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Thread ID: 103309 2009-09-18 04:23:00 Prepaid mobile phones Driftwood (5551) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
811547 2009-09-18 04:23:00 I've been looking at buying a new mobile to use as telecom prepaid.
The same models are available on price spy for $100 less than from telecom.
I have contacted several of the sellers & they assure me they will work on the telecom network. Are they just cheaper or is there some other item required to make them work on the network.
Driftwood (5551)
811548 2009-09-18 05:32:00 Anything from telecom will be marked up to salaried executive levels. Try a comparison of their battery prices - one example was $198 vs the one purchased for $32 (TradeMe 2 years ago, it's still going fine.) R2x1 (4628)
811549 2009-09-18 08:42:00 "Are they just cheaper or is there some other item required to make them work on the network"

That's actually the bit I was after an answer to.
Driftwood (5551)
811550 2009-09-18 09:33:00 Did you factor in the price of a SIM card (for XT)? ;) pcuser42 (130)
811551 2009-09-18 10:15:00 "Are they just cheaper or is there some other item required to make them work on the network"


They should just work on the network so long as they aren't parallel imports - thats when you might run into problems (phones being locked).
davidmmac (4619)
811552 2009-09-18 10:40:00 Did you factor in the price of a SIM card (for XT)? ;)

No I didn't, is that needed for a prepaid?
This is the sort of thing I need to know.
Driftwood (5551)
811553 2009-09-18 10:44:00 They should just work on the network so long as they aren't parallel imports - thats when you might run into problems (phones being locked).

These cheap ones will be parallel inports, but they are listed with all the others.
Driftwood (5551)
811554 2009-09-18 20:20:00 No I didn't, is that needed for a prepaid?
This is the sort of thing I need to know.

You need a SIM card for any phone on the XT network. CDMA phones (the older network) don't need them.
pcuser42 (130)
811555 2009-09-18 23:31:00 Ok, so presumably the phones from Telecom, Bond & Bond, Leemings, Dick Smith, Warehouse etc will come with a sim card ready to be connected.
So I need to ask the cheaper suppliers if their's do & if not find out how much they cost.
Driftwood (5551)
811556 2009-09-18 23:39:00 "Are they just cheaper or is there some other item required to make them work on the network"

That's actually the bit I was after an answer to.

Allot of imports won't work on Telecom's XT network Look for HSDPA 850 on any handset specs. If you don't see it then assume it's GSM only and won't work. Ok for Vodafone and 2D..
paulw (1826)
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