Getting set up with cell phone service in China is surprisingly quick and easy. All you need is a basic understanding of what you have and what you need.

In this article we will go over some of the basics of what you need in a phone to take full advantage of the cellular service offered in China. We will assume you already posess the basic knowledge given in Cellular FAQ#1 and in this article we will be focusing mainly on GSM phones/services...

Unlocked Cell Phone:

This was briefly mentioned in FAQ #1. What do we mean by unlocked?

Well, GSM phones know which provider to connect to and what phone number it is representing, by reading information off a small chip card that is inserted into the phone usually behind the battery. This small chip card is called a "SIM card". SIM cards are issued by a cellular provider so that you can place it into your phone and have cellular service.

Unlocked means that the GSM cell phone can accept SIM cards from any provider. When the term "locked" is used, it's short for "provider locked". Provider locked means that the cell phone provider you purchased the phone from has activated a software lock on your phone, so that if you put a SIM card into the phone that is not from your provider, the phone will not accept it/function normally.

How do I tell if my phone is "locked"?

Well, you can only really tell by testing. Most of the time we test it by borrowing the SIM card of a friend who is on a different provider and put it into our cell phone. If it works, the cell phone is unlocked and ready to travel all over the world with you. If it doesn't, then it's probrably locked. Most GSM phones that are purchased independently, without signing up for any plans, are usually unlocked. Most GSM phones that you get for free, or with a rebate, or with a discount because you also signed up for a plan/contract, are locked.

Why do the providers lock it?

They lock it because usually the phone is given away at a promotional price and not the full retail value. Therefore to ensure that you stick with their service rather than run off with this shiny new phone to other providers, they lock it. Of course, in the U.S. this doesn't really matter because the providers make you sign a hefty contract with a very big cancellation fee that usually covers the cost of the phone and more, so you cannot run off even if it was unlocked.

How can I get it "unlocked"? 

There are a few ways to unlock your phone. The best way is to call your cellular provider and tell them that you are going to travel abroad and will be using prepaid SIM cards, therefore you need the unlock code to your phone so you can use it. Most providers will kindly give the code to you at your request, especially if you've been a good cellular customer of theirs for at least half a year. If your cellular provider refuses, the other option is to take your phone to an independently owned cell phone shop and see if they have a service to unlock your phone for a small fee, but these cell phone shops are often hard to find. It is best to check the local asian newspaper, as they often are very on top of their cell phone technology and workarounds. The final way is to unlock the phone yourself. I won't go into further detail. Those who can do that, won't be reading this part of the article. Those who do need further detail, probably don't have enough technical cell phone knowledge to do it right. So the best option for the average user is really to get your provider to give you the unlock code and the simple unlock instructions for your phone.

Cell phone capable of displaying Simplified Chinese:

In China, the official written language is Simplified Chinese and is what the Chinese use to transmit information to your cell phone. Most people coming from western countries probably don't have cell phones that are capable of displaying Simplified Chinese. For those that stay in China only for a short while, this inconvenience can be tolerable. For those that remain longer in China, many do end up buying new cell phones while in China, a portion of them do so because they would like Simplified Chinese capable phones.

I have several friends who are also in the same curriculum as I am, though from different western countries. Here I will list a few scenarios I recall of friends lamenting their lack of a Simplified Chinese phone:

• System text messages from the cellular service provider in Simplified Chinese stating how much money have deducted for monthly service fees, how much is remaining, and etc.
• Friends texting restaurant/bar/club/metro stop names or directions in Simplified Chinese to show the taxi drivers
• Text messages from Chinese friends, who don't know English
• Confirmation text messages from airlines/travel agencies, such as C-Trip, confirming airline ticket or hotel has been booked

Those are some of the more common scenarios I recall, and none are crucial, but having the capability does make life easier.

An unlocked phone and the capability to display Simplified Chinese is pretty much the most important aspect of your mobile phone in China.

The rest of the article will go over some optional features that can take advantage of the affordable services be added to a basic voice/text cellular plan.  If those optional features do not pertain to you, please continue onto FAQ #3 for an introduction to the popular cell phone plans.

Now we will go over some of the extra's, the "Nice-to-haves", in a cell phone to really be fully connected. Again we will focus only on GSM phones for the following, though some tips might be applicable to CDMA as well.

Besides voice calls and text messaging, what is left for a phone to offer? Well there's a few more, we will start with something that will help someone who is just getting acquainted with Chinese.

Handwriting-Recognition Phones:

 In China, handwriting-recognition phones are a regular staple at the local cell phone shop. Handwriting-recognition is the most direct form of input, though it also usually means higher price of the phone. There are some other input methods such as "stroke" input, but that won't be of any help for someone new to Chinese. The main benefit of a handwriting-recognition phone is its ability to recognize Chinese words written on the screen. The greatest benefits of this input method is the ability to text it to someone without knowing the pinyin, or to look it up in your cell phone dictionary.

Dictionary capable phones:

Most handwriting-recognition capable phones are rather powerful, and usually are also mini PDA's. They are usually able to support Java and might even run Windows Mobile, which will allow you to install a Chinese-English dictionary on it. This is when handwriting-recognition phones really shine. The ability to look up any word you see out in the streets immediately, without having to carry a separate dictionary.

As foreign students, we find that learning Chinese is greatly facilitated when we have a dictionary we can use that allows us to write in the word we want to look up. There are some very good standalone electronic Chinese-English dictionaries with handwriting-recognition that can be bought in China. But to have to carry a standalone dictionary all the time when you go out, can be a hassle. Fortunately, one of the best Chinese-English dictionaries is actually a lightweight mobile software made for PDA's, called PlecoDict. This dictionary runs on Palm OS and Pocket PC OS. The next best mobile Chinese-English dictionary is Java based and can run on any phone that supports Java.

For a short intro to each of those dictionaries and where to get them, please visit the Links section.

So if you would like a dictionary capable phone, consider that you'll need either Pocket PC, Palm OS, or Java capable phone.

GPRS capable phone:

Finally we come to one of the most unnecessary, but most fun feature of being fully wired no matter where you are... the ability to go online nearly anywhere in China. GPRS is the name that describes the protocol to surf the net for GSM phones. Most GPRS phones come with a Opera mobile browser for you the browse the web. Opera is a software company that arguably makes the best browser for mobile phones and PDA's. You can get a free version by downloading from their site, but most phones should come with it pre-installed. With GPRS, you have the ability to check your webmail, send webmail, view websites and more just as if you are using a real computer, but with perhaps slower speeds because your cell phone needs to shrink the images to fit onto your tiny mobile screen. If you have images turned off and just transmitting text, it should be quite fast. GPRS service in China is rather affordable compared to the U.S. so it might be worth a swing for some.

I personally have GPRS set up on my phone with China Mobile M-Zone and ShenZhouXing services. All I had to do was call the automated hotline, enter in my password from my startup kit, activate GPRS service and select a monthly internet package. However the hotline is in Mandarin, so for those with difficulties you can go to a China Mobile store and get personal help.

Good luck on findng a handy communication companion. Cellular FAQ #3 goes over some of the popular cellular plans in mainland China.

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