Getting a smartphone in Switzerland

Tech, TV, Mobile, Internet and Geek Corner
1
Hello all,

I just got a job at CERN for 1-2 years and I'll be moving to Geneva in a month (I currently live in the US).

Now that I have a job, I can afford a smartphone. However, I don't know anything about getting a smartphone in Switzerland/France. The only phone I've ever paid for has been pay-as-you-go: I just buy the minutes and spend them. I have no idea about how contracts or plans work, nor how it would work internationally. When I visit providers' websites (like t-mobile or AT&T), the plans seem to assume I'll be calling TO other countries and not living in them, or that I'm travelling for only a short while. Can someone please point me in the right direction, to where I should be looking?

Thanks in advance.

2
Welcome to the forum.

3
welcome to the forum.

Try one of the mobile provider websites.

Orange, Swisscom, M-budget, Sunrise, etc.

pay-as-you-go is called 'prepaid' here, and available throughout. You can just get a sim card, most likely use your unlocked phone from home.

Most have data plans as well on the 'prepaid' options.

Good luck at CERN.

4
Thank you so much!

5
I don't know why you bothered with the neutral word 'smartphone'...nearly everyone I see in CH seems to use an iPhone!

Droidbois - commence your flaming now!

6
Ah, I used 'smartphone' because I am still undecided between an iphone and an android, but leaning towards android.

7
As my droid, Sam, sung once: "In a Galaxy, far, far away ..... "

8
Look into "Sunrise", I think they have some special deal with CERN providing indoor coverage or something.

http://telecombilling.web.cern.ch/telecombilling/

http://www1.sunrise.ch/

Ask some CERN employees what they are using. Or if you have a login, dig around:

http://gsm.web.cern.ch/gsm/

9
You can always get an unlocked phone from places like digitec.ch and then choose your service provider (with a plan or pre-paid for both calling and internet).

10
At 75, I bought my very first smartphone (iphone) very recently from someone on this forum.

Quite changed my life it has, especially as I can read my Kindle on it.

The very nice young chap who sold it to me kindly explained the basics of how to use it, and now I'd be lost without it.

I simply change the sim-card between Switzerland and the UK and use a pre-paid system in both countries without any problem.

11
Just seems that way.

12
Personally I'm a Blackberry fanboy--on my third at the moment. However is doesn' look like RIM will be around much longer (as we know them) so perhaps in a couple years I will be force to jump ship to the droid market. But definitely not an apple supporter.

13
You're awfully optimistic there :-) I'd be surprised if they were still around by the end of this year. They'll probably be bought for their patents and server solutions - and then closed down.

Peter

14
Your 75 year old eyes must be much better than my 74 year old ones

15
This seems like the ideal solution for me, since I will be spending many of the 8 weeks vacation (!) back in the US with my significant other. It would be very nice to be able to just switch out the SIM cards. But do pre-paid plans support data? I plan to mostly use my phone for translating and finding my way around, with very little calling...

16
I'll have to ask about these. I don't have a login yet, but soon probably. Thanks for the info.

17
There's a thread on prepaid mobile internet.

I pay 7.50/month for 250MB on Sunrise. This is more than enough for me, but I'm on a wi-fi network most of the time.

Coop Mobile has plans that are 9.90/month for 300MB or 2.00/day for unlimited (possibly throttled after 500MB). With the 2/day plan, you only pay if you use data that day. I was thinking of getting that plan for my ipad.

18
I have the SOney Ericsson Arc Experia, brand new. I got it from Orange with my new contract, but I couldnt put aside my iphone :-)

so if you would like the xperia, let me know

its this one:

http://shop.orange.ch/en/sony/sony-x...invt/10060896/

19
Just be aware that some US carriers (Verizon at least and I'm pretty sure either T-Mo or Sprint) use a different system than the one in Europe, i.e. there is no SIM card to switch. If you go with AT&T in the US, you should be safe on that side, but better check before you buy a phone.

20
Yea, Verizon, Sprint, USCellular, Cricket are all CDMA and not compatible with GSM that's used in Europe. I know Verizon has some "World Phones" that do have a GSM SIM card slot to allow for roaming while traveling abroad, but if you want to use it with a Swiss SIM card, you have to ask Verizon to unlock it for you.

If you have AT&T or T-Mobile it will be much easier, as they are GSM. But you still need to ask AT&T or T-Mob to unlock your phone so you can use it with Swiss SIM cards.