Cellphones: Calling-Using-Buying-Importing-Activating-Renting

[QUOTE=DavieW;433104]When? They issued me with a SIM soon after they opened this service centre, but when I went in January they told me they no longer issue SIM cards or phones there and sent me elsewhere. I also have a monthly plan and have had for 5+ years.

I also have a Windows phone (Nokia 710) and absolutely LOVE it. Only 7.5, but still the best mobile operating system I've ever had on a phone.[/QUOTE]FWIW earlier this year, think about Jan, lost my Personal phone and went to the big Personal store on Florida, the one right next to Gallerias Pacifico, and they reissued me a SIM with same account, phone number and credit balance as one I lost. I didn't try changing format from regular to microsim but at the time there was no problem for me getting a reissued SIM.

I thought I would need my old paperwork but all the guy asked for was my number and I'd. Don't know what the SIM only cost is because while I was there I ended up buying a new phone as well. Guy told me it was X pesos for the SIM, forgot amount but don't believe it was a lot, but it was "free" if I also bought a phone. Only reason I quoted free is because maybe it's another weird argie thing but apparently their system can't issue you a zero charge SIM so the guy rung it up for 0.01 pesos, or 1 centavo.

p.s. my account is a pre-pago

[QUOTE=DavieW;433104]When? They issued me with a SIM soon after they opened this service centre, but when I went in January they told me they no longer issue SIM cards or phones there and sent me elsewhere. I also have a monthly plan and have had for 5+ years.

I also have a Windows phone (Nokia 710) and absolutely LOVE it. Only 7.5, but still the best mobile operating system I've ever had on a phone.[/QUOTE]They may have stopped selling phones and issuing sims a the Corrientes location and I did not realize it. Too bad for me! I also remember a 10 p fee for a sim that was immediately reduced to zero or .01 centavo when I checked out. The place is a madhouse on any given day and they also seem to have System problems a few days a week.

Super annoying because if you call their help center the Center can't tell you if their stores have operating systems in order! You have to go in person!

Best Advice:

Don't lose your phone.

TL.

[QUOTE=TejanoLibre;433107]The place is a madhouse on any given day and they also seem to have System problems a few days a week.
[/QUOTE]Oh yeah, forgot about that! I've needed to go there 4 times in total and twice their systems were down.

Current price for a standard SIM is 30 pesos, but you're probably only going to pay that if you're a first timer. I'd wager a fair sum that they'll charge a lot more for a micro-SIM if they've got them!

Bigboss man's suggestion of the samsung galaxy nexus s unlocked gsm is a great one. On ebay good ones with an extra battery are generally selling from a reliable seller us $250 to $300. I was thinking $200. Then I saw this:

[URL]https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_4_8gb&feature=ha-text-sem_bk-n4&utm_source=ha&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=sem_bk&utm_content=n4&gclid=CJCz08WM2LYCFU9T7AodDXAAAA&gclsrc=ds[/URL]

This is the new nexus which google sells directly fully unlocked and intended to be used anywhere in the world for us $300 new or with extra memory for $350. On voice quad band and on 3 g five frequency bands. Great reviews: fast, gorgeous, well designed.

The only negatives I can find after research are:

1. glass front and back which might break. There are a few beautiful cases that solve that problem for us $15 or less. This is phone that I would put a screen protector on right away.
case of choice: us$14.00
http://www.amazon.com/Google-Ringke-Selling-Premium-Package/dp/B00B7QGT6U/ref=sr_1_2?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1366422339&sr=1-2&keywords=nexus+4+case

2. can't change the battery during those long international flights when you want to play with your phone. I have an external battery becuase in live in an area with tropical storms and multiple day power outages.

US $30--with 5600 mAh enough for 16 hours of angry birds or a weekend without electric with careful use.

External battery:

[URL]http://www.amazon.com/5600mAh-Capacity-Portable-External-Flashlight/dp/B005K7192G/ref=sr_1_1?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1366422695&sr=1-1&keywords=anker[/URL]+astro+5600 mah.

