Thanks guyz.

Advantage of 416 number: None other that someone's perception that an old number is better than an new.

Advantage of 647 number: Less likely to get a recycled number which could result in a lot of unwanted calls for the previous owner of that number.

Phone numbers from 416 and 647 should be the same and only matters to you personally if one has a sequence number that can be easily remembered, something like 647-647-6476. But, I don't think you can find something like that with a Speakout phone unless you are really lucky. 😉

About the phone number...........

What difference does it make if you get a 416 number or a 647 number? I mean...i really cannot see any benefit. But I have seen posts here where people wanted to change from 416 to 647 or vice versa....but to what advantage?

Does it matter what AREA CODE or what PHONE NUMBER you get?

somebody called me long distance. The call lasted 1 1/2 minutes and cost me 40 cents.

Sounds like the incoming call wasn't considered LD, you were charged 2 minutes at 20c per minutes and therefore they do round-up your minutes.

One thing I couldn't find in the FAQ was about the rounding up of calls.

Do calls round up to one minute. Say, I speak and hang up after 20 seconds, it still counts as a minute?

My plan is to buy the CHEAPEST cellphone that 7-11 offers, since I would have to buy a Quadband one too.

That's a good plan. I would do the same if I am in the same situation.

Regardless of what phone I buy from 7-11, the SIM will be the same in all of them; right? And the prepaid card options that I can buy are the same regardless of the phone...no?

Only the phone numbers are different. The rest are the same.

Bylo, I am going right ahead and will buy a 7-Eleven phone, Sim and Airtime from any store that offers the PROMOtion (since I don't wanna wait till mid year to see if they are bringing the $75 off, as said here)

My plan is to buy the CHEAPEST cellphone that 7-11 offers, since I would have to buy a Quadband one too.

And one silly question too.

Regardless of what phone I buy from 7-11, the SIM will be the same in all of them; right? And the prepaid card options that I can buy are the same regardless of the phone...no?

Thats all man.........thanks very much.

1

None of the phones 7-11 sells work outside NA (they are all 2-band.) You will have to buy a quadband and then sell the phone you got from 7-11 privately. Lots of people do that here.

2

The issue isn't the phone but rather the SIM. Airtime expires after some period (365 days for SO) and then, if you don't recharge the SIM, it and your phone number expire a few months later. After that the phone will continue to work but you'll need to buy a new SIM and more airtime.

This site has helped me not just to get info about 7-Eleven; but also about telephony in general (prepaid, postpaid etc etc).

I still have two questions.

1, Suppose I opt to go with a 7-Eleven phone, what are my options.......ofcourse as said before, I need an Unlocked, Gsm, Quadband phone. So does 7-Eleven offer any such phone/phones? Is there a link where I can see all the 7-Eleven phones?

If 7-Eleven does NOT have a Quadband phone, I would have to buy their phone and then buy another phone (quadband). Is that the case here?

2, What if after a while I just decide NOT to use my cell phone (7-11) for some months. Is it just a matter of NOT buying any more prepaid cards? Will everything be alright then...and can I just start buying cards again whenever I feel like it? (guess thats how all prepaid systems work....no?)

Just wanna say

THANK YOU!

for now.

I'll check out the Indian vendors.........will try to find online and also after reaching there.

See http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/india.html

Umm.....20 cents in and out??
You mean......using the phone (with 7-11 sim) from India to call Canada? I didn't know/get it.

No, he means within Canada to make local calls (and 30c/min for LD within Canada.) Your SO Canada SIM works only within Canada. You can't use it in India (or the US for that matter) regardless of what phone you put it in.

I'll check out the Indian vendors.........will try to find online and also after reaching there.

Umm.....20 cents in and out??
You mean......using the phone (with 7-11 sim) from India to call Canada? I didn't know/get it.

I'm sure India's local vendors have better rates.

http://www.telestial.com/view_.....=LSIM-IN02

(hope links are okay to post in here)

You can see what I am talking about.

It says
" Incoming Outgoing
$0.09 USD $0.17 USD "
International rates are shown below the domestic ones.

From what you told me, I am glad that my thinking is right (that I should be charged ONLY the local rate, just like anyone else who uses a phone in India for local calls).

But how come such high charges? I also found something like this on another website.

Anyone knows about how I can call with local rates from India?

(FYI 1 US dollar = 40 Indian rupees;
so, 17 US cents = 7 Indian rupess.
7 rupee/minute is a huge rate for local calls there, i am sure).

If you call a Canadian number with the same sim from India, then you'll be charged long distance. Could it be that the 17 cents/minute is the long distance rate?

I wanna add this. I am buying the phone not just for use in India. I need to use it here (for some months) before I leave, as well. So I'll buy the phone from Canada. But thanks for the tip, friends.

Other question is regarding the "rate" on using the 'sim switched' phone, from India. I mean....I will change the 7-11 sim with something else (like say, airtel) and use the same phone there. Online, I can see that the rates are about 17US cents/minute for outgoing and 4US cents/minute for incoming.

Why such huge rates (relatively)?

Howz me using a phone (with Indian sim) in India during my trip different than someone in India using his phone? Shouldn't I be charged only the same as him (local rate) when calling local areas in India !!?
(i could be totally missing some point here......but i really can't think of what)