Former BB User - Simple Nexus GSM Question?

[Ron Earp]

The Verizon galaxy Nexus is my first smartphone, my former phone being a BB Tour. I have learned the Nexus isn't GSM capable which means it'll be useless on my trips to Europe.

Now, is it possible for me to purchase an unlocked Galaxy Nexus from Europe (or an online US retailer that imports them) to get GSM capability? And if I did would the GSM version also have 4G capability? If that isn't possible with the Galaxy Nexus would it be possible with the new RAZR?

I'm sorry for the ignorance of these questions but I'm just learning the terms of this new "hobby". The BB isn't a great phone, but one thing it did do well is handle calls and work well in Europe. I'd hate to get used to a new smartphone only to have to swap back to a BB or something similar for a couple of months out of the year.

Thank you,
Ron

 

[iBowToAndroid]

1. Blackberries are also considered smartphones.

2. The GSM version will never work on the Verizon network.

3. To use a Verizon phone in Europe, you would need to have an international phone, like the Tour was.

 

[OMGLadyGaga]

Verizon is a CDMA network which renders their phones useless in Europe which uses GSM (which you knew already).

You can import an unlocked GSM version for around $700 unsubsidized and use it on AT&T's hspa+ network which is what they call 4G. You can also use it on T-Mobile's network but possibly only on 3G (not too sure about this). You can use this phone in Europe. But you CANNOT use this unlocked phone on Verizon's network.

As iBowtoAndroid mentioned, if you want to stay on Verizon and use one of their phones overseas it has to be a world capable phone such as the Tour you had or most notably (and honestly recommended in your case) an iPhone 4S.

I too came from a Tour.

 

[Ron Earp]

Thank you for the information and thanks for bearing with my improper use of terms and so on.

Unfortunately, this is a very disappointing situation. Verizon isn't too strong in the global phone market and it appears all they can offer is the iPhone 4s. I'm not against the iPhone, we have Apple devices in the house as my wife is a professor and the school requires their use, but they are not my favorite.

I do like this Nexus phone, no doubt. I'd probably like a RAZR too, but that one seems to be in the same boat and is not a global phone.

I am the director of a small company and made the switch to Verizon some years ago when we all used BB devices. But when the BB started to show its age a number of employees went to the iPhone, or Andriod phones, but these folks don't need to travel to Europe on a regular basis.

I've got a trip is a few weeks coming up and I can either get a loaner world phone from Verizon, or switch to an iPhone. I don't like the idea of using a loaner world phone every couple of months but I suppose it could work.

I was thinking there was an older Android phone on Verizon that was a world phone, maybe I just buy one of those and swap the SIM card into it? Or would that not work due to the 4G on the new phones and non-4G on the older phone?

Ron

 

[japhule]

Droid 3, Droid Incredible 2, Droid 2 Global and Droid Pro are all world phones on Verizon. I'm thinking of getting the Galaxy Nexus and getting a used Droid Incredible 2 as a backup phone when work requires me to go overseas.

 

[Kevin Gossett]

I was thinking there was an older Android phone on Verizon that was a world phone, maybe I just buy one of those and swap the SIM card into it? Or would that not work due to the 4G on the new phones and non-4G on the older phone?

Ron

An LTE sim does not equal a GSM sim... So that won't work either