Hey all, first post

[Colla_Holla]

Me and babygirl are heading to Negril for our first time sept. 22nd, we're pretty excited to go!

i was searching the forums for cell phone information and found a little bit, it seems like you all get sim cards when in jamaica.
I called att and they said i could just add to my plan for international use. is it better to upgrade with my carrier or just get a sim in jamaica?

do you guys bring your nice phones down there like iphones and stuff or just bring down an old beater phone?

[kaycee]

Hi!

I havent purchased a phone in Jamaica before, but I plan to do so when I arrive in Montego bay. There website has phones for under $40. I did take my Samsung Galaxy, I used it to take a few pictures...and as soon as I arrived back in the United States, my phone had multiple viruses on it. Thankfully I had updated my virus protection plan before going or else my phone would be useless.

[Colla_Holla]

Hi!

I havent purchased a phone in Jamaica before, but I plan to do so when I arrive in Montego bay. There website has phones for under $40. I did take my Samsung Galaxy, I used it to take a few pictures...and as soon as I arrived back in the United States, my phone had multiple viruses on it. Thankfully I had updated my virus protection plan before going or else my phone would be useless.

how did you get viruses? from using wifi with it?

[Jamerican71]

I purchased a phone at the Digicell store in Negril - a cheap one for under $50. It came loaded with local and international minutes. Every month I top it off with @$5 so that I can keep the same phone number. If you aren't planning for a future trip then just give the phone away prior to leaving.

I have a US based blackberry (AT&T service provider) and the package they are talking about is still expensive if you plan to call home. It's just a reduction in the regular rate and it can still be very costly as roaming charges add up.

A few other friends of mine have cheap phones that have been unlocked and they just purchase a SIM card when they arrive....I think it was $10 - $15.

[kbisiar]

I bought a sim card and 500 minutes for under $20 at the digicell store by the round about. For international calls I just use the phones wifi or skype for free.

[Colla_Holla]

I purchased a phone at the Digicell store in Negril - a cheap one for under $50. It came loaded with local and international minutes. Every month I top it off with @$5 so that I can keep the same phone number. If you aren't planning for a future trip then just give the phone away prior to leaving.

I have a US based blackberry (AT&T service provider) and the package they are talking about is still expensive if you plan to call home. It's just a reduction in the regular rate and it can still be very costly as roaming charges add up.

A few other friends of mine have cheap phones that have been unlocked and they just purchase a SIM card when they arrive....I think it was $10 - $15.

I have a us based blackberry on att also. its old and i dont use it so its deactivated. Do i need att to activate it first or can it be activated when i buy the sim card?

its a blackberry world phone

[kaycee]

how did you get viruses? from using wifi with it?

I have no idea...I didn't use wifi at all because the placed I stayed at didn't have it.

[Jamerican71]

I have a us based blackberry on att also. its old and i dont use it so its deactivated. Do i need att to activate it first or can it be activated when i buy the sim card?

its a blackberry world phone

I really don't know about that one. I don't use my blackberry while in JA - lesson learned after adding that AT&T international plan - every time an email came in or somebody called me - I was hit with roaming charges.

I think for you to add that SIM card to the BB while in JA it would have to first be unlocked - it doesn't matter if it's old or not. I believe you can google unlock codes or even purchase unlock codes off of Ebay.

[Beebeluv]

just bring a laptop or i pad and use yahoo messenger...i dunno if it will work im sure it will just have to be near wifi... which i hear is everywhere orrrrrr download TANGO app. If im wrong PLEASE correct me because this is how im planning on communicateing

[Melody]

I wanted a cheap, local phone to call locally, taxis, restaurants & such. (thus needed a phone to have with me while out and about). I kept my iPhone on airplane mode with my data plan off the entire time I was there and just used it at my hotel in the wifi zone for emailing home, a bit of web browsing (Tripit!) and checking my emails and flight status etc. I did not want to risk international roaming charges. Plus, the international calling/data plans back home are expensive. Depending on your usage, it's probably cheaper to get a local phone, sim & minutes. Lime is a lot cheaper than digicel right now. Markus posted a few weeks ago that he got a phone plus everything he needed for around $20. And using local minutes to call home is just pennies a minute.

The world travel phone that you're not currently using at home would work, or any unlocked quad band gsm phone. I would not use my current phone as I wouldn't get it unlocked or mess with my provider's sim card and plan.

No idea why the Samsung phone got loaded with viruses if it was only used for taking Photos. Leaving my iPhone on airplane mode, data plan off & using wifi as well as taking photos, I had absolutely no problems or charges.