Source
r/travel•
Soulbow

Best Smartphone for Studying Abroad in a developing nation?

I'll be studying abroad in Fiji next semester and am also considering getting a new phone. I've traveled in Europe with my iPhone 3GS and loved features such as offline maps and Skype, but I would like to actually be able to use calling and data without getting all kinds of horrible fees.

What are my best options here? I'd love to keep using my iPhone or even upgrade to a new one, but not if it means I can't actually use it as a phone. I plan on doing both domestic and international calling while abroad. I'm also willing to switch to an Android phone if there are better options there.

Posted Oct 4, 2011, 8:07 PM UTC

03
deepestbluest•

I'm also interested in this. Will an unlocked iPhone work in SEA/developing countries where there are pockets of cell service?

1
crackanapeAmsterdam•

Will an unlocked iPhone work in SEA/developing countries where there are pockets of cell service?

Cell service in almost all of Southeast Asia is vastly better than in the USA.

A few years ago I would have suggested buying a SIM card cutter but these days most of the little shops have them and will chop cards down for the iPhone.

Up until recently, AT&T iPhones would only get EDGE data speeds outside of North America. I don't know whether that's still the case; I'm using Android so I stopped keeping track.

1
SydFoodGuy•

Generally, mobile phones are some of the most pervasive bits of technology to be used in the developing world. I'm not sure about pricing; but I have used my phone on the main island Vitu Levu and roamed to the Vodafone Fiji network. Coverage is pretty good, and most of the world is on GSM networks - so an unlocked iPhone should be fine. I highly doubt that switching to an android phone would afford you any new options that you didn't have on an iPhone. I'd recommend Skype or another VOIP app for international calls to keep costs down.

1