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I just got a sony W800i and it does every thing but make phone calls! I was told the 900 GSM band is not in the U.S. so I'm running only on the 1900 band and I live in maine so I need all the towers I can get. Now I need to get a new ''New'' phone!
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Unfortunately most phones with the designation "I" after the model indicates it is an international phone and will most likely lack the 850 Mhz band. However if it has the designation "A" it will most likely lack the 900 Mhz band.
I believe the reason there are different cell phone channels is because they're used differently. In most of the world, they have 900 and 1800 mHz channels, one for use in urban areas, and another for rural areas (I don't remember which is which). In North America, it's the 850 and 1900 mHz channels. Your typical tri-band GSM handset is, as you've found out, 900, 1800, and 1900 mHz., which is obviously great if you're in Europe, but will give you spotty coverage in the US since you have only half the frequencies you can use.
So what you're looking for is a tri-band phone with 850, 1800, 1900 mHz. channels, or if you have illusions about world travel, then a quad-band cell containing 850, 900, 1800, and 1900 bands.
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