A mobile phone for the Phils

[Anakin]

Hi all,

My wife wants to get a mobile phone for her dad who lives in Pangasinan. Does anyone know if it's better to buy one here and send it over or pay for one in the Phils?
Also if we got one for him over here, what do we have to look out for so that it works out there? Presumably a sim can be put in in the Phils?
Excuse my ignorance - oddly I'm really into computers but know next to nothing about mobile phones! :cwm34:

[Steve.r]

To be honest, there are far more choices over there and a better range of prices. Not as if he wants the latest smart phone right. Just a simple one will do I would imagine. Don't get carried away with expensive. In my experience, an expensive gadget is often not respected and damaged in no time.

[Anakin]

Cheers, Steve - yes a pretty basic one will do.

[Anakin]

Just wanted to know if I picked up a s/hand one on ebay, what I'd need to look out for so it works over there....

[SimonH]

You can pick one up over there for £20, so by the time you've trawled ebay and then paid to have it sent you could have saved some money and just transferred the cash for him to buy his own.

[Anakin]

ok cheers Simon

[Steve.r]

Plus having to pay to get it unlocked here. I'd wait :smile:

[Michael Parnham]

You can pick one up over there for £20, so by the time you've trawled ebay and then paid to have it sent you could have saved some money and just transferred the cash for him to buy his own.

Good tip Simon!:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[grahamw48]

The phone I use when in the Phils is an 'unlocked' £9.99 Samsung GT - E1080i 'emergency' one bought at Tesco.

Just stick a SMART sim in when I arrive, and good to go. :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[RicIre]

Nokia's basic phone range are pretty good. Good battery life, flash light, splash proof keypad and an FM radio.

I would stick with Nokias, part are cheap and can be found in all shops. Who doesn't have a Nokia charger in the phil?

[sheriel]

We made the mistake once of sending Phones,they were dual band,instead of triband and didn,t work,better to send money for him to buy there,not that expensive for a basic mobile and sim,4000 php to 6000 php maybe :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[grahamw48]

Less than 1000 pesos I would hope...for a basic phone. :Erm:

[RicIre]

We made the mistake once of sending Phones,they were dual band,instead of triband and didn,t work,better to send money for him to buy there,not that expensive for a basic mobile and sim,4000 php to 6000 php maybe :xxgrinning--00xx3:

Philippines uses GSM 900 and GSM 1800, same as the dual bands from the UK. So a phone from UK shouldn't have any issue. I remember my old old Nokia 3310 worked in the Philippines without a single problem.

For anyone interested here is the list :

http://allworldcellphones.com/gsm-frequencies-list.htm

[grahamw48]

That's true.

All the different phones I've taken there over the years have worked fine. Just need to be unlocked ones and local sim card put in.

[Longweekend]

We took a handful of old UK phones last month, all unlocked so no problem with their networks....:xxgrinning--00xx3::xxgrinning--00xx3:

[RicIre]

That's true.

All the different phones I've taken there over the years have worked fine. Just need to be unlocked ones and local sim card put in.

Yup same here, I must have sent/left about 5x basic dual bands phones and 4x quad bands smart phones over the years and all worked fine.

Like you said, just make sure its unlocked... as unlocking may cost more than the phone :icon_lol:

[fred]

Less than 1000 pesos I would hope...for a basic phone. :Erm:

Yes..Mine cost me 800 Pesos.. My kids wouldn't be seen dead with it BTW!!
One thing to decide when buying a phone though is checking the prices of cheaper phones with a dual sim..
Both Smart and Globe have some really good promo`s which can save a bomb!!
We usually use the Globe sim normally as they have the best promos for us.. 150 Pesos load and we can make unlimited international calls for a number of hours..
Similar promos for local calls/texts but only for globe to globe/Smart to smart.

[Michael Parnham]

Nokia's basic phone range are pretty good. Good battery life, flash light, splash proof keypad and an FM radio.

I would stick with Nokias, part are cheap and can be found in all shops. Who doesn't have a Nokia charger in the phil?

I'll agree with that, and you can still buy Nokia's budget phone for £5 brand new and they do the job required!:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[Michael Parnham]

Yes..Mine cost me 800 Pesos.. My kids wouldn't be seen dead with it BTW!!
One thing to decide when buying a phone though is checking the prices of cheaper phones with a dual sim..
Both Smart and Globe have some really good promo`s which can save a bomb!!
We usually use the Globe sim normally as they have the best promos for us.. 150 Pesos load and we can make unlimited international calls for a number of hours..
Similar promos for local calls/texts but only for globe to globe/Smart to smart.

P800 and still does the job required, I bought a Nokia C1 dual sim a few years ago from Philippines, best phone I've ever had, hopefully should never need to buy a new one ever again! :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[Anakin]

thanks for the feedback folks - very helpful as always...