Question

Asked by Lauren from usa | Mar. 31, 2014 13:54

About:Telephone & Cellphone in China

1 year contract in Beijing, China. Wanting int'l calls and data

I will be working in Beijing for one year. I live in the USA. I would like to buy an unlocked iphone here in America and be able to makes calls and send text messages to the USA. Since I can't speak Chinese I would like internet capabilities on my phone so I can translate. What is my best option? What company would be the best? I would not mind signing a 1 yr contract if I had to or whatever. I would just like to call home / have the capabilities I listed. Preferably no more than 500 rmb a month.

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Answers (3)

Answered by Cole | Mar. 31, 2014 21:26

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Lauren, will you get a WCDMA or CDMA iphone? If you buy a WCDMA, you'd better buy a sim-card from China Unicom. If you buy CDMA iphone, you should buy a sim-card from China Telecom. But I still don't think it is ok to make internation calls with your Chinese sim-card. Too expensive. Use your facetime or skype on your iphone. It saves you much money.

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Answered by Lauren | Mar. 31, 2014 22:43

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It would be the unlocked GSM model which should be better equity for international travel? The model I have currently is a Verizon 5S CDMA and I was informed that it's not really the best compatible model for Asian or European countries. Mainly for data, I think. Not sure. But I would get the GSM one. I had planned on using Skype as needed. I guess I just wanted to know which company had the best rates for extended periods of time and if I needed to make international calls or send texts for whatever reason and I really would like a data plan since I will probably be glued to my translator. So which company do you think would be better equip for coverage in the Beijing area? Thank you for your prompt reply too.

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Answered by Cole | Apr. 01, 2014 01:13

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Lauren, China Mobile and China Unicom supports GSM. However, GSM (2G mode) is slower than WCDMA,TD-CDMA or CDMA2000 (3G mode). If you use data service too often, I don't think GSM model is a good option. I know that CDMA2000 model is available in the US. However, most contract CDMA2000 model phones don't have sim-card slot. That means you may not use it in China. But I don't know CDMA2000 model iphone has sim-card slot. By the way, data service provided by China Mobile is more expensive than China Unicom or China Telecom.

The rates for international text messages are CNY 1 (China Mobile), CNY 0.8 for China Unicom and China Telecom. There is no package for intertional text messages. The rates forinternational calls are very complicated. I checked their websites and found China Unicom's charge was the cheapest. It also depends on what packages you buy.

So I think you should get a WCDMA iphone. Then you can enjoy China Unicom's service when you are in China. Don't worry about nano sim card. All Chinese telecom operators now provide these sim-cards.

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