[Laughing_Monkey]

... this morning....

A) Could someone please explain the mobile phone system here to me please - apparently there is pre pay and post pay or something?

B) Does anyone know how i go about getting a HKID card? Im going to be studying here (at HKU) for two years and im told that anyone staying here over 180days is legally obliged to get one...

C) And this may seem silly, but is it better (politer) to say hello and thank you in chinese when in a shop or wherever or, considering thats about my total knowledge of chinese so far, to just stick to English...?

[discobay]

A) where are you from? surely they use mobile phones there? Anyway, prepaid and monthly are the options. Prepaid you pay say $100 and the sim card has $100 of usage or thereabouts. You use it and if you want more you can top it up. Monthly means signing a contract with one of the networks and you pay a monthly sum (no really?) for a basic number of minutes of airtime. You go over and you get a larger bill.
B) Yes you will need to contact the HK Immigration Department. Ring 1081 for telephone enquiries in English and ask for their number.
C) Doesn't matter what you say and how you say it you won't get a reply.

[Laughing_Monkey]

well, admittedly ive spent perhaps too long in the westcountry over the years and its slowed me down, but im really from London where yes, we have mobile phones!

If one gets a monthly presumably its cheaper and you get a discount on the phone?

Which is the prefered network here? oh, and where do i buy a phone? Ive heard TsT is the place for cheap electronical goods, but theres a risk it wont work and when you go to return it youll be stonewalled...

[JJexpat]

I say go forward intrepid spirit and slaughter the lanugage with a sincere smile...I do and it opens doors everywhere I go. People laugh, so what. It shows you are not "one of those" gweilos.

[discobay]

Monthly is cheaper if you use it often. Otherwise prepaid is cheaper. Prepaid doesn't give you cheap sms deals whereas you can get some good ones with monthly.
New phones can be bought with a 12-month contract. This is similar to the U.K. You can ofcourse buy the same phones from high street electrical shops the like of Dixons et al. Chances are that these shops will throw in a Hello Kitty pillow (which I would call a punch bag).
Network with the best coverage and prestige is CSL 1010.
You can buy from network providers or other stores like Fortress, Broadway and Gome.

[Mina917]

Laughing Monkey --> It is cheaper to sign a contract and pay monthly. You dont get a phone with the package but sometimes u get a good deal with some selected phone within the mobile phone store.
Best network --> i think most network are about the same, people tend to choose the best monthly plan (cheapest & with the most free minutes). If you are a student i think OneTwoThree have some special discounted packages for student! U can check it out!
U r better off buying a phone or any electronic goods in shops like Fortress, Broadway etc etc..

Oh btw, Welcome to HONG KONG!!!!!
I miss Uk terribly! *sob*

[discobay]

One thing to remember is that HK still has single band GSM networks and they are Peoples and Sunday. The general consensus is that they provide the worst coverage and drop rate for voice and data. 3G is well ... 3G and I wouldn't expect too much.

[Laughing_Monkey]

> ok, so whether i go the prepay or monthly route i still need to buy a phone at full price, so there is no harm in getting a phone and prepay sim whilst checking out the monthly packages...

> As for 3G, I made the catastrophic mistake of getting one of their phones back in blighty.... the less said the better, tho it has to be said, my phone bill dropped over £80 per month when i joined 3, then again, thats to be expected when you cant actually ever make calls....

> Ive (obviously) not been out of the UK long enough to miss it, though i suppose i will, specially the view from the top of Primrose Hill, though i appreachiate that for a world city Londons sky line is pretty flat...

[dropdedfwed]

Originally Posted by Laughing_Monkey

> ok, so whether i go the prepay or monthly route i still need to buy a phone at full price, so there is no harm in getting a phone and prepay sim whilst checking out the monthly packages...

> As for 3G, I made the catastrophic mistake of getting one of their phones back in blighty.... the less said the better, tho it has to be said, my phone bill dropped over £80 per month when i joined 3, then again, thats to be expected when you cant actually ever make calls....

> Ive (obviously) not been out of the UK long enough to miss it, though i suppose i will, specially the view from the top of Primrose Hill, though i appreachiate that for a world city Londons sky line is pretty flat...

re buying fones, if ur not really feeling like shopping too much (Sham Shui Po etc) SmarTone Vodafone has fair discounts on handset prices if u sign a contract. not sure if the other providers do too, but u can check their site:

http://www.smartone-vodafone.com.hk/...lish/index.jsp

re 3G... give it time. yeppo, at present it it pretty sh^^tty, but don't write it off. i cant wait to get the 385kbps internet when it works in more than a just a few places... :0)

hope this helps