[JASJAR, XDA Exec, MDA Pro General] mobiler:
Ok I am pissed of as hell. Enjoy the reading, I certaily enjoyed writing it, well not exactly enjoyed but released some pressure in hope that fellow xda-developers lovers would symphatize with my case.

Here's my story:

Three months ago I came to Istanbul, Turkey and inserted a Turkish SIM into my Jasjar to enjoy the low rated and avoid the obsene roaming rates, especially that I use GRPS.

So far so good.

A month later I came in from my country this time to Antalya city. Suddently I notice my Jasjar doesn't have a signal. And I really needed the phone at the airport. Thinking my Jasjar is damaged I went nuts.

A few days later I am eating lunch with my Turkish friend, telling him how depressed I am that my Jasjar ain't working and then he says this thing that Turkish Government blocks mobile phones that were not purchased in Turkey in brought in. I was shocked as this sounds peculiar. But it was true my phone was blocked.

After calling TurkCell GSM provider and asking them about it, I was told I have to go to the customs with my machine, an invoice proving my machine is mine and my passport. GOD Who keeps an invoice from that long ago? Needless to say, do you usually go with your Jasjar invoice in your pocket when you go overseas ??? I don't think so!

I purchased this machine out of my own money and it was a legitimate machine! I had someone fax an invoice from my home country to my Turkish residence. I went with the invoice to the customs then they said it's not good because it's not original!! THESE PEOPLE ARE REALLY SOMETHING!

I didn't have the original so my girlfriend had to fight with them for 4 hours (YES 4 hours) and I waited downstairs at about 37 degrees C. They told her she has to pay 150 EURO !!!! What??? They hardly spoke any English so she didn't understand if that was a bribe or taxes, but she paid because they said if she pays they will give the documents so the government could unblock my IMEI.

Leaving after hours with 150 EUR less in my pocket I headed to a Turkcell center where I gave the customs papers and was told that in about 10 days my machine would be open again. I was still amazed that I had to pay 150 EUR for my own JASAR even though I am NOT a Turkish citizen but a tourist. Doesn't sound fair to treat tourists that way.

After 15 days of waiting my Jasjar is still blocked. But guess what I figured it out, they now unblocked my Jasjar but only for my home country Roaming SIM!! Could you believe it? I paid a lot of money to have my own phone only to be opened to my own country and not to Turkish SIM. This is a crazy country.

I neglected the use of my Jasjar out of frustration.

Then my dear Turkish friend meet me one day and tells me he heard on the radio as well as read the legal papers on the internet that the law of blocking IMEIs in Turkey has been cancelled since there were a lot of tourists crying at TurkCell centered of having their phones blocked because they inserted a turkish sim.

So I really loved my Jasjar, so I called in a store and pre-ordered a NEW jasjar hoping that now my machine won't be blocked because it's a new Jasjar and obviously since they no longer block IMEIs I can use a new jasjar, yes the price is high (buying a new machine) but I really need the connectivity of the jasjar and the great keyboard.

So I go about paying $100 downpayment to have a new Jasjar imported to my home country so that a friend could bring it over from there when he comes to visit me in Turkey. I should get my new Jasjar in only a few days and then pay the rest of the money for it.

THEN THE BREAKING NEWS:

My girlfriend who owns my previous PDA2K comes home this noon as furious as hell and as red as a tomato telling me that she got an SMS to her PDA2K today saying that on August 25th her machine IMEI is going to bocked!!! That's tomorrow!!!

HEY! But what about the law they said they cancelled? Well it's all a lie, they still block IMEI. I called in and cancelled the new Jasar I just ordered, loosing the $100 downpayment. This country still block people IMEI.

They use the IMEI in a negative manner. IMEI blocking was meant to block phones that are stolen. That is, if I steal a phone from someone in Turkey he could call in and ask it blocked, that's a legitimate use of IMEI blocking. But blocking tourists phones that were purchased with their hard earned money legitimately in their home country is real scandal. Not to talk about the fact that they said the law is no longer active.

Here you have the first country in the world where IMEI changing would probably be considered legitimate as a defence against ones freedom. If it was that easy I would have changed the IMEI whenever my machine got blocked, after all I paid very generously for my legitimate PDA.

Thanks for reading.

Mobiler