Fusion case:

[URL]http://www.amazon.com/Google-Ringke-Selling-Premium-Package/dp/B00B7QGT6U/ref=sr_1_2?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1366422339&sr=1-2&keywords=nexus[/URL]+4+case.

I slapped a screen protector immediately on my Nexus. I use the Otterbox Commutter for the case. https://www.google.com/shopping/product/8020356983480432726?q=otterbox%20commuter%20for%20nexus&hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.45512109,d.cGE&biw=1777&bih=861&sa=X&ei=DbxyUZGxBOSKiALU0oGAAg&ved=0CFYQ8wIwAA All for a higher price than Miami Bob is paying. He probably pays less for chicas too.

got a galaxy nexus 9250 unlocked gsm about $230 on ebay today. i will buy an extended battery and likely tpu case.

i have been using a very simple model for talk/text only-motorola v197--older type sim card

When i arrive in ba, i will put 50 or 20 pesos on the sim to re-activate it.
A standard 8 year+ year old sim card or chip will never work in the nexus. i do not see the type of sim card/chip that the nexus takes.
BBM--what type of sim does your nexus 9250 unlocked gsm take?

i will go to the personel store on florida y cordoba next to galerias pacifica per the other suggestions below with a copy of my passport to get my phone number activated on the correct sim for the nexus? [does cafe oleans have wifi to get the phone going and look at the overpriced uglies?]
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before i leave the usa, i'll go to t-mobile and buy the cheapest prepaid possible to configure with a new gmail account set up for travel or am i better off just lumping it on the gmail account i use with my usa primary phone? What do you suggest BBM?
-0n whichever account i use, i'll configure in the usa with my favorite app's including netflix which streams in buenos aires as of my last trip. i assume pandora and spotify will not work in argentina.skype. vonage extensions. neutron music player. a task manager google maps and navigation
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If i hide my ip argentine address using a service like HIDEMAN i can use or appear like i have an ip in the usa? this will help get access to pandora which does not stream outside of the usa?
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back at the personel office:

they inset the correct sim chip and everything should work that is designed to work out of the usa. eg drop box will work internationally, but pandora will not? googlemaps and street navigation should work?

now put 99 pesos on the sim as that is the max they used to sell at the personel store?

ANY SUGGESTION ARE APPRECIATED. this will be my first over seas trip with a smart phone set up with a local sim card. i will still have my usa verison phablet to use on wifi. i'll also have a locale phone to take on the street. if the nexus get ripped-off, it will bother me and i am out $230 to 250, but my life is not disturbed.

[QUOTE=MiamiBob;433274]got a galaxy nexus 9250 unlocked gsm about $230 on ebay today. i will buy an extended battery and likely tpu case.

i have been using a very simple model for talk/text only-motorola v197--older type sim card

When i arrive in ba, i will put 50 or 20 pesos on the sim to re-activate it.
A standard 8 year+ year old sim card or chip will never work in the nexus. i do not see the type of sim card/chip that the nexus takes.
BBM--what type of sim does your nexus 9250 unlocked gsm take? [/QUOTE]Sorry I am not a tech expert but I can share my experience. I am not sure the current SIM card will not work in the Nexus. My previous phone was a Nokia flipphone that I bought used at the MBK in Bangkok. It was fairly old. Before you buy a T- Mobile SIM card I would try to set up the phone with the old SIM card and a wifi connection. Maybe this is why I could not get internet on the street because I have the old SIM card. Google maps was working.

[QUOTE=MiamiBob;433274] before i leave the usa, i'll go to t-mobile and buy the cheapest prepaid possible to configure with a new gmail account set up for travel or am i better off just lumping it on the gmail account i use with my usa primary phone? What do you suggest BBM?
-0n whichever account i use, i'll configure in the usa with my favorite app's including netflix which streams in buenos aires as of my last trip. i assume pandora and spotify will not work in argentina.skype. vonage extensions. neutron music player. a task manager google maps and navigation
-----------------------------------------------------

If i hide my ip argentine address using a service like HIDEMAN i can use or appear like i have an ip in the usa? this will help get access to pandora which does not stream outside of the usa?
---------------------------------------------
back at the personel office:

they inset the correct sim chip and everything should work that is designed to work out of the usa. eg drop box will work internationally, but pandora will not? googlemaps and street navigation should work?

now put 99 pesos on the sim as that is the max they used to sell at the personel store?

