Best Place to Purchase/Rent Cell Phone for International Travel
 

I've done some reading, and it seems like everyone is pointing to ebay - is this still the case? I found a bundled option for $40 + $10 shipping that includes a A55 dual-band GSM phone, SIM card and $10 credit. It's ekit's store on ebay. Can anyone tell me if this is what I need? The hope is to purchase 2 - one for my DH and I, and the other for the couple we are traveling with. Thanks in advance!

Dual band is not what you want - go for quad band, and look for one that is unlocked so you can use a SIM from any provider.
Ebay is good to purchase a phone, but you will still need a service provider. With bundled purchases such as you describe, you need to know what provider's SIM is included. That $10 credit can evaporate quickly of you are paying high per minute prices.
We have used www.callineurope.com for the last year and have been pleased. Your choice will be influenced by where you plan to travel.

Thank you! I feel so silly that I can't figure this out on my own.

I also used CallinEurope and was very pleased. We purchased two phones and the total for the time we were in Europe was 30.00 USD. (not including the phones which we not expensive).

Check the promo on Telestial.com

They offer a quad phone, with Sim card ,some time credit (plus your family in the US can call you for free for 45 mins I think) for $39 plus shipping.

I bought it last year and worked great.

Cellular Abroad <http://www.cellularabroad.com/> is another good choice.

ebiddix...

What are your travel plans? The A55 will function perfectly but whether the sim package is right for you depends on your itinerary.

For example, if you were going to the UK, well the UK providers are all but giving away sim packages with some exceptional values for calls from the UK back to North America...as little as 2p/minute.

Logos can tell you about bargains in Germany although a knowledge of German is important for that.

OTOH if you're visiting several countries, the ekit might be a good value.

For a basic phone, although dated, the A55 and other very cheap phones of its ilk will function perfectly in Europe and throughout most of the world. You may also, depending on your local carrier, already have a phone that will work perfectly in Europe if it is or can be unlocked...many providers upgrade phones every year and instead of throwing out the old phone, if it's a gsm phone with at least one of the European frequencies, it might function perfectly too.

Give us a bit more info about your trip and perhaps we can give you a better idea of good ways to handle it.

But one thing for sure, as things go along, more and more people will understand the value of having their own mobile (the European term for a cell) phone with them on a trip!

<i>Author: Seamus
Date: 01/23/2009, 02:08 pm

Dual band is not what you want - go for quad band, and look for one that is unlocked so you can use a SIM from any provider. </i>

A quad band phone would be a waste of money unless you're going to use it in the US with AT&amp;T or T-Mobile (the only domestic carriers who use the same technology as Europe). Europe only has two bands, 900 and 1800mHz.

The telestial.com deal is the best I've seen for a phone, although their minute rates aren't particularly outstanding.

If you're going to Germany, get two SIMs from www.smobil.de, and you can talk to each other for 1&cent;/minute.

In the UK, I use www.t-mobile.co.uk (their internet service is &pound;2.50 for 5 days).

you can save yourself getting a special travel phone if, as Robespierre says, you have T-mobile or ATT for your regular cell phone service. Just make sure you get a quad band phone and activate the international service before you go away. The usage is pricey - about $1min - but if you are just using it to have a phone and check in with your family or make reservations but not long discussions, this may be the cheapest option. My husband and I did that with our T-mobile phones and our bill was about $50. But we didn't have to buy a second set of phones or sim card or anything.

Like Sally30, I just activated my AT&amp;T international service on my quadband phone (Sony Ericsson). I had a last minute trip to France, and I wanted my regular phone number, and access to my emails and internet without taking a computer. Two days before I left, I activated the AT&amp;T World Traveler for $5.99, and the data global add-on for $24.99. When I got to Paris, I turned on my phone, and it automatically switched over to Orange FR service, with the correct local time. I only made several very short calls (only 1 or 2 minutes max at $1 per minute). I used my internet access and emails daily, and I was worried about the $$, since I had no idea about GBs per second that I was using. When I got my bill, I was amazed, because there were no extra fees, apart from the original $24.99 for data global access. I was very pleased, and it suited my needs.

I am so glad that this question was asked because I have also been thinking of buying a cell phone. With apologies for barging in, can someone recommend a phone for me. Here are the facts; let me know if you need more info:

I cannot use my USA cellphone in Europe

I would like to have a phone that would work throughout Europe (Italy, Spain and France are the countries I travel to most frequently) and parts of Asia. If the Asia piece complicates things, leave that part out.

