Canadians: Question about Rogers Wireless

[cleanup]

Does anyone know if Rogers Wireless cripples the Bluetooth on their phones like other carriers do? I would like to know as I am moving back to Canada soon and am probably gonna get an SE 810i from Rogers, but am wondering if it's worth the expense if I have to unlock it to get Bluetooth/other features that I could get if I bought the phone unbranded over here in China.

That said, generally how much does unlocking cost? Is it safe? I recall my brother getting his RAZR unlocked, and the speaker ended up kind of static-y. I want to avoid this sort of thing. If this is the case, I may consider getting an unbranded phone here in China, where there's more selection. However, while a W810i would cost me $150 with a 2-year contract in Canada, the unbranded model would cost me about twice that here in Shanghai.

Last question. What if I were to use my existing SE W510i? The only trouble is that it's only tri-band, and doesn't have 850, only 1900. Will my coverage suffer significantly?

Also, in your experience, what's the best value plan for someone who plans to text a lot, but still wants the freedom to call at least 10-15 daytime minutes per day? In China that only runs me about $20-30 a month, prepaid.

Sorry about all the stupid questions! Thanks in advance!

 

[sycho]

Bluetooth works like bluetooth on the phone's I've used.

 

[lamina]

Hello,

I am using my girlfriend's cell phone, since she's back home in China for the summer, and it wouldn't make sense for her to use her Canadian cell phone in China.

Anyway, she has the 300 minutes/month plan with unlimited evenings and weekends and 100 texts per month from Rogers. Evenings start at 9pm, but that's variable depending on the plan. Since I take care of her bills for her (I arrange for them to be paid, I don't pay them... ha!), I see she pays about $45/month.

Now, there are cheaper plans from Rogers. Check out rogers.ca (obviously) to find out on rate info.

One thing I'd like to say is that Rogers has excellent coverage. I've never had a dropped call and I've been using her phone since May. Before I never thought I'd want a cell phone, but when I have to give hers back, I will definitely be getting one of my own.

I don't know that much technical stuff about cell phones, but the bluetooth works perfectly for me... except for the sucky support for Samsung phones with OS X. Man I wish iSync would work with more Samsung phones...

 

[cleanup]

In China I spend about $15-$30 a month... I can talk for a long time, and I get 300 free SMS every month.

With Rogers, it looks like to text as much as I do now, I'll have to pay $10 for the 2500 SMS package, which is ridiculous because their voice plans are already so expensive. I don't understand why they don't have comprehensive plans with everything in them. I mean, who wants to spend $0.15 per text message? It's ridiculous.

As for your girlfriend, although the subtotal is $45, it's more like $60 with the system access free and taxes (if you live in Ontario).

I'm looking to spend about as much as I do now, around $25-$35 per month, which means I've got about $15-25 to spend on voice. I don't mind not having voicemail, but I do want a decent (200+) amount of daytime minutes and unlimited evenings and weekends after 6 or 7. Is that too much to ask? I hate how expensive mobile service is in the Americas.