Cell phones

[J & Q 0]

My wifes friend in Veitnam wants to send her money for her to purchase a cell phone here and send it to Vietnam because apparenlty it is much cheaper. I am not sure however if the cell phones here in the U.S. will work in Vietnam since they are specific to the providers network (CDMA and GSM).

[ScottThuy 140]

My wifes friend in Veitnam wants to send her money for her to purchase a cell phone here and send it to Vietnam because apparenlty it is much cheaper. I am not sure however if the cell phones here in the U.S. will work in Vietnam since they are specific to the providers network (CDMA and GSM).

I just sent one last week with a friend and it will reach the destination tomorrow. The best bet is to send a phone that uses a SIM... I sent 3G Iphones that I Unlocked so it could be used on another network other than ATT. An IPhone in VN can run 900 usd + because of the duty they charge when technology enters the country. All electronics and technology as a whole is more expensive there. If you want to send the phone, the best way is with someone traveling because VN customs dept is really strict on the importation of technology and it may just disappear along the way... I first tried to send via fedex.. it would cost approx 100 usd to ship and required customs docs and original recpt. an expensive pain in the azzz...

Your wife must know folks traveling to VN as many are traveling for the summer...

[J & Q 0]

My wifes friend in Veitnam wants to send her money for her to purchase a cell phone here and send it to Vietnam because apparenlty it is much cheaper. I am not sure however if the cell phones here in the U.S. will work in Vietnam since they are specific to the providers network (CDMA and GSM).

I just sent one last week with a friend and it will reach the destination tomorrow. The best bet is to send a phone that uses a SIM... I sent 3G Iphones that I Unlocked so it could be used on another network other than ATT. An IPhone in VN can run 900 usd + because of the duty they charge when technology enters the country. All electronics and technology as a whole is more expensive there. If you want to send the phone, the best way is with someone traveling because VN customs dept is really strict on the importation of technology and it may just disappear along the way... I first tried to send via fedex.. it would cost approx 100 usd to ship and required customs docs and original recpt. an expensive pain in the azzz...

Your wife must know folks traveling to VN as many are traveling for the summer...

Sending anything to Vietnam seems to be a hassle. Thanks for the information.

[ScottThuy 140]

True that.. this is why when people go to visit they are so loaded down with things that are not easily shipped to VN. Many times taking things over for others that want to avoid shipping.

You can usually find a like new 3G Iphone on Craigslist cheap now that people are getting the 3GS.... If you want to go that route I can send you the how to's to get it to work without any problems on VN cell system...

Its funny how you can buy bootleg video games there really cheap but to get the console to play them is another thing all together...

[Josephs 0]

True that.. this is why when people go to visit they are so loaded down with things that are not easily shipped to VN. Many times taking things over for others that want to avoid shipping.

You can usually find a like new 3G Iphone on Craigslist cheap now that people are getting the 3GS.... If you want to go that route I can send you the how to's to get it to work without any problems on VN cell system...

Its funny how you can buy bootleg video games there really cheap but to get the console to play them is another thing all together...

yeah when i was there last November my fiancee gave me a cellphone to use and they all use sim cards so just try to get a cheap one off ebay. my fiancee's sister lives in HK so that's where they get most of their phones. it was cool though because all of her cousins trade phones weekly with each other.

[johncali9 6]

Hello.

The phone used in vietnam GSM 1800 only,they try to used the system same US CDMA but not much customer .

John

[Dau Que 6]

I ordered those T-mobile Pre-Paid Razor phones, sometimes even with free $25 gift card. Then I activated them, use them and refill once to keep the account active for more than 90 days.

Then on the 91st day, I called Tmobile asking for the unlock code. After that, the phones should be usable in Vietnam.

I will not indulge my sweetheart something like an Iphone. When you don't make money, you don't spend money lavishly. If she wants to show off her sassy phone to her friends, she can work herself to earn for the money.

Edited July 3, 2009 by Dau Que

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I bought my fiancee a new Samsung phone at a shop in Vietnam. Cost was comparable to what the same phone sells for here in the US, if you buy it without a service contract. It came with a Vinaphone SIM charged with 250,000 VND worth of minutes. It also came with a user's guide in Vietnamese, and the on-screen menus could be set to Vietnamese. I don't know if that was an unusual deal 'cause it's the only phone I've bought there, and I didn't exactly do any phone shopping myself. I just hung around while she looked at the phones.

I got my GSM phone from cellularabroad.com. Their phones are a bit pricier, but you can buy the phone AND the SIM chip before leaving, so you'll have a phone when you arrive and you'll already know the phone number. I've got SIM's for the US, Italy, Vietnam, and an international SIM based in the UK. The international SIM is useful when I'm on layover in Taipei.

[ScottThuy 140]

I always keep SIM's for abroad in my travel bag and when I arrive in VN or IT I pop that SIM in and I'm ready to go... I usually use skype or yahoo phone feature when I have wifi in layovers..

They were giving phones away when we were in HCMC in April.. Some sort of promo... the line went down the street...

[Huong and Phung 0]

I ordered those T-mobile Pre-Paid Razor phones, sometimes even with free $25 gift card. Then I activated them, use them and refill once to keep the account active for more than 90 days.

Then on the 91st day, I called Tmobile asking for the unlock code. After that, the phones should be usable in Vietnam.

I will not indulge my sweetheart something like an Iphone. When you don't make money, you don't spend money lavishly. If she wants to show off her sassy phone to her friends, she can work herself to earn for the money.

Wow, ur hard. I usually spoiled my wife a little to let her know this is how we do it in the States. heheeh I just got a new Samsung Eternity for my wife, unlock it through ATT and brought it with me on my last trip. She was very happy to see the phone and just like that, a sim card from vn and I can make call to anywhere. I also use it to call back to the States. Cell phones are more widely used now and most of them can be use with other network. I remember when the cell phone first come out, you have to buy the world phone to be able to use outside of the U.S and they're not cheap.

Edited July 4, 2009 by Huong and Phung