I would like to purchase the phone, and then buy the card for each separate country,according to my travel plans. My next trip, for which I hope to have the phone,will be to Italy, arriving at Malpensa airport. Can I buy a phone and then buy the card at the airport? Will the vendor install it for me?

The phone would be used in case of emergencies while driving, and occasional calls to restaurants and hotels. We would not plan to make calls back to the US, except in case of emergency. I would not need to have the number in advance of departure and I don't mind if the number changes from trip to trip. I do not need to receive calls from the US on this phone, except in case of emergency. (I can be contacted through my hotels)

With that in mind, can someone recommend a phone for me to purchase? Or am I better off renting on a trip by trip basis?

Many thanks!

Wow! Lots of answers since yesterday...thanks!

To answer some questions...I cannot use my existing phone in Europe.

We will be in Southwest Ireland and Rome.

Does that help anyone point me in the specific direction? It sounds like dual band is ok for what I am looking for.

I was advised to buy the cheapest phone (in Europe) and a pay as you go card. I have no idea if that would work. Have not yet tried it.

Maybe for a longer stay????

I took my tmobile phone ( quad band) with me and had it unlocked and I just bought phone cards in Hungary and Germany that went into the phones..It worked great and when I went to Paris I just used my original Tmobile USA card and had int'l calling enabled and used that to call home. It was easy and quite inexpensive....hope that this info is helpful.

ekscrunchy: I'm no cell phone expert, but for what it's worth I bought a Blackberry a couple of years ago and have an AT&amp;T account. The phone works beautifully almost everywhere in the world (on safari in Kenya last year, in India a few months ago, and all over Europe). When I'm getting set to travel I go to an AT&amp;T store and purchase a roaming plan, which is I think about $50 a month. That gets me reduced per-minute costs, which differ from country to country. It can get expensive if you use the phone, as I do, also for emails and the occasional text message, but the ease-of-use factor is of great value to me, as I'm always working no matter where in the world I am, and need to be in touch with a lot of people; if I can't get wifi or a decent internet connection from someplace, I can use the Blackberry to get on the internet. And you can check out Fodors from wherever you are too, which is of course an added benefit!

I also just generally like the Blackberry features.

danon,
That's what we did in Dublin, and it worked just fine. We topped it off a couple of times. We plan to do the same in Paris.

Sandy

I have a spare quad-band phone I loan to Fodorites who need one for a single use.

My email handle is <b>paristransfers</b> and my webmail server is <b>yahoo</b>.

imperialtopaz - that global data plan for 25/mo you purchased - were you able to cancel it on return? When I inquired AT&amp;T said it was a minimum one year contract.

StCirq - I love my Blackberry, too. It's what I use with the SIM from CallinEurope. AT&amp;T provided the codes to unlock it. The BB data service is additional but pretty cheap (and LOTS cheaper than AT&amp;T) and they have a plan that lets you have calls to your US # automatically forwarded.

Seamus, I often find that some of the AT&amp;T reps are better informed than others. Both my world traveler and my data global add-on were for one month's time. As soon as I returned, I cancelled both extra plans. You can add them on again with a couple of day's notice. Ask for the international reps at AT&amp;T wireless. I have a Sony Ericcson, and I was able to look at emails, text, and use the internet with the data plan. I actually used that more than the phone.

ekscrunchy

I have been researching cell phones for an upcoming trip to Egypt in March. Next week I will be purchasing a phone from mobalphone.com. They sell you the phone $49 or $99 US and you pay by the minute for use. There are no roaming charges, no monthly fees. The per minute charges are higher, but I like the idea on having the same phone number (it is a UK number) always. The phone is useful in 140 or 180 countries (depending on the choice of phone). For me (since I am not overly technical) this is a great answer. I don't have to purchase any SIM cards ever or have them expire in three months. Good luck to you on your purchase. Please let us know what you end up doing.

tC

I rented from Verizon last year. It was very inexpensive with no daily fixed amount. Texting was super cheap. I got to keep my same cell phone number.

Two years ago I rented from Verizon also. It was very expensive, with daily fixed costs and a high per-minute rate.

thanks Sandy.

Please let us know if the same phone works in Paris.
I assume most of Europe is on the same frequency(????)
Does anyone know?

If that is the case ,we'll buy a phone there on our next trip.

&gt;most of Europe is on the same frequency(????)
The world (that includes Europe) is on the same two GSM frequency bands, except for very few exotic places like the USA.

The Motorola V195 &lt;http://tinyurl.com/2el8nm&gt; is a quad-band GSM phone that will meet your travel needs very nicely. It is still only going to cost you $5 from T-Mobile ($29.99-$25 in free airtime).

