Where to buy a phone in Paris?

Edwards Finance > Phones

Q. I'll be visiting Paris the first week of April, and I want to buy an Ericsson T39, which they don't sell in the USA. Can anyone recommend a good shop which would have this phone at a good price? I'll need it 'unlocked' so that I can use my existing SIM card.

A. Normally a phone can be unlocked with a code or can be brought to a technician who can do it for a small fee, it generally isn't a problem having a phone unlocked, check on the internet to make sure. As was said, most phones are heavily subsidised so that you are tied to a contract for a year, if you work it out though, more often than not it is still cheaper to buy the phone on the contract and not use the sim than to buy the handset only, you will just have to remember to write to the company in a years time to cancel the contract. Nevertheles to phone in France you don't absolutely need to take a yearly contract. You can use too some pre-paid phone cards (chip cards) called "mobicartes". When you buy a phone they put inside a SIM card containing a first amount of time. Then you just have to buy mobicartes in tobaconists, etc... or in special vending machines called SELFOO now found in public spaces. There's a number written on the card. You type(compose) it on your phone with the keys and it re-loads your mobile phone for a choosen amount of time according to the mobicarte you have bought. There are 3 main networks in France wich are Itineris (France telecom), Bouygues Telecom and SFR. You can find rather easily some phone shops in Paris in shopping or touristic areas. There are shops of these 3 companies, of which the first is half public, and some shops of other private distributors. But they told me that the minimum price of the mobile phone kits are normally fixed by the 3 company who own the networks. So the price of the same kits seem to differ mainly because of the phones price themselves. I didn't asked precisely. The mobicarte system with no contract was invented in France in 1997 and represents now half of the french market. But if you have already a phone I don't know if you can buy JUST the SIM card allowing the payment with mobicartes and ask them to put it in your tri-band phone. Apparently it should be possible because logically you can change of company but keep your previous phone. Ask to Mxsmanics or someone who knows.

Ask Edwards a Finance Question

Other Questions:

Business Telephone Equipment ?

What kind of salary and commission structures can a person entering the Business Telephone Sales industry expect?I am curious about major corporations as well as smaller VAR type reselling positions. For comparison purposes, I am primarily ...

Well, my two-year contract with Cingular/AT&T finally ran up two weeks ago, and, naturally, my cell phone died today. I'm ready to move to another service. Anybody got T-Mobile? If so, how do you like it, and how is the coverage?I have T-...

Why does cell phone service cost MORE than landline service? I can get a basic no frills wired phone service for abt $15 a month. Now doesn't a wired phone require way more "infrastructure" in the form of wire and telephone polls and such...

I wonder if you can deduct a cell-phone bought just for business travel as a business expense? I was once told by my accountant that if I had another phone installed (I have two now) that only one could be used as a business expense. (I though...

A lot of dust comes from the phones when the phone company cleans the lines. Around here they warn us to put plastic bags over the phones. Strangely they usually do this operation right at the beginning of April. Telephone wires are like hea...

Edwards Finance Menu

Ask a Question
About Us / Me
Contact Me
Privacy Policy

Sitemap

My Favorite Sites

PFBlog
Google Finance
Yahoo Finance
Motley Fool
Nveille's Financial Blog
AllFinanceMatters
Free Money Finance
2MillionBlog
The Terror Finance blog

Q&A Subjects