Dual SIM Phone
I am the proud owner of a Google Nexus One and I have been really loving my new phone. But when it comes to my travels in Hong Kong/ China, I highly recommend a dual SIM phone. This phone is nothing fancy, but it gets the job done. This being said, some of you may be asking why do you recommend a dual SIM phone?! The answer is simple, even though Hong Kong is part of China, they treat one another almost like separate countries! By this I mean there is the Hong Kong dollar (HKD) and the Mainland uses the Yuan (RMB), there is an immigration to travel out of Hong Kong into China required for both Mainlanders and Hong Kongers to travel back and forth. The same can be said for cell phone coverage, it is rather expensive for you to roam in one of those destinations. If you have a Hong Kong SIM card, I would not recommend using it on the Mainland and for those coming to Hong Kong with a Mainland SIM, I would also not recommend using it in Hong Kong. It will roam whether your in Hong Kong or China, but the balance on your phone will be run up quickly. Therefore I recommend having a local SIM for whatever destination you are planning on traveling to.
I myself travel back and forth from Hong Kong and Shenzhen a lot for a multiple of reasons. So instead of having to switch my SIM card out back and forth, a dual SIM phone makes things easier. The second thing that is necessary is an unlocked quad-band phone. Hong Kong and Mainland China use different cell frequencies and to make sure your phone operates at optimum levels, I think it would just be easier to have a quad-band phone. If your traveling from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, there is a conveniently located China Mobile shop downstairs immediately to your left after leaving immigration (in Luo Hu).
I have had a $50 HKD balance on my PCCW card when entering Shenzhen and answered a call from Hong Kong, which within five minutes, it almost ate my entire balance! So it is of extreme importance to purchase separate cards for each destination. The final tip I would like to share is if you dial 1259300852 before you dial a Hong Kong number in China, you will actually save money on your call in Shenzhen. I haven’t been to Hong Kong in several years, but last time I was there, this worked when I had a People’s (Hong Kong China Mobile) SIM Card.
I bought this phone unlocked on Amazon for about $50 USD. The model is a Unnecto U-100-2NA-ECO, it is also known as the Unnecto Eco. It is nothing fancy, but it will definitely get the job done! Plus if I get pick pocketed in Shenzhen, I won’t be as upset loosing this phone as I would be loosing my Nexus One!
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