Wednesday, 4th November, 2015
- Day 64/298
- 21%
Today I acquire a second phone plus several SIMs to cover my forthcoming ride across the Gobi.
Gear shopping: Phone & SIMs
Samsung Galaxy A3 (SM-A300F/DS).
Select a photo to display
Keyboard instructions
- Navigate with: LEFT + RIGHT arrows
- Select with: ENTER
- Enlarge with: TAB then ENTER
- Pan with: TAB x2 then LEFT + RIGHT arrows
Shadow Art: The Mongolian Mr Hankey?
Food and Cars themed playground.
Fortified playground.
So they do care about bikes - but only kids ride them here.
Facebook was Mark Zuckerbergʼs second choice. True story.
Not if I see you first.
After work I head out shopping, snapping some random pictures along the way.
Select a photo to display
Keyboard instructions
- Navigate with: LEFT + RIGHT arrows
- Select with: ENTER
- Enlarge with: TAB then ENTER
- Pan with: TAB x2 then LEFT + RIGHT arrows
Samsung Galaxy A3 (SM-A300F/DS).
I'm well aware that my well-being is largely dependent on the good functioning of my iPhone.
In the software world this makes my phone a SPOF, or Single Point of Failure.
Although I'm trying to minimise what I'm carrying, a second phone wouldn't add much in the way of bulk. It would also make my website device testing a lot easier.
So I'm head to Skytel, emerging with a Samsung Galaxy A3.
Specifically, it's a SM-A300F/DS. The last bit is important - DS stands for Dual SIM, which means I can easily switch between two networks without fiddling about with Micro SIM Cards in a dirty/dusty/sandy environment.
The phone costs just under 400 NZD which isn't cheap, but it's still cheaper than my secondhand iPhone SE.
Select a photo to display
Keyboard instructions
- Navigate with: LEFT + RIGHT arrows
- Select with: ENTER
- Enlarge with: TAB then ENTER
- Pan with: TAB x2 then LEFT + RIGHT arrows
Just the bill, thanks.
I already have a Mobicom TEDY Prepaid SIM (GSM network) which I purchased the week I arrived in Mongolia.
But Mongolia is a big place and Mobicom doesn't provide 100% mobile coverage.
So I pick up two additional SIMs for use in my Dual SIM phone:
- A Unitel SIM (GSM network), I think this came with the phone
- A Skytel SIM (HSPA+ & CDMA networks)
In addition, I also still have my SIM from Russia (China wouldn't sell me a SIM) and my Spark SIM from NZ. The latter can be used with expensive roaming data and is necessary to receive 'Online Codes' from my ANZ banking app.
Phone and SIM costs
| Item | ₮ | NZD |
|---|---|---|
| Mobicom TEDY Prepaid SIM, 20,000 Units (08/10) | 10,000 | $7.69 |
| Mobicom TEDY 5GB Data (08/10) | 20,000 | $15.38 |
| Mobicom TEDY 5GB Data | 20,000 | $15.38 |
| Samsung SM-A300F/DS (Unlocked but "Central Asia & Mongolia SIM Card Only") | 500,000 | $384.50 |
| Skytel SIM, NZ ₮ 770/minute | 10,000 | $7.69 |
| Skytel 10,000 Units | 10,000 | $7.69 |
| Skytel 5GB Data | 20,000 | $15.38 |
| Spark SIM (from NZ) | - | - |
| Unitel SIM | ? | |
| Unitel 10,000 Units + 2GB Data | 25,000 | $19.23 |