Verizon-Bought Storm on China Mobile

[wtwalker]

I need to buy a new phone, and I'd like to purchase one that will work both here in the United States and abroad. As a Verizon customer, my choices are limited, but the Blackberry Storm seems to be a good option that will work just about anywhere I go. In January I'm leaving for China, where I'll be spending the following six or seven months, and I'd like to know if I could purchase a SIM card in China, replace the Storm's SIM card, and use it on the China Mobile network, still getting Blackberry Service--I don't want to pay Verizon's exorbitant global fees every time I make a call. I checked China Mobile's website, and while it claims the network supports Blackberry, I'm a little apprehensive about spending a considerable amount of money on a phone that I will not be able to use there. Will Verizon make it so that this is not possible? Has anyone ever used an Blackberry purchased in America as a customer of a Chinese provider?

[BigA]

wtwalker you are going to have to wait to see if the storm can be unlocked. No one knows if RIM will allow this as of yet.

[Jason Mark]

@<hidden> OP: Yes it sounds like the Storm is the device for you. Especially if you're on Verizon. The Storm will work in any country in the world. Yes it will work in China on their HSPA network. And a sim card from the network over there will work. Post back if you have any more questions.

[BigA]

Horizonwireless can supply you with a storm for your needs.

9500 9530 Storm : HorizonWirelessOnline.com - Horizon Wireless, The World&rsquo;s Cellular Repair Center ß (http://www.horizonwirelessonline.com/cat/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=9_36_216)

[Jason Mark]

wtwalker you are going to have to wait to see if the storm can be unlocked. No one knows if RIM will allow this as of yet.

ediit: The Storm is the device for you. But you'll have to roam using their service.

[BigA]

No he doesn't need to wait and see if it can be unlocked. The Storm is a perfect device for him. It's made to run on CDMA here in the states and on GSM/UMTS networks outside of this country. This is the perfect device for him and needs no special unlocking.
If he is going to spend 8mo in China the roaming charges are going to kill him. He would have to take out a mortgage on his house to pay for voice/data charges.

[JSanders]

Let's keep the politics for another forum. thanks.

[webmstrk9]

I recently got back from China, HK, Macau, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Shanghai and a couple of small towns with my 8830 and was roaming in only the small towns. I signed up for VZW's global email pkg for the time I was there and was able to receive email at 90% of the places I went to. As for calling, I limited my use because of the charges that would accrue. Before I left, I asked if I can have the phone unlocked so I can use the phone with regional sims, they had no issues walking me through it. Though there is a clause that you must agree to that whatever charges occur on your phone, VZW is not responsible for those charges.

Also, CDMA is available in China as well.

[wtwalker]

I recently got back from China, HK, Macau, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Shanghai and a couple of small towns with my 8830 and was roaming in only the small towns. I signed up for VZW's global email pkg for the time I was there and was able to receive email at 90% of the places I went to. As for calling, I limited my use because of the charges that would accrue. Before I left, I asked if I can have the phone unlocked so I can use the phone with regional sims, they had no issues walking me through it. Though there is a clause that you must agree to that whatever charges occur on your phone, VZW is not responsible for those charges.

Also, CDMA is available in China as well.

terrific. i'll probably end up getting a regional SIM--i can't afford international calls on Verizon's network. i hope you enjoyed china, hangzhou/nanjing/shanghai is an exciting part of the country.

thanks for the help everyone