Mesmerize Use in Asia?

[Lawsinger]

I have a Samsung Mermerize through US Cellular. I am going to be traveling to Vietnam and Hong Kong soon, and was told the cell phone would not work there, but I could get emails and otherwise access data. I also had the impression I should get a special data plan so I would not be charged huge data fees, but when I called US Cellular, they said the phone will not work at all over there, for data or any other purpose.

Is there any way I can still get and respond to emails on the Mesmerize over there?

Will I be able to access data that is stored on the phone (sort of like a PDA)? It has all of my travel itineraries and other info on it.

Or am I better off just leaving it at home?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[LaTuFu]

The Mez is a CDMA phone, which is a network protocol only used in the US by Verizon, USCC, and a few other small regional carriers.

The rest of the world (And AT&T/T-Mobile) uses GSM technology, which is a newer and more globally accepted technology.

It will not work outside of the US on other carrier frequencies. Your best bet is to talk to USCC and see if they have a "pre-paid" world phone you can use, or pick one up when you get to Asia.

 

[Lawsinger]

Thanks, LaTuFu. I understand that the basic phone functions will not work in Asia, but can I use it to access the Internet via WiFi? If I can, will there be huge fees?

Even if none of the above will work, can I still access anything (music, photos, itinerary, calendar, contacts) stored on the phone?

 

[LaTuFu]

I suppose it might work for WiFi only, but I really don't know for certain. You would not be able to make calls, that much I do know. Internet access and browsing, maybe. But you would be limited to places with free WiFi hotspots.