I have a friend that lives near byron bay in NSW in eastern
austrailia.  He wants to get a Handsrping treo 300 like I have (mine
works with Cingular).   Will it work?  Can I just send him mine?  Mine
is a gsmphone.  Are all gsms the same?

hi Sherpaj --

I checked the Telstra web site for compatible phones. They list only
the Handspring 270 as compatible with their network. 
http://www.telstra.com.au/mobilenet/phones/features/compare.cfm

I then telephoned Handspring sales (Call 888-565-9393, option 1.
Handspring Sales is open 5am to 9pm PST Monday through Friday, and 9am
to 1pm Saturday.)

The sales rep told me the Treo 300 would NOT work with Telstra, that
it works only in US and Mexico, but that the 270 would, indeed, work
with Telstra.
He went on to say that the two models are essentially the same except
for the types of networks on which they will work.

You can view Treo 270 specs at
http://www.handspring.com/products/treo270/index.jhtml?sub_nav_section=Overview&prod_cat_name=Treo270

Search strategy:  Telstra; Handspring

I hope this meets your friend's needs.

Nellie Bly

excellent.  Thanks!

Let me add a bit more on the technical side why Treo 300 won't work in
Australia.

First, from the Treo 300 technical specification available from
Handspring, Treo 300 uses CDMA 2000 1900MHz network, which is not GSM.

http://www.handspring.com/products/treo300/specs.jhtml

I suspect the Treo 300 you have with Cingular Wireless is also uses
CDMA network, not GSM. All GSM phones use a small, user removable
smart card call "SIM" card. Open the back cover of your Treo 300 and
remove the battery, and see if there is a small SIM card inside.

By contrast, Treo 270 uses GSM 900/1900 MHz network.
http://www.handspring.com/products/treo270/specs.jhtml

When it is used in US, Treo 270 uses the GSM 1900MHz band for the
communication, and when it is in Australia (or everywhere else outside
North America where there is GSM coverage) it will uses the 900MHz
band.

Secondly, although Telstra does have a CDMA network operated in
Australia, from my understanding it uses a slightly different version
of CDMA specification then the one uses in North America.

Telstra also have a policy of refusing to connect any CDMA phone
purchased outside of Australia:

http://www.telstra.com.au/mobilenet/phones/cdmaos.htm

The key for a mobile/wireless phone work in Australia, make sure the
phone uses GSM network (check if there is a user removable SIM card
behind the battery), and it can operates in GSM 900MHz or GSM 1800MHz
band (check with phone manufacturer web site). GSM phones which works
in Europe, Africa or Asia should work in Australia without problems.

powermac