the phone at the local phone company (Cable and Wireless), top off in the Library or use the "888" program which sells minutes at a discount. The phone and initial free minutes are compliments of C&W.