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The cell phone has become an almost "must have" safety device when BASE jumping. Which phones have the most BASE friendly features? How are people using them to help with their jumps? What are people's opinions?

I'm in the market for a new one and Obviously coverage is going to be relative to each geographic location and plan, with the exception that certain plans don't cover frequently visited sites.

but in terms of features?

lights,
accessories/attachments
cameras
SMS
etc.

I have typically liked having a bit bigger of a phone than is available, more ~the size of a motorola 3600 series in the past. But I'm thinking of "downsizing."
I'd also like one that easily accepts a different SIM card when I travel abroad.

What are all of you considering when you buy a new cell phone/rate plan??
Recommendations?
Stay away from...

not trying to make this a "XXX company sucks" thread, so please tell me WHY they suck when you post

cheers,
pope

It's sometimes hard to get a phone you can slip a new simcard into. The phone companies tend to "lock" the phone so that you can't do that. You might try getting on eBay and looking for "unlocked" phones.

T-Mobile has worldwide roaming, where calls can be made to and from your home number, no matter where in the world you are. The service is cheap (a few dollars a month extra) to activate, but very pricey ($1-5 per minute, depending on where you are) to use. It's very convenient, though.

I have an LG 7000. The outside LCD screen is dim and useful for when you need just a little light, e.g. pin check, and the inside LCD is brighter and useful as a low powered flashlight, e.g. walking through the woods or packing in the dark.

On the downside it is sensitive to moisture and lights up like a christmas tree when making or receiving a call. It also doesn't have that SIM thingy.

 

did the addition of this sevice extend your contract? can you cancel after your trip?

i have a nice Noki 5140
Pro´s:
It takes the hard envioment you treat it to
It takes water
it has light so in case i need light toexample gearchek on a really dark place its not a problem
It takes pictures that i can send by mms to freinds(shots from the exit point)
By the gps shelli h ave on i also easy can add a point or bring a point whith out taking a Garmin or so

con´s
Whith the gps shell it aint a small fancy phone anymore it is slightly bigger and more heavy(not more than you can have it in a regular pocket)
It dosnt have mp3 player in it,but has FM radio whith good cover,and a desent headset that can be used even as you climb or hike

Link:
http://www.nokia.co.uk/nokia/0,,53413,00.html

i didnt chek for the US market but i used it in US on my trip this summer whith out prolems.
There also should be a newr ver called 5140i which(im not sure)has the mp3 player aswell

unlocking a cell phone is really easy,do a google search and you´ll find ways to do it your self or places to contact to do it for cheap like 10$ or so(arround here)

all provideres arround here has roaming contracts ALL over the world cant belive if the greatest nation in the world only has one compagny that gives this kind of deals

Chris,

Since I switched from Cingular to T-Mobile sometime in October or November I have not been able to make or receive calls in the vicinity of my work (where I spend 10 hours each work day, 4 days a week). Unfortunately this was not information I was privy to before we made the change. I wish you the best of luck.

Mike

Hi Chris,

the major problem you will have is that most of the world (basically ALL of the world except Japan and the US) is applying the GSM-standard (GLOBAL Standard for Mobile communications: T-Mobile and cingular in the US are just building up nationwide networks, but because the size of the US and being about 15 years late, it's not finished yet.) http://www.gsmworld.com/index.shtml

If you intend to leave the US, it's the best choice to have a tri-band (850, 1800 and 1900 MHz) GSM phone. From my own experience, it will serve you ALL over Europe, especially in the Alps, and all over Africa and Latin America. I know Russia and the Eastern European countries are covered, but international roaming there is VERY, and I mean VERY expensive. I had my phone with me when I came over in October for BD,and it worked fine in CO, not at all in WV and fine again in ID. So for the US, you better check with the operators whether you primary jumping/living/working area is covered.

Basically, you can insert any SIM into any GSM phone, except if you get a highly sponsored plan from an operator that will give you a phone with a SIM-lock. There were already some hints on how to unlock it in this thread. All *new* GSM tribands will have SMS, most will have cameras nowadays (with differing quality) and most will also have the capability to send MMS (Voice, Foto/Video and Text combined).

Now the EASE of switching SIMs and the resistance to outside conditions is somewhat on the two different ends of one stick: I have two "waterproof" outdoor phone (the Siemens ME45 and the Siemens M65, and YES) and opening both and changing the SIM is a hassle because of the tight closing mechanism and the rubber which seals the battery compartment from water. I am pretty happy with both, from battery duration to reception and from resitance to water and dust to robustness and shock resistance. The new generation outdoor phone is the ME75, but I have not tested it personally.

Basically, with Voice-dialling or the call-repeat button or a quick-call button (new phone should have all three of these) you are well off for calling remote groundcrew or emergency services. (BTW, you can call the rescue with any GSM phone also WITHOUT a SIM or without international roaming, there just needs to be ANY GSM network).

You should be able to manage the intensity of the display light, from low to very bright. "Very bright" has already served me as a "torch" hiking out from an exit when it got too dark to jump (and too dark to hike). It will provide enough light for a gearcheck when it's really dark.

If you have more specific questions, you can PM me.

Yo !

These days you need a quad-band GSM phone to cover the world: 850 and 1900MHZ in US, 900 and 1800 everywhere else. Tri-band is not enough any more.

bsbd!

Yuri.

This is the "dropzone.com of cellphones":

http://www.howardforums.com (really massive cellphone forums)