Cellphone or Sim Card?

Just bring your existing phone and slap a SIM card in it. Viettel or Mobifone are good.

Since you are American, assuming you have US phone. Is your phone out of contract and unlocked? Then you can buy a sim here. The easiest way is to ask at your hotel, they will direct you to someone (small shop, cart, convenience store). The sim cost me 100.000d, and 3g data 100.000d that lasted over a month, and they will install and set it up for you. For a tourist I think the brand doesn't matter.

If your US phone is tied to a carrier like Verizon because you are still in a purchase contract, I don't think you can activate it with a sim here.  In that case, probably cheaper to buy a phone in the US. (electronics are always list price plus tarriff here). Consider it a vacation expense. A smart phone with at least maps, currency converter, camera, google translate, alarm, world clock, email, facebook, skype or other messaging, travel expense app, agoda, is super convenient.

el_jefe_jef_fay wrote:

an old T-Mobile phone

Yeah make sure it is a GSM phone, you can google your phone mobile and find out.

el_jefe_jef_fay wrote:

Hi guys,

I leave in a little over a week to HCMC, and I am considering buy a sim card and/or a new cellphone. Which one do you recommend me to do?

For the sim card option, I am planning to bring an old T-Mobile phone. Which Vietnamese phone company has the best sim card as well as the best plan? How much do each cost per month? Where are the best places to buy some?

For the other alternative, how much do cellphones cost in Vietnam? Where are the best places to by some?

Both, get a dual sim android phone and local sim. Pay attention to the amount of data, not the text or minutes. It's all abut data these days isn't it.

Which one is better (in terms of overall quality): Viettel or Mobifone?

You seem to be very worried over a small issue. Just grab a prepaid card and activate it, then see if it suits you.

Vietnam carriers use GSM as does T-Mobile. I would say just bring your phone and get a SIM card here. Some phones use a bigger card than others but they have a little cutter that cuts the larger size down the smaller so no worry there either.