G1 Episode 3

I just returned from a few days in the United Kingdom where I can report my G1 worked just fine using a UK T-Mobile Pay-as-you-Go SIM but most importantly it required no unlock code. I was pretty happy about that because my unlock code ordered on the Saturday before I left did not show up until 10 days later, just as I returned. It would also seem that since the T-Mobile UK SIM never triggered a request for the unlock password I don't yet have a way to enter it.

I'm also happy to report that T-Mobile UK no longer charges for SIMs - you just have to purchase a minimum of GBP 10.00 of minutes (about $15 right now) - its a good deal for travellers. They also come with 5 days of free web browsing which I didn't discover until after I'd added another 5 to my plan for GBP 2.50. The big problem with Pay-as-you-Go SIMs is that the credits expire after 6-months so if you do not use them the go away and the SIM is deactivated so you'll also lose the phone number. The only away to avoid this is to make a call with the SIM but doing so will probably eat up your minutes as most plans have an upfront or minimum per-day fee.

Finally I was also able to use 3G networking in the UK although it was not as fast as in the Bay Area where I get 800kbps on a regular basis, instead it came in at more like 200kbps down and 25k up - but given that T-Mobile doesn't offer EDGE in the UK it was a lot better than GPRS speeds. I did get the impression that my G1 was eating up more battery than at home even with 3G off, but I couldn't be sure.