Job Discussion Forums

[newtefler]

is a cheap pay as you go mobile phone in Istanbul. To avoid all the problems with importing a phone, getting cut off by turkcell etc thought it might be easier to buy a turkish phone... any idea's?

[dmb]

Get one when you get here. New or second hand. Save you all the hassle.

[tekirdag]

I agree with dmb. Get the phone here. There are new, cheap, models to be had, as well as the second hand dmb mentioned.

[Mikana51]

Depends what you want in a mobile phone. If you want new and you want anything more than a plastic Nokia that does nothing more than make calls, then it's still going to cost you YTL100+. I just bit the bullet and bought a very basic Samsung flip with a big screen for my old eyes, no bluetooth, no call notifying screen on the outside of the flip (but it does have FM radio ) for YTL250. Outrageously expensive. I have colleagues who've bought used phones and they have had mixed experiences with them. But they're cheaper. Calls on a prepaid system are not cheap, but not too bad, even internationally. Voicemail doesn't seem to exist, so lots of texting. I've yet to ask if my Turkcell SIM will work when I'm abroad.

[dmb]

[newtefler]

Thanks for the advice - I just want a fairly basic one that I can text and make calls with - i'll be bringing my uk phone that has all the whistles and bells with me with the uk sim that has roaming but want to avoid using it where possible due to calls being being extremely expensive :0)