Sony Ericsson w960i Options

[fagget]

I planned on getting a Sony Ericsson w960i.
TFT touchscreen, 8GB internal memory, 3G. Anyway, the good stuff.

However, I recently read something about the GSM (I have no idea what that is) and how it's not compatible with US's GSM?

Besides packing 8 GB of internal memory and a 2.6 inch QVGA touch screen the new Sony Ericsson W960i has a 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera. Triband GSM (900/1800/1900) is bad news for people in America who depend on the 850 MHz band and UMTS 2100 is something only the Europeans get to enjoy.

I know it's not available with US's phone carriers, but I'm going back to Taiwan to purchase it. I'm worried that if I buy it and bring it back to the States to have it fail on me.
So, can someone explain GSM and what affect does that have on my phone?

[karmakiller]

I didn't know what this was either, but I looked it up (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-gsm-phone.htm ) I think that if you're only going to use your phone in one country that it should be okay. Depending on your phone carrier, you may or may not be able to use it with them.

[Just_Dream]

Actually, you might be able to find this phone in the market, but you'd have to look. It's probably not available through major phone carries, if you're talking about wireless companies (T-Mobile, AT&T/Cingular, Sprint, Verizon, etc.), but you can get it off the "black market." lol well okay maybe it's not necessarily the black market. But some smaller companies that sell cell phones and cell phone plans probably have it. I know a BUNCH of Asian (mostly Chinese/Vietnamese owned) cell phone stores that sell imported phones that are unlocked for you. So see if there are any of these in your area. They have the resources to make it compatible with your phone service.

But if you so happen to go to Taiwan and get it there (might even be cheaper, too), see if you can get it unlocked and flashed to a the American OS on the phone, if you know what I mean, which is probably where you were thinking GSM incompatibility. You could technically do that yourself, the flashing and all, but bear in mind that it can be risky, depending on how you do it. There are people who fail and turn their phones into bricks, while others succeed. You should definitely check out cell phone forums like:

http://www.cellphoneforums.net
and http://howardforums.com

As for GSM incompatibility, that should not be a problem, as long as you have the right bands for the phone. Like, AT&T/Cingular works on the 800/1900 MHz network, while T-Mobile has a limited 800MHz band, but works on the 1900 band. Or well, I THINK it's something like that. You should ask yaamakoh, since he works at RadioShack. :D

Ack, I'm waiting for the W980 to be released so I could get it. Fortunately my boyfriend's brother owns a cell phone store, so he can import it in for me..