Traveling to South Korea w/ WP7

[ncoppersmith]

I have a friend going to South Korea to teach this fall, and she needs a phone while she's there. Research into options is a bit confusing, so I'm checking in here to see if anyone has any input.

Right now I'm leaning toward an unlocked Lumia 710 international version, with a sim card purchased that allows use in SK. I've read that they work in SK, but SK natively uses CDMA or WCDMA. I don't see her as a heavy data user (if at all) but want her to experience WP7. I'd also like her to be able to use the phone when she gets back to the US, by simply patching in a SIM card.

I've read that acquiring a cell phone by a non-national over there is expensive and difficult, so want to get her as prepared as possible before she heads over.

Any experience, input, or suggestions are welcome.

 

[speedtouch]

Yeah, getting a phone as a non-national in Korea is pretty much a no-go. She needs to bring her own, as you are trying to do. Korea is dominated by CDMA, but I know there are GSM towers out there. My guess is you can't do anything with a CDMA phone. You're going to have to get a GSM 710, unlock it, and figure out what SIM card will work over there. I really don't know how to help you on this one, though I am a fairly frequent traveler to Korea. This could help: AT&T slashing international roaming data rates, but Tru SIM is still better option | ZDNet