[xolinlevh]

hey all, new member here! this saturday i leave for a 2 month study abroad trip around the Med region and Africa, a friend just recommended i buy a used BB off ebay, unlock it, and put in prepaid sims so i can keep in touch with home. now ive never had a bb, or unlocked a phone before, so my question is can someone recommend a good bb to get for travel? i was looking on ebay/craigslist and see a number of 8120/8130s for really cheap, most of them are on verizon network, woudl one of these work? how do i tell which ones would work?

thanks in advance!

[MidnightDraven]

8120 is a GSM phone.
8130 is a CDMA phone.

The 8130 will not work in Europe/Africa.

[xolinlevh]

ah cool, does it matter what network its on before i unlock it? theres a never been activated 8120 for tmobile on craigslist im looking at

[MidnightDraven]

Generally no.
As the 8120 is only a 2G device, I believe the network frequencies should be compatible.
I'll just go have a look.
Do you know what network you may use it on abroad?

[xolinlevh]

The recommendation was just to buy pre-paid sim cards at stores over there, so im not quite sure what network they would be on, all im planning on using it for is just calling, so dont need 3g speeds for data or anything.

PS if it matters ill be in: Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Croatia, Morocco, Bosnia, and Montenegro.

[MidnightDraven]

Hmm it appears T-mobile US runs 2G on 1900, whereas Europe and Africa appear to be 850/1800.
Perhaps someone with more knowledge of the networks may be able to answer that specifically.

[xolinlevh]

ahh, hmm. well good thing i asked before offering to buy it :P im open to taking basicly any model...though me being as picky as i am id prefer a newer model haha.

i called a local store and asked what they have in stock/recommend and the guy said a 9700 which they sell for $500, but ideally id liek to spend less then $100.

[dc/dc]

Originally Posted by MidnightDraven

Hmm it appears T-mobile US runs 2G on 1900, whereas Europe and Africa appear to be 850/1800.
Perhaps someone with more knowledge of the networks may be able to answer that specifically.

The 8220 is quad-band GSM and will work world-wide.

However, if you are only going to use the device for calls and SMS, I highly recommend just purchasing an unlocked dumb-phone like a Motorola RAZR V8 or a Nokia 6300 Classic. They're both sized very well for travel.

[xolinlevh]

Originally Posted by dc/dc

The 8220 is quad-band GSM and will work world-wide.

However, if you are only going to use the device for calls and SMS, I highly recommend just purchasing an unlocked dumb-phone like a Motorola RAZR V8 or a Nokia 6300 Classic. They're both sized very well for travel.

for the 8220 does it matter what network it was on before i have it unlocked? a quick scan of local craigslist shows several t-mobile versions

[dc/dc]

Originally Posted by xolinlevh

for the 8220 does it matter what network it was on before i have it unlocked? a quick scan of local craigslist shows several t-mobile versions

No, it doesn't matter.