Peace Corps Thailand requires all volunteers to have a working cell phoneas part of the Emergency Action Plan. The cellular networks here are reasonably good, and so the phones form one of the most basic means of communication infrastructure for volunteers.

But not all cell phones are the same. Just like in America, the phones in Thailand can range from the very basic to the obscenely fancy. It all depends on what you want to do with your phone.

If you just want a basic phone that works well but doesn't include fancy doo-dads, a lot of volunteers like the Nokia 1112. With its black and white (sometime black and green) screen, this candy-bar-style phone is fine for making calls or sending and receiving text messages. It even does call waiting, tracks up to ten reminders, and has an alarm clock. Depending on where you buy it, retail cost tends to be somewhere between 1600 and 1800 baht, leaving enough of the Peace Corps phone stipend left over for you to fill up the phone with money for future calls. This was the phone of choice for many 119ers, and we discourage you from trying to find something significantly cheaper (a volunteer in 119 had problems with her 1200 baht phone).

When volunteers start looking for fancier phones, it's usually because they're seeking an internet connection. The multitude of phones that offer that capability defy a thorough write-up in a short space, but there are a few basic things you'll want to look for:

1. GPRS or EDGE. This is the name of the technologies that connect your phone to the internet. GPRS is the older technology, and so will likely come on the less expensive phones. So far as the ICT GIG has ever been able to determine, connection speeds locally are based on the cellular networks' infrastructure, not on the kind of technology being used to connect to the networks. Don't splurge just to get EDGE.
2. A way of connecting your phone to your computer. It can handy to check your e-mail from your phone, but most likely you'll want to have a way of getting your computer involved as well. You'll want to make sure your phone either comes with a USB connector cable or else has a built-in bluetooth radio. If it doesn't come with the cable, don't expect that you'll be able to buy one somewhere else.
3. Possibly: a bluetooth connector for your laptop. Having a cellphone with bluetooth radio is only useful if your laptop also has bluetooth radio. A new enough laptop might actually have this built-in. If not, a USB bluetooth dongle costs just 200 baht--a drop in the bucket compared to how much your phone will cost. The dongle should come with a small CD for you to use to install the appropriate drivers on your computer.

There are plenty of other fancy options people look for in their phones tend to include. The ICT GIG leaves it to you to decide the personal value of the possibilities in the following non-comprehensive list:

• The ability to take pictures/movies (rate value based on megapixels and the phone's memory size, just like on a regular digital camera)
• FM radio
• Games (most phones come with at least a few)
• Color screen/larger screen
• mp3 playback (again, phone memory size should play a role in deciding--a standard song can be 2 to 5 MB)
• Advanced contact organizer (all phones should have at least a basic organizer)
• Calendar system (the Nokia 1112 only lets you set 10 reminders or less)
• Hands-free headset

To give you a couple of concrete examples of more advanced phones, TCCO 119er Maria Tursi uses a Motorola C390 to connect to the internet. It cost about 3,000 baht and came with a USB cable. For more information about its features, you'll have to ask her when you meet her.

CBOD 119er John Jerger (also of ICT GIG), by contrast, spent about 4,000 baht to purchase a Nokia 2760 clamshell phone. He connects it to his computer by bluetooth. Technically it has all of the capabilities listed above, but they're rather limited by the 10 MBstorage capacity. He likes that he can make his own background pictures and ringtones. He really appreciates the hands-free headset, which allowed him to discover how to do phone conferencing.