I'm going to be replacing my CallPlus TDMA prepaid service with Airvoice GSM prepaid which uses the Cingular GSM network. This will be my first exposure to phones that use SIMs, and I will be making VERY few calls.
I'm told by Airvoice that I can activate any unlocked phone, or any phone that is locked to Cingular. If the phone has a non-active SIM, they can activate it for me, and if it has no SIM they can send me one. I don't know what the activation cost would be either way.
A friend of mine has just given me (i.e. - for free) an LG C1300 Cingular phone, which as far as he knows was working when last used. However, it has no SIM, no charger, and the battery is fully discharged. I don't know how old the phone and the battery are. I don't know if the battery is any good. It registers no voltage at all on the battery terminals on my digital volt meter, but I don't know if that means anything - it could be an over-discharge protection thing that would be restored on a recharge.
But I also recently purchased a new Cingular GoPhone from Best Buy for $20 that I was planning to use for Airvoice. It's a Motorola C139. I haven't opened the package yet, but I assume it has a non-active SIM, a new battery, and a charger.
I assume I can get either phone activated on Airvoice, but since I still have two weeks of the full-refund return period left on the unopened GoPhone, I'm faced with the decision of which phone to use.
The Wikipedia article on lithium-ion batteries says that they lose a percentage of their charge capacity every year, even if the battery is unused, so that the age of the battery from manufacture is potentially important. It also says that there is a discharge point below which li-ion batteries may not be rechargeable at all.
So I'm wondering if the free phone might actually end up being more expensive than the one I had to pay for. I know I'll have to buy a charger, and maybe a SIM, but if I also have to buy a battery six months down the road, it could cost me more than the new GoPhone by a pretty good margin. Then on top of that, the reviews I see on the LG C1300 aren't very complimentary, whereas the Moto C139 appears to work pretty well for basic calling (better battery life, better reception, more reliable).
Am I thinking about this the right way?
Also, do all LG phones use the same charger? The battery is a BSL-64G, 3.7V.
How would I go about seeing if the battery is any good? Can I tell from serial numbers on the phone or battery how old they are?
Well, it seems to me that on balance I ought to use the GoPhone. Does that sound right, or at least reasonable?
I'm told by Airvoice that I can activate any unlocked phone, or any phone that is locked to Cingular. If the phone has a non-active SIM, they can activate it for me, and if it has no SIM they can send me one. I don't know what the activation cost would be either way.
A friend of mine has just given me (i.e. - for free) an LG C1300 Cingular phone, which as far as he knows was working when last used. However, it has no SIM, no charger, and the battery is fully discharged. I don't know how old the phone and the battery are. I don't know if the battery is any good. It registers no voltage at all on the battery terminals on my digital volt meter, but I don't know if that means anything - it could be an over-discharge protection thing that would be restored on a recharge.
But I also recently purchased a new Cingular GoPhone from Best Buy for $20 that I was planning to use for Airvoice. It's a Motorola C139. I haven't opened the package yet, but I assume it has a non-active SIM, a new battery, and a charger.
I assume I can get either phone activated on Airvoice, but since I still have two weeks of the full-refund return period left on the unopened GoPhone, I'm faced with the decision of which phone to use.
The Wikipedia article on lithium-ion batteries says that they lose a percentage of their charge capacity every year, even if the battery is unused, so that the age of the battery from manufacture is potentially important. It also says that there is a discharge point below which li-ion batteries may not be rechargeable at all.
So I'm wondering if the free phone might actually end up being more expensive than the one I had to pay for. I know I'll have to buy a charger, and maybe a SIM, but if I also have to buy a battery six months down the road, it could cost me more than the new GoPhone by a pretty good margin. Then on top of that, the reviews I see on the LG C1300 aren't very complimentary, whereas the Moto C139 appears to work pretty well for basic calling (better battery life, better reception, more reliable).
Am I thinking about this the right way?
Also, do all LG phones use the same charger? The battery is a BSL-64G, 3.7V.
How would I go about seeing if the battery is any good? Can I tell from serial numbers on the phone or battery how old they are?
Well, it seems to me that on balance I ought to use the GoPhone. Does that sound right, or at least reasonable?