T-Mobile finagling advice?

[Knight Walker]

On Tue, Feb 06, 2007 at 06:25:30PM -0700, Ben Burdette wrote:
> So, I'm thinking seriously about getting a neo1973 when they become 
> available.  I called the local T Mobile office and asked them whether I 
> could borrow a phone to see how the signal strength is where I live.  
> They said I could get a 14 day trial with a free phone and just take it 
> back when that is over. 

That would probably be the best way to test a phone, as even their street-
by-street coverage maps aren't 100% accurate (But to be fair, ther street
map of my house shows I have less signal than I actually do). This is, of
course if you live in the US.  I don't know if their coverage map works
in Europe.

> My question is, has anyone been through this process before, what's the 
> best way to find out how the service is?  I don't know anyone that has a 
> t mobile phone (maybe that should tell me something).  And the other 
> thing is, how would I get the neo1973 onto the t mobile network?  would 
> I have to get their cheapest phone and then remove the sim card to use 
> in the neo1973?  Is it possible to get the sim card without buying a t 
> mobile phone? 

I know that you can go to t-mobile.com and click the Coverage link in the
bar at the top, then punch in your address and it should show you.  Other
than that, just trying to get a T-Mo phone and try it.  Like you said
earlier, you can try it for 14 days.

As for the getting a Neo on the T-Mo network, that will be easy for
basic things and harder for others.  Currently, I use a non-T-Mo phone on
my T-mo account, and when my girlfriend joined up, she got the same phone
from eBay and we got the SIM card from the local T-Mo store.  Technically,
she got their "free" phone and they just gave us the card out of it. It
didn't cost us anything.

> I'm sure I could find out more by calling T Mobile, but I'm betting 
> there's a lot of expertise in this area on this list. 

Also, another thing to consider is that Cingular ("The New AT&T") uses
GSM networks for mobile phones as well, so if T-Mo isn't cutting it for
you, and if Cingular is in your area, you can look into them as well.

-KW