I currently live in England right now so from what I gather, I should go ahead and purchase an E71-1. My issue is I will probably only live here for 2 years and then move back to the states. My question is concerning WCDMA. From what I undestand, UK uses 3G 2100. In the states, I found 3G 850 and 1900. By changing the firmware or product code from a UK phone to a US one, will that change the frequencies or are they hardwired into the phone? This is the determining factor if I purchase a phone or not.

I currently have an E90 but it looks like this phone does 90% of the stuff my E90 does and it so much smaller and has easy access to the keyboard(one handed).

No you can't change the frequencies by changing the product code. The aerials are arranged differently inside the device.

Searching around, I found this info.


E71-1 RM-346 = GSM 850/900/1800/1900; WCDMA 900/2100

E71-2 RM-357 = GSM 850/900/1800/1900; WCDMA 850/1900

E71-3 RM-407 = GSM 850/900/1800/1900; WCDMA 850/2100


In england, it looks like we use 2100. In the states, it looks like they use 850 and 1900. So wondering if purchasing the E-71-3, I would be safe to use it both places. Like I said, this is the decieding factor wether I buy the phone or not because I always will have a internet plan on the phone. Then there is the issue of actually find this specific model phone.

Searching around, I found this info.


E71-1 RM-346 = GSM 850/900/1800/1900; WCDMA 900/2100

E71-2 RM-357 = GSM 850/900/1800/1900; WCDMA 850/1900

E71-3 RM-407 = GSM 850/900/1800/1900; WCDMA 850/2100


In england, it looks like we use 2100. In the states, it looks like they use 850 and 1900. So wondering if purchasing the E-71-3, I would be safe to use it both places. Like I said, this is the decieding factor wether I buy the phone or not because I always will have a internet plan on the phone. Then there is the issue of actually find this specific model phone.

no the -3 is not gonna work because the USA is almost all 1900mhz on 3G. there are only a couple cities that have 3G on 850, and its few and far between. you NEED the -2 to use 3G in the states. south florida, michigan and reno, NV are 3 places that have 850mhz 3G. might be a few others, but that's it really.

It's pretty rare for someone to be worrying about how well their phone will work in 2 years' time! I'm sure before you move to the States you will have changed your phone again (if not twice!).

If you were leaving in 3 months' time, that would be different....For now, get the one that will work in UK.

waht one wouldu get in australia ,yes we have hsdpa and 3g

waht one wouldu get in australia ,yes we have hsdpa and 3g

E71-3 because it'll work with Next G but also all the other operator's 3G networks too.

no the -3 is not gonna work because the USA is almost all 1900mhz on 3G. there are only a couple cities that have 3G on 850, and its few and far between. you NEED the -2 to use 3G in the states. south florida, michigan and reno, NV are 3 places that have 850mhz 3G. might be a few others, but that's it really.

850 coverage is pretty good here in Canada, I believe it's the only HSDPA coverage offered. For the USA, check out these 850/1900 AT&T coverage maps:

cellularmap(.net) (slash) att_850_1900(.shtml)

850 covers more than the above areas, although clearly less than 1900, and notably not in Phoenix where I sometimes go (as well as Europe). Why does every smartphone I find lead me to a dead end? The technology is clearly still in its infancy, esp. in terms of world coverage.

cheers,
Sy

Searching around, I found this info.


E71-1 RM-346 = GSM 850/900/1800/1900; WCDMA 900/2100

E71-2 RM-357 = GSM 850/900/1800/1900; WCDMA 850/1900

E71-3 RM-407 = GSM 850/900/1800/1900; WCDMA 850/2100


In england, it looks like we use 2100. In the states, it looks like they use 850 and 1900. So wondering if purchasing the E-71-3, I would be safe to use it both places. Like I said, this is the decieding factor wether I buy the phone or not because I always will have a internet plan on the phone. Then there is the issue of actually find this specific model phone.

Basically for Britain you need either the -1 or -3, and for American you need the -2. So it means purchasing two phones.

I'm in the "get another handset in two years" camp. In two years I expect the mobile handset to have turned upside down at least once. When we emigrate, I can get by with T-Mobile's EGPRS service in California, which is somewhere between T-Mobile's UK GPRS and non-HSDPA 3G access. It's bearable because there are so many free wireless hotspots available...

It's also possible that inside the next two years, 3G / UTMS will migrate to similar bands across the world.