Need help finding a 900/1800 cell phone for Africa

Hi all,

Can someone help me find a good smart phone that will work in Tanzania?

I have a DROIDX that works fine in the US on Verizon networks (I have it on Page Plus and I'm very happy with the phone and the service) - and I would like to have an entirely separate phone for use in Tanzania. I'll be living between the two continents so I'd like a phone comparable in function to the Droid - calendar, apps, touch screen, etc.

So the networks are on the 900/1800 frequency, and I don't necessarily need a "global" or quad band phone though it would be fine if that's what I ended up with.

Any ideas for a good unlocked smart phone that works on that band?

Thanks in advance!!

Budget? This makes a huge difference in suggestions.

Pretty much any unlocked GSM phone should work. I would not get one with less than Android 2.3 on it. Ideally you would get one that you could run Android 4.0 or 4.1 on. For a brand new phone, unlocked that runs Android the Galaxy Nexus is a pretty good value at $349 if your budget allows https://play.google.com/store/dev...MDgyNTIiXQ..

Quote from LiquidRetro : Budget? This makes a huge difference in suggestions. Pretty much any unlocked GSM phone should work. I would not get one with less than Android 2.3 on it. Ideally you would get one that you could run Android 4.0 or 4.1 on. For a brand new phone, unlocked that runs Android the Galaxy Nexus is a pretty good value at $349 if your budget allows https://play.google.com/store/dev...MDgyNTIiXQ..

Thanks! Ah, budget - that's right. I'd prefer to get something from cowboom or similar, but probably in the $200 range. I'll check out the Galaxy Nexus though because it looks really good.

My concern in reading about some phones is that they may be unlocked but not work on the right frequency. Sometimes the specs are vague about that.

Quote from yeah_okay : Thanks! Ah, budget - that's right. I'd prefer to get something from cowboom or similar, but probably in the $200 range. I'll check out the Galaxy Nexus though because it looks really good. My concern in reading about some phones is that they may be unlocked but not work on the right frequency. Sometimes the specs are vague about that.

Don't believe the sellers necessarily if going used like that. Do your own research on each model and you should be able to find the exact frequency bands it supports.

Honestly the Galaxy Nexus direct from google is a great deal for a less than year old unlocked phone especially since it will get updates direct from google so it's always running the newest OS. For Example the Samsung Galaxy SII is about $450 unlocked, and its and older non nexus phone. There are a lot of low end used and quite old phones out there, so do your research first so you won't be disappointed. I took a quick glance through cowboom and did not see anything I would really want to gamble on for about 200. Atrix 2 maybe but I would have to do more research on the bands and modability. I would look at http://swappa.com/ too.

On second though a Droid 2 Global http://swappa.com/buy/motorola-dr...l-unlocked is very similar in specs to your DX1 and in your price range. You could even activate it to work here and abroad if you wanted to. .

Quote from LiquidRetro : Don't believe the sellers necessarily if going used like that. Do your own research on each model and you should be able to find the exact frequency bands it supports. Honestly the Galaxy Nexus direct from google is a great deal for a less than year old unlocked phone especially since it will get updates direct from google so it's always running the newest OS. For Example the Samsung Galaxy SII is about $450 unlocked, and its and older non nexus phone. There are a lot of low end used and quite old phones out there, so do your research first so you won't be disappointed. I took a quick glance through cowboom and did not see anything I would really want to gamble on for about 200. Atrix 2 maybe but I would have to do more research on the bands and modability. I would look at http://swappa.com/ too. On second though a Droid 2 Global http://swappa.com/buy/motorola-dr...l-unlocked is very similar in specs to your DX1 and in your price range. You could even activate it to work here and abroad if you wanted to. .

Hey that actually looks great, thanks for finding it. In my searches I automatically dismissed any that worked with Verizon, not realizing some were fitted with sim cards.

I'm not sure if this matters, but found this in the specs for the phone on another site:

2G Network CDMA 800 / 1900
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900

3G Network CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100

Does that impact the functionality at all, do you know (being GSM 900/1800 on 2G?)

Otherwise it has everything I'm looking for. Very cool, thanks!

Quote from yeah_okay : Hey that actually looks great, thanks for finding it. In my searches I automatically dismissed any that worked with Verizon, not realizing some were fitted with sim cards. I'm not sure if this matters, but found this in the specs for the phone on another site: 2G Network CDMA 800 / 1900 GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 3G Network CDMA2000 1xEV-DO HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100 Does that impact the functionality at all, do you know (being GSM 900/1800 on 2G?) Otherwise it has everything I'm looking for. Very cool, thanks!

I can't tell you that for sure. I think it might be different technology, same signal space.