Cell phones: Sony Ericsson w800i Compatibility

A couple of points

First off, no one's getting paid to be here (generally) so please don't expect anyone to fall over themselves to answer any particular question.

However, given that no one else has ventured a reply to your question so far, I'm willing to give it a shot. To wit, your W800i should function with any of the US' GSM providers, like Cingular or T-Mobile. However, judging from the performance of my previous Sony-Ericsson T300, I'm guessing you will find somewhat degraded reception here, compared to the UK. This is because your phone has only one of the two frequencies used in the States, and the one it has is less used (1900 mHz.). Whether this is a problem for you will depend on what service provider you use, and where you are (if you stay in a metropolitan area, you ought to be okay).

I cannot tell you what problems you might face in dealing with a new cell service, since I don't know anything about UK cell providers or their service plans. I can tell you that Cingular has currently the largest GSM network in the US, which might be an indicator of overall best chance of signal reception. If you've read this forum long enough, though, you may well note there is no unanimity of opinion about the "best" service provider.

Good luck.