Job Discussion Forums

[Marmalade]

Although I am currently enjoying being a mobile free zone, it is inevitable that within the the next month or so I will have to rejoin the countless billions and succumb to the fact that they are quite useful

So, I was wondering if anyone could recommend or suggest what are the best deals around? I'm talking cheap, plenty of free/cheap texts and possibly a few free/cheap call minutes.

You know the score!!


Or, would it be easier to get my O2 mob. sent over from home, though apparently I'll need to have it unlocked??

Cheers

Marmalade

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Hello Marmalade:

If you're looking for a dependable, no-frills mobile phone that is also really EASY to use & cheap ...

I'd recommend the Nokia 3315. http://www.nokia-asia.com/nokia/0,,27242,00.html They are available in every phone shop in Thailand for 2,900 Baht (or less) brand new in the box.

For sheer convenience, I'd also recommend using DTAC http://www.dtac.co.th/ as your service provider. They have shops everywhere, so you can 'tank up' easily in practically every mall and/or streetcorner in Thailand.

fyi (for those who may not know this) In Thailand, most or all of the mobile service providers are pre-pay, meaning there's no subscription or billing. You simply pay as you go. When your minutes run down, you drop in to a DTAC shop, hand over 200 or 300 Baht and 'fill 'er up'.

I've been using a Nokia 3315 for almost a year now in a variety of locations, including waaaaay outside of Bangkok, and so far I haven't had any problems whatsoever.

If you scroll down to the 'basics for living' thread, you can also read some good advice from Sheep-Goats, who prefers the GSM service: http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_th.shtml

The MBK Center (located across from Siam & Discovery Center) is also a very good place to hunt for phone deals and other stuff! http://www.mbk-center.com/en/index.asp ---> credit to Sheep-Goats for that tip as well

[Marmalade]

Cheers for the info.

In the end I got me phone sent over from home. All I had to do was buy a new SIM card (no unlocking) and I was good to go. All for a not very fat 500Baht.

I'm with AIS 1-2-Call. Seems like a reasonable deal, pay as you go etc etc.

M

[kenkannif]

AIS while in no way the cheapest has the best coverage, it's what I'd have gone for (actually that's a stupid thing for me to say as I do have one).