Today someone posted on CnetAsia, “[Can you] use a US-bought BlackBerry Storm in Singapore?” The answer was provided by John Chan, Assistan Editor at CnetAsia, who says:
Because it has GSM and UMTS radios, yes, a US-bought Storm will work in Singapore. But, and this is a very big but, you will incur roaming charges because very likely, the phone will be locked to the Verizon network in the US and you won’t be able to simply make use of SIM cards from a Singapore operator.
Furthermore, getting the handheld will require you to sign a contract with Verizon. So there are many barriers that will prevent you from using a US-bought Storm in Singapore. It’s probably safer to wait for its official release in Asia.
I recently got back from Seoul, South Korea where my BlackBerry picked up a calling signal, but I was too afraid of turning on the data roaming for fear of getting hit with a giant bill. I’m curious, where have you taken your BlackBerry?
Comment with the model and location.
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9000; Meekatharra (Western Australia).
8320 & 9000
all over China, Hong Kong, & Taiwan. I only use the 3G when I’m HK, the 3G coverage elsewhere is poor.
AT&T BB Curve (8310)
September 2008
Munich, Germany
Prague, Czech Republic
Paris, France
Kenya in East Africa, All over Europe…8830 on Verizon, 8310 on AT&T. My phone bill after Africa - a little over $1000. Same on the European trips.
@gridskipper
Wow! $1000…That is exactly what I was trying to avoid in Korea.
AT&T BB Curve (8310)
May 2008
Honeymoon
Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Bahamas, Bermuda, Jamaica, Mexico
none of the bills were stupid for data roaming, some of the phone bills were but hey knew that going in, love getting off a plane and pins just start humming in
Mineralnii Vodi and Moscow, Russia and Holland
Aug 2008.
Curve 8310 (AT&T)
Worked like a charm! Got a $400 roaming data bill though….
3rd floor bathroom….. Sudoku works great in there…
AT&T 8310
On a summit just outside of Suwalki, Poland. Gotta love working GPS, EDGE, and phone on top of a mountain.
I took my 7290 to Bangkok 2006, my 8300 to St.Lucia 2007 and my Bold to Croatia 2008
Telus 8830
All over China and Hong Kong. It was funny because the cell/data coverage was almost non-existent in Beijing but when I got to Dalian (China), I had perfect coverage.
Oh…no coverage at all in Costa Rica.
Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, Mexico, Dubai
why not add worldwide data plan to avoid the roaming charges?
I have sprint using World Wide Blackberry Plan. Unlimited roaming data for an additional $40.00/month. Just remove the worldwide plan when you get back to the US. Sprint’s sim slot is also unlocked, means you can stick a international sim in there. Though, I usually carry a 2nd unlocked GSM phone around for that particular reason.. Use IM+’s Skype on blackberry and set it to call your “local” number.. you can call people back when they call you on your usa phone number using skype or just have people call your skype # directly.. way cheaper than Sprint’s roaming phone charges..
July 2008:
Santorini, Greece and Athens, Greece
AT&T (8320 unlocked)
No problems whatsoever. I would turn on data plan for 2-3 min, just enough to download all my emails or to use IM for a few min to talk with the folks back home and then shut it off. Data charges weren’t too bad.
With love from Singapore!
Curve 8320
Sarawak, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and of course Singapore!
SaskTel 8830 with SIM card in
- Paris, France
- Casablanca, Morocco
- Niamey & Galmi & Maradi, Niger
SaskTel said it would work fully in France - it didn’t until I texted my service guy to call them and get it working
SaskTel said it wouldn’t work at all in Morocco - it worked perfectly, including data. Found a good free wi-fi signal for my laptop just outside the VIP lounge in the airport too. There was a small crowd of us hunched over laptops there.
SaskTel said there was no chance the BB would work in Niger - no roaming agreements. Worked great as a phone and for texting, and the coverage on the edge of the Sahara in the tiniest poorest villages was better than many places back home.
3 weeks = international roaming charges of $400 for voice, texting & data with no breakdown by country, so I don’t know where and how I was paying through the nose.
Info on the Storm has been that it will include a “world” sim, due to it being Verizon I’m sure that’s a Vodafone sim. I’ve seen no report yet that the sim socket is locked or unlocked, but I suspect you will be able to get it unlocked (perhaps for a fee) and use any overseas sim card.
It’s nice to know there are others out there willing to pay the premium to stay connected. I’m not alone!!!
@DougRoe…I wholly agree…it’s nice to see those pins, emails, and txt msgs coming in when you get off a plane no matter where you are…
att 8300
blackberry intl unlimited plan always on.
ive taken my berry to india, hong kong, canada, bangkok, london, bali.
google maps worked everywhere. amazing to find restaurants and clubs etc.
and who can live without blackberry messenger.
Took my german hosted 8800 to the us.was very carefull using data tranfer, but it cost me 300+EURO.
Roaming is incredible expensive and this is not a technical reason.
Juergen
T-Mobile Blackberry Curve
Worked: Germany, UK, Spain, Singapore, Canada, Mexico Carribean.
Didn’t work: Tokyo, Japan
Your Curve won’t work in Japan…3G only… Bold will
BB Curve from Vodafone, Mumbai, India.. travelled to Cambodia and happily used all services… Got back to Mumbai to find a gigantic bill waiting for me