Sigmo translator for the future?

We do have a basic understanding of Spanish and can usually make ourselves understood - and we can usually understand. Sorry - but that was not the question.

We do have a Telcel throwaway phone as well as a banda ancha. Sorry - but again that was not the question either.

This device is not even available yet but appears it will not work with all phones. I am really not clear about how it works and if anyone knows how or if it works. I am also not clear about which phones it might work on. This device will not be ready before we leave this year but brings up questions about the possibility of other devices - as well as how to use this one when it does become available.

The point has also been brought up above that even if the SIM is changed in Mexico a Verizon phone will not work but an AT&T will. I am wondering if anyone can clarify any of this in a way that anyone reading this forum who may have these same questions might understand.

I am trying to open a discussion about using this device or something similar and/or phones or other devices that might work when we are out and about and get stuck for a word we may not know and/or is not in our dictionary.

This also brings up questions others on this forum might have about which US phones (or Canadian phones) can be used in Mexico if a Mexico SIM is installed in our existing phones.

I do not understand these things so these are the questions I ask. Once again - we do have basic Spanish and we keep practicing whenever we can. We also have Mexico throw away phones and banda ancha.

briansue wrote:
A new device showed up on the internet for translating languages with the capability of verbal translation. There may be other such devices. This has probably been covered before but things change and technology moves on. FIRST this thing says it will not be ready for the public until January 2014. It says it works with Android and iPhone

Try and learn some Espanol. All you need is a few hundred words and few pages of grammar. And to memorize this, of course. You won't understand much of what they are saying, but you will understand some and will be able to express yourself.

Those voice translation devices don't work well in a desktop PC with internet connection. It won't work any better via cell phone data connection. Even written/typed text doesn't work well, robots just don't have enough flexibility. You will get Spanish "el" translated as "the" when it really means "he", and vice versa. In a pinch, this device could be useful, but only as the last resort because it can and will make mistakes and it won't tell you when.

For a cell phone, I just don't call when I'm "there". Other gringos use AT&T or prepaid Telcel throw-away phone available in Mex stores.

Take out battery & see if it has a SIM card which can be removed. If it does, go to that website I linked above, pay the $12 to get it unlocked and then put a Telcel SIM in. If not, stop in a US Walmart on your way down & get an AT&T go phone and go to that site & unlock for $12.

This one works well Link

The AT&T GoPhone also roams on Telcel at 25 cents a minute, if you prefer that way.

I really do not understand a lot of this technical stuff. I do know what a SIM card is as far as what it looks like and that it can be taken in and out of a phone. But I don't really know what it does. As far as I can tell it somehow identifies the phone as being a specific number and working in certain areas - or whatever.

We do not have an iPhone or any such device - just basic phones which we rarely use anyway. We are not very good at using them but do find them useful from time to time. We don't need any of the other bells and whistles. But we might be interested in one of these translators if and when they do come out and if they actually work.

So for those of us who are technologically challenged and do not understand this stuff could those who respond do so with something along the lines of "Dialing for Dummies" so we have some idea of what is being talked about.

I guess that was what I was trying to ask in my first post - what does all this mean and how does it work. Maybe it is time for us to move into this century or millennium but we are not there yet so are asking for help in layman's terms. SIM - Locked - Unlocked - 4s - 5c - all mysteries we are asking for help understanding - as well as whether anyone knows anything about these or any other translations devices - and especially devices that do not require online connections to work since we are often in areas where internet is not available.

Hope that clarifies the initial questions.

I got Verizon to unlock my 4s last year for no charge just by asking. Bought a sim at the Telcel Centro store in Hermosillo and after a 2 hour wait for the phone to be activated in Mexico City it worked great both voice and data (hotspot) for the 5 more months we were in Mexico.

I plan to do the same with my new 5c. According to the Verizon tech rep all of their 4G phones are unlocked from the factory.

You can pay about $12 and get your phone unlocked on the net. i had my AT&T goPhone ( the $29 dollar one that looks like a Blackberry) unlocked this way and tested it with a virgin SIM card in Canada, it worked.

I used This site

Ingles o Español, don't matter I need subtitles. Or one of those curly brass tuba thingees to stick in my ear and go ¿Eh? when someone says something. Works great being deef. I roll slowly past puntas de revision aduanas, they yell "Alto!" Parate! Dejala! but I keep on rolling. Couldn't get away with that 20 years ago.

The phone has to be unlocked. Most carriers have it locked and charge you to unlock it.
Second it has to be the same system as ATT not Verizon. Unless Verizon changed systems with their newer phones in the past few years.
It's probably cheaper to buy a phone and card from Telcel if your phone is locked.