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Take Care When Buying A
Cellular Telephone
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as Icon |
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Take Care When Buying A
Cellular Telephone
Next Monday the
Instituto Costarricense
de Electricidad (ICE)
will put on sale 300.000
new GSM cellular
telephone lines, in time
for the Christmas
season, when many give
the gift of a cellular
telephone. As such, the
Associación
Representates
Autorizadas de
Fabricates Celulares (ASOFAC)
warns consumers to be
careful.
Alfredo Sasso and
Verónica Palomo,
representing the ASOFAC,
warns that there are
cellular vendors in the
market who are selling
used or rebuilt cellular
telephones for new and
once the consumer has a
problem, there is no one
to accept the
manufacturer's
guarantee.
ASOFAC was established a
number of years ago
grouping cellular
telephone importers. The
importers belonging to
ASOFAC guarantee the
consumers that the
cellular telephone is
new and covered under
the manufacturer's
guarantee.
The Association is made
up of the different
importers and
distributors of cellular
telephones like
Motorola, Nokia, Sony
Ericsson and LG, for
example, and assure
consumer confidence that
the cellular telephone
is original, new and
works with the ICE
network without
problems.
The danger in buying a
rebuilt telephone is
that consumers are
paying the price for new
when in fact it is used.
In the case of
non-approved cellular
telephones there is no
recourse if the unit
will not work properly
with the ICE network.
ICE has an approved list
of telephones that will
work without problems
with its network, in
some cases the units
software had to be
modified by the importer
or distributor to be
approved for use in
Costa Rica.
Non-approved cellular
telephones can work in
Costa Rica, though they
may experience problem
with coverage, and
signal.
The ASOFAC recommends
that consumers check the
approved list for the
units software if the
unit does not come with
an ASOFAC sticker on the
box. The list of
approved cellular
telephones can be found
on the ICE website at:
http://grupoice.com/esp/serv/per/cel/sercli/aparatos_gsm_aceptados_ice.htm#
Another advantage of
connecting an approved
GSM cellular telephone
is ICE's ability to
block the serial number
of a stolen phone,
making it impossible for
a cellular telephone
reported stolen to be
connected to the ICE
network.
Although TDMA cellular
lines are still
available, the older
technology is being
phased out in Costa
Rica, as around the
world, and the TDMA
cellular telephones are
no long being
manufactured.
There are all kinds of
cellular telephones for
every kind of user on
the market. High end
cellular telephones
include high resolution
cameras, Wi-Fi, video
conferencing, a feature
that cannot be taken
advantage of because of
ICE's network
restrictions.
Cellular telephones have
become more than just a
tool to make and receive
calls away from home or
the office. Cellular
telephones like the iPod
and Blackberry have
become an important tool
not only for
communications, but also
for organizing ones time
and activities and
entertainment.
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The Blackberry, though
still not available in
Costa Rica, including a
camera, BlackBerry®
Maps, a media player,
expandable memory,
Voice-Activated Dialing,
tethered modem and
trackball navigation.
Plus email and text
messaging, instant
messaging, web browser
and advanced phone
functionality. |
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