ANY SUGGESTION ARE APPRECIATED. this will be my first over seas trip with a smart phone set up with a local sim card. i will still have my usa verison phablet to use on wifi. i'll also have a locale phone to take on the street. if the nexus get ripped-off, it will bother me and i am out $230 to 250, but my life is not disturbed.[/QUOTE]There is a phone guy that has a shop inside the locoturio at the corner of Cordoba and Callao that I used rather than the big Personel store. He has SIM cards. I do have Moviestar though.

I suggested setting up a separate gmail account because you wanted to keep your business contacts separate. My experience was that all the chica phone numbers I collected ended up on the contact list of my USA phone. I was eating dinner with my girlfriend and I opened my contact list when I realized I had all these women's first names with Argentine phone numbers. Plus I bookmark webpages with chicas I want to see so those all show up on my phone if you use Chrome as your Browser. I ended up deleting all those chica contacts. Not too important to me because I do not speak Spanish and really have not developed a private list like most of you guys.

I thinking that two Gmail accounts is the way to go if you do not want to screwup your US relationships. I know guys that would buy private phones to hide their mongering activities from their wives.

I have a 4's locked to verizon, anybody know anybody local to do an IMEI unlock? I'm trying to beat the 125 US dollar price on E-Bay.

Does anyone have experience with an android app for hiding your foreign IP address. I want to appear as if I am in the USA while is baires?

I use "hideman" in USA. I am not too technically inclined so keep the level of discourse simple and basic.

[QUOTE=MiamiBob;433277]Does anyone have experience with an android app for hiding your foreign IP address. I want to appear as if I am in the USA while is baires?

I use "hideman" in USA. I am not too technically inclined so keep the level of discourse simple and basic.[/QUOTE]Regardless of if you're using a mobile device or some kind of PC there are shit tons of services that do that. The term you want to search is VPN (Virtual Private Network) there are free and pay ones. Free ones are generally slower and have annoying ads, pay ones faster no ads. Even if you pay it's not that expensive.

I don't do android so I don't know much about it but itunes shows 147 apps for the iphone. I would do a little research and what you're looking for is reviews on speed and uptime. Some will even give you a choice of where the VPN ends, ie Texas, Cali, NY ect. Seriously there are tons of these. I checked and Lifehacker says you can use Hideman when you're overseas so you probably covered already.

Page plus re-sells verizon's excellent network for 1/2 the price that verizon sells it. Pageplus does not have access to the 4 lite fast 4 g network. A modern iphone 4 or 4's works well after flashing by someone who knows how:

[URL]http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1796129-Which-smartphones-are-known-to-be-fully-functional-after-flashing[/URL]

DADDY--do any of the major argentine cell carriers flash verizon phones to work with there networks using cdma technology today. Years ago movistar used both gsm and cdma?

[QUOTE=DonB;432267]It's also burried in the cellphone if you can find your way to the right place.

I spent over 40 years in telecommunications but this generation is computer oriented, they only know how to write instructions for people who don't need them.

Don.[/QUOTE]Tried unsuccessfully to find a location in centro where I could charge my Claro SIM. Any ideas?

Don B.

[QUOTE=DonB;433433]Tried unsuccessfully to find a location in centro where I could charge my Claro SIM. Any ideas?

Don B.[/QUOTE]Damn near any kiosko.

[QUOTE=DaddyRulz;433434]Damn near any kiosko.[/QUOTE]I charged my cell phone using last years Claro SIM card but either the wrong number was imputed or the number was no longer valid as I have emergency service only. Back to square one.

Don B.