At&t Tilt China Mobile/At&t compatible?

[RG7548]

After some contimplation between a PDA and a Smartphone - I have decided to go with the At&t Tilt. I am currently living in China using a China Mobile telephone but will return to the states in mid-2009. It is cheapest to upgrade my current At&t phone to a Tilt (200USD) rather than buy a new one or ebay the phone. If I upgrade my At&t account to a Tilt will I be able to use my China Mobile sim? Basically I want to switch Sims (use China sim/number in China use USA sim/number in USA). Easily said but what problems can this cause?
Sorry for the newb question but want to make a decision on this ASAP. And get Pleco'ing.
Thanks!

 

[ldolse]

If it's specifically the Tilt as sold by AT&T It's most likely locked so that it can't use any other SIM. That said, if you're willing to void your warranty then you can probably get the software to hack it yourself at this website:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/ - just find the forum for the Tytn II/Kaiser.

Alternatively there are plenty of vendors in Asia that will unlock it for you if you're not up for doing it yourself. Can't really help you on finding one though... Probably easier in Hong Kong than in PRC, but I'm sure there are plenty of places to get it done there too.

 

[ipsi]

Alternatively, you could just tell AT&T that you're going overseas and see if they're willing to provide an unlock code. I understand they'll charge a fee, but don't object if you're a customer in good standing. That's the most expensive way, but will probably cause you the least amount of trouble should you need to send it back to AT&T for whatever reason.

 

[RG7548]

Thanks for the response on this post:
Any idea on how expensive this might become? I would rather have At&t unlock the phone for me. Shoud I just tell them that I am traveling overseas and need to use a China Mobile Sim? Or hide the fact that I will be just using them for the phone upgrade.
200 is a much better deal than 400 for an ebay unlocked tilt.
Thanks!

 

[ipsi]

I haven't the faintest idea how much it would cost. $50 rings a bell, but you'd be better off searching/asking on the forums of somewhere like http://www.wmexperts.com, where there's a lot more people with AT&T experience.

 

[RG7548]

Great thanks for the answer. I think At&t will send me the unlock code for free. I am continuing to pay my plan while I am living in the US so basically they are committing me for another 2 years and only giving up a little $$ on the phone.
One more question -
How does the Tilt's screen/stylus fair against some PDAs out there. Really the only reason I want the Tilt is to run Pleco and some other basic functions. Is the screen on the Tilt comparable to that of a high end PDA. How comfortable is it writing on the Tilt. I feel as though the Tilt will have a more Iphone feel and a PDA will feel a bit more "plasticy".
Thanks!