What is a WORLD Phone?

You Can Use a Cellphone in Most of the World Without a Giant Dish

In the United States several major cell phone carriers, such as Cingular and T-Mobile, have chosen to use the GSM digital protocol that is popular overseas. Their wireless handsets, as well as other brands sold in the U.S., operate on either 850 mhz or 1900 mhz, while European networks operate on either 900 mhz or 1800 mhz. These frequencies, or bands, are incompatible so in order for a handset to work both in the U.S. and abroad it must be capable of transmitting signal on three or four different frequencies. Therefore a wireless handset capable of operating on three of these bands is called a tri-band, while a handset capable of operating any of the four is called a quad-band.

These multi-band phones are termed "World Phones", though a serious traveller would really only consider a quad-band, as tri-band phones were more of an interim step. While several major manufacturers such as Samsung and Nokia have produced competent world phones, Motorola was the first company to popularize quad-band phones and continues to produce more of them than any other carrier. The Motorola RAZR is an excellent example of the company's recent quad-band efforts.

As GSM is easily the most pervasive wireless protocol worldwide with over one billion current subscribers, a traveller with a quad-band world phone phone should be able to obtain useable wireless signal in most urban areas accross the globe.


TO RECYCLE YOUR CELLPHONES AND GET PAID FOR IT, VISIT: SellyourCell.com

What is an UNLOCKED GSM Cellphone?

and Do I Need to Get a Key?

When purchased from a wireless carrier, such as Cingular or T-Mobile, a GSM cell phone will typically come with a "subsidy-lock" or "sub-lock" code. These software codes are installed in the handsets during the manufacturing process in order to prevent consumers from using a phone purchased from one carrier on another carrier's network.

The logic here is that when selling the phone to a consumer, the carrier subsidized the cost of the phone. Free phones are the perfect example of this strategy. Intuitively, consumers know wireless phones are not free to manufacture, but will nevertheless be tempted by the prospect of not having to actually pay money for a new cell phone. The difference between what a consumer pays for a cell phone versus what it actually cost the carrier (always more) is called the subsidy, and to protect their "investment" carriers lock the phones to only work on their network.

Yes, this is kind of a shady thing for carriers to do as consumers do have to sign up for two years of service or pay a hefty cancellation fee in order to get the "free" phone, but it is not illegal.

However, for every lock there is a key. All of these phones with subsidy locks can be unlocked by third party companies using specialized devices. Unlocked GSM cell phones can then be placed in service with any compatible carrier, allowing the consumer a much wider range of choice.

Unlocking GSM cell phones is completely legal in all 50 states and the service is pretty easy to come by. Simply do a Google search for Unlock GSM Cell Phones and examine your choices.


TO RECYCLE YOUR CELLPHONES AND GET PAID FOR IT, VISIT: SellyourCell.com

New Apple iPods in Color

The new Apple iPods are out and
SellyourCell.com want wants to buy your old one!


Apple has just released their newest, smallest, most high tech iPods yet, and if you are planning on buying a new one SellyourCell.com wants to buy your old one! Apple’s new iPod Nano now comes with a brighter screen and a metal case, while the new iPod shuffle has been shrunk down to the size of match book. At SellyourCell.com we are big fans of the iPod, and we know that these exciting developments are sure to drive holiday sales of the iPod through the roof.

We want make sure you know that we buy used iPods right on our site, just like we buy used cell phones. It works exactly the same way- just select iPod, and then look up your model to receive a price quote. It’s that simple.

So keep SellyourCell.com in mind when you get your new iPod, and get paid for recycling it responsibly.


TO RECYCLE YOUR CELLPHONES AND GET PAID FOR IT, VISIT: SellyourCell.com

Privacy Assured when Recycling Cellphones

Wireless Recycling is Guaranteed Safe with SellyourCell.com


Recently, an Associated Press story was published that cautioned consumers against sell their cell phones, specifically on eBay. The story was directed at owners of “smart phones” such as the Palm Treo or RIM Blackberry device, and centered on the fact that it is difficult for consumers to delete data from their smart phones so that it cannot be recovered using forensic software.

SellyourCell.com wants you, our valued customers, to know that we use procedures devised by the manufacturers of these handsets that completely secure and erase all personal data,so that it can not be recovered. We do this on every phone, every time. Your data is 100% with SellyourCell.com.

In addition, it is worthwhile to note that while regular cell phones (phones without enhanced abilities) can contain some personal data, this is usually limited to text messages and phone numbers, and that this information is not typically valuable to information thieves. Nevertheless, SellyourCell.com recommends that you erase as much data from the phone as you can by using the owner’s manual as a guide, and you can rest assured that we will do our part upon receipt of your handset.

SellyourCell.com is committed to the security of your data, and you can sell your cell phones to us knowing that we will protect your information.


TO RECYCLE YOUR CELLPHONES AND GET PAID FOR IT, VISIT: SellyourCell.com

How do I know my information is secure and how is it erased?

Allow us to put your minds at ease here. In order to evaluate the phones they must be sanitized, as we call it.

This is to say that the first thing our technicians do when they hook phones up to their diagnostic equipment is erase all the phone's data and reset the phone to it's original state. This is our very first step, and it is absolutely mandatory prior to evaluating the phone.

While it is worth knowing that we take this step, and in fact take your privacy very seriously, you should also know that phones (other than PDAs) very rarely contain any of the personal info that could be used to steal an identity. Fortunately people simply don't keep their social security number, drivers license number or birthday in the average cell phone. However, its nice to know that if you did, your information would be 100% secure and immediately erased. You have our word on this.

As for erasing the information yourself, most phones make it pretty easy by going through the phone's menu. Easier yet of course is to look up "erasing data" in the owners manual or on the manufacturer's website.

Except, of course, nobody ever reads the manual.

TO RECYCLE YOUR CELLPHONES AND GET PAID FOR IT, VISIT: SellyourCell.com

What happens to my cellphone when I submit it for recycling?

Excellent question. Sometimes I think there are more theories on this than there are on Area 51. People ask me all the time if we break the phones down for the "gold" in them, sell them off to third world countries, or are stockpiling them because "big phones are going to make a comeback". I enjoy and appreciate the speculation, and since it is fun to talk about what we do, I'd like to share a bit on this subject.

Basically, our determination of the phones' use is made by examining the type of phone and carrier; for example, Verizon phones and Sprint phones both use a technology called CDMA. This is some of the best technology available, but because it is not used widely outside of the United States just yet, we wind up mostly refurbishing and reselling these phones here in the U.S.
T-Mobile and Cingular both use the more common GSM technology and many of the newer models from these companies can be remarketed outside of the U.S., and in fact, sometimes in developing nations.

Of course, we do get some phones that are either broken or are too old, and while we don't pay for these phones it is still our responsibility to break the phones down to their discrete elements and have them recycled.

So what about the gold? Well carriers, like the ones mentioned above, would go out of business pretty quickly if they were putting valuable amounts of gold in each phone, so I'm afraid that rumor isn't true.

But what a great business this would be if it were true, huh?


TO RECYCLE YOUR CELLPHONES AND GET PAID FOR IT, VISIT: SellyourCell.com