elz1

Does anyone know about renting a cell phone while we are in Europe? We are coming in and out of Amsterdam and would like to rent one that I can use all over Europe. My local provider here in the US does not do international and I read about getting an unlocked phone on ebay but that sounds very complicated.

Robespierre

I wonder why you think buying a phone on eBay is "very complicated." You search for very basic (no-frills) phones with these specifications:

900/1800 mHz
GSM
Unlocked
Dual-voltage charger

Shop sellers who have at least 99% positive feedback and several hundred transactions. I just found some completed auctions for less than $30.

Then order a SIM from united-mobile.com

You're done.

luvwaldo

Why does the phone need to be unlocked?

Robespierre

If it's locked to a specific carrier, it won't work with anyone else's SIM.

Montana1911

I think its best to just get an unlocked GSM phone and buy a global sim card. This way you can use the phone in all of Europe and have much lower calling rates. Go to www.oneroam.co.uk, www.telestial.com, www.rangeroamer.com, or www.travelsim.com, they have the best products.

richardsonsnm

i'm just wondering how many posts need to ask the same question over and over?

judybarnes

Robespierre, thanks for those technical details. I'm going to look for two of those phones to have for traveling. I've never done ebay before, but my hubby is an expert!

ekscrunchy

saving cause one day I will break down and buy a cell phone to use overseas...

Robespierre

If you're near the end of your present cellular contract, look at the offerings from wirefly.com - there are usually dozens of free quad-band phones from many carriers.

Cingular and T-Mobile provide roaming on their own networks in Europe.

Note that wirefly has a shabby record with regard to paying rebates promptly - so if you use them, keep all your receipts and other documentation and prepare yourself for a long wait.

patandhank

Take a look at www.mobal.com - we bought one of these phones before we left for our European cruise. It worked great! Easy to use and you're only billed for the calls you make. Highly recommended! We'll be taking it with us to France in April and China in Sept.

judybarnes

Did you get the $49 one? I want to buy two so would be happy to get the cheapest if it works.

nanj

So is $1.25/min the cheapest rate to/from europe? I guess we're spoiled by .03 cents per minute from US to Europe.

patandhank

Nope - we bought the $99 one because if you notice the $49 doesn't do the U.S. We didn't want to have to carry two cells phones.

The phone is really easy to use. All you have to do is make one call a year to keep it activated. Used it while we were in Italy without any problem.

lonestarcars

We rented from Adams phones while in Scotland,they deliver to your hotel,just google it1

lbruns01

I bought one from telestial. They are a phone company that sells cell phones and sim cards. They are great. Just tell them where you're going and they will set you up with sim cards etc.

xyz123

Be aware that when you buy from telestial, you are paying at least three times the price you will pay for a sim card then if you wait and buy it upon arrival...and telestial may restrict your choice in carrier and not necessarily use the best carrier in a country.

Their prices for phones are also high....check out ebay.

judybarnes

1) We don't want to make or receive calls from the U.S. If I'm traveling with my husband we want to be able to contact each other if we get separated. We had a very stressful experience last time we traveled together and I'd like to avoid that in the future.
2) If I'm not traveling with my husband then I'm with son and with my sister and her husband who reside in England and have cell phones with British "area code." I want to be able to call them if we separate.
3) I read something by poster on another forum who complained that his $49 Mobal phone, which I believe he ordered from the U.S. before traveling, had a British phone # so when he used the phone in Italy, it was quite costly. If that were true for our Mobal phone, it wouldn't bother me since I'd be using the phone to call the other Mobal phone we buy or my sister's British #.
4) Whatever phone we choose, my family averages two trips to England or Europe each year so the phone would get used 2-4 weeks per year.
5) On a very lengthy and complicated thread on this topic on this forum I read about www.prepaidgsm.net which I'm now going to investigate. We're leaving Dec. 14 for Italy to meet my sister so I've got to get moving on this.

I welcome your ideas! Now you understand how I want to use the phone.

pompa1

I gotta get one of these

judybarnes

I just phoned Mobal, and if I'm using their phone in Italy to call my sister with her British cell phone, it'll cost $1.50 per minute. To call the second Mobal phone would be (I think) $1.25 per minute. Or that was the cost to call Italy. Still investigating.

xyz123

Since you're in England a couple of times a year and since you're leaving in less than 2 weeks, here's what I would do.

I would wait till I get to England, go into a Virgin megastore, and buy the cheapest phone along with a virgin mobile sim pack. Virgin mobile sim packs cost very little and for the most part all you have to pay for are phone calls...calls to landlines in the UK cost 15p/minute (timed in 1 second intervals though with a 5p minimum) for the first 5 minutes of use each day, 5p/minute thereafter again timed to the nearest second with a 5p minimum. Calls to North America are only 20p/minute timed in 1 second intervals with a 5p minimum again and count towards the 5 minutes of use...calls to other mobiles on other networks in the UK are 40p/minute. While you are in England, get the phone unlocked.

When you get home, you can investigate an international sim card since roaming with a virgin mobile sim is quite expensive.

Another alternative you can read about while in the UK is Mobile World...5p/minute to call the USA, 15p/minute to call other phones in the UK either landline or mobile but timings are raised to the next highest minute. Mobile World sims are free, you pay only for the time you use but it has a very limited life (90 days) and does not allow roaming outside the UK.j Virgin mobile sims are good for 180 days and to keep them active, all you need do is send 1 text message within the 180 day period, very easy to do.

Do be aware that the eu is giving mobile companies in Europe a hard time and intra eu roaming rates may be dropping very soon.

You can also consider O2 while in the UK...again sim is very cheap...calls within the UK are priced about the same as Virgin.....you can bundle a plan with them to make cheaper calls to the USA or you can get a calling card and dial the local London number (0207....) and pay local rates and calling card rates. They allow roaming and they a plan which make and receive calls for 35p/minute (70¢ US) while roaming throughout Europe.

The forum at www.prepaidgsm.net has people from all over the world who are very knowledgeable about local conditions in Europe who will help you and the advice they give, unlike much of the wrong advice some know nothings throw out on this forum, will be correct and most helpful.