There is a lengthy discussion here &lt;http://tinyurl.com/daltye&gt; about the merits of this phone. It can be unlocked by T-Mobile for use in Europe (or elsewhere) if you have some time before your planned trip.

Simply buy and activate your new SIM card in the country you visit or from as U.S. company such as Cellular Abroad &lt;http://www.cellularabroad.com/SIMcards.php&gt;.

I have to put my vote in for the Moto V195 quadband being sold by tmobile for $29. It's free shipping too! I have 3 of this phone as backups. It's a solid basic phone thet will work anywhere there is GSM. Tmobile will unlock freely if you are a customer in good standing, or unlock it via ebay for about $15.

I realise this question is off topic but while on the subject of phones can someone tell me whether the USA and Canada are on the same band. That is, will a tri or quad band phone purchased in Australia work in both countries?

&gt;will a tri or quad band phone purchased in Australia
Australia is on the same standard as the world (Europe, Asia, Africa, ...) except for America (USA, Canada,..).
You will need to buy a tri or quad band GSM phone for the US and Canada, but large (rural) areas in both countries use yet another standard.

&quot;except for very few exotic places like the USA.'
thanks logos, as you said, we in Canada have same problems .

Thank you for the information - it is what I had thought. Am about to update my phone and wanted to go armed with an idea of what I needed.

We have two Blackberry 8830 &quot;World Edition&quot; phones with Sprint &quot;service.&quot;

They're quad-band units, and US service is actually reasonably good, with Blackberry data service and GPS.

We took them to Europe and India on two trips, the first in 2007 and the second in 2008.

In 2007, the phones were useless in Europe, but worked fine in India.

In 2008, the phones were almost useless in India (the only call that came IN was a wrong number, and I only got one short call outbound to the US), but worked (kinda) in Europe. Given the fairly high rates we were told would be charged, we minimized use -- and then never saw a single international charge on the bill!

Fortunately, the Blackberry data service worked pretty well both years. I even got email out from places where the phone was indicating no service available!

What really torques me though, is that Sprint apparently blocks GPS use outside of the US -- while the phone locks in to the satellites reasonably quickly in the US, elsewhere it could never &quot;find&quot; them.

We're hoping that Sprint has finally figured out how to work the Blackberries for our '09 travels...

I am headed to Africa, mainly Kenya/Tanzania, and am looking for something mainly for emergency use (contact info etc.). Would a cell phone or calling card be a better deal? Thanks.

I have a BlackBerry Curve 8330 with Sprint as my mobile carrier. We will be on the Greek mainland and the Greek Islands in April. Does anyone know if this phone will work there, and if so, does anyone have experience with using it there?

Thanks.

Forget Spint in Greece with the Curve it will not work, not the same technology! check www.callineurope.com

We just used www.callineurope.com. We got a Motorola C123 cell phone for $19 when we purchased the Keep Talking in Europe plan for $29. The phone is bare bones, but all we need for our usually yearly trips to Europe.

The phone comes with a European SIM card. Their call plan is pay as you go, not prepaid, with no monthly fees and we thought the rates were pretty good. Calls within the UK and back to the US are $0.29 per minute.

Including shipping, it was $60 for the phone and the SIM card which is good for a year and can be renewed. Check the FAQ link on their website.

The A55 is perfectly suitable for use throughout Europe and many other places in the world for its prime purposes namely voice calls and sms messages..it lacks most of the news bells and whistles but if the phone is just for travel then it'[s fine.

Ekit passport is a good choice today...it will work throughout all of Europe and many other places too. Rates are not too bad and you will get free reception of calls with a British (although not UK) number which will not cost people an arm and a leg to call.

You would only need a quad band if your home provider is gsm and you want to use the phone along with some of its bells and whistles (camera, mp3 player)...I don't think the A55 sold by Ekit is locked so you can use any other sim card if you're plopping down in one place such as the UK where sim cards cost next to nothing (or even nothing)..Germany is pretty cheap for sim cards also as is Italy.....

The A55 is out of production for at least 5 years now, isn't it? The assembly line was sold to Taiwan and Benq closed down the factory a few month later. Batteries are old, technology is outdated. 5€ phones fom China are much better, why buy such an oversized vintage phone at all?
A55s go to the trash bin, not a single person would spend money on an A55 in this country!

I've got a few Boschs I could sell you at a good price :D

All true but for many purposes, it will work for somebody who wants to save a buck or two...but it wouldn't be my first choice.

ekscrunchy - I also recommend the mobal.com phone -$49 or $99- charges per minute are rather high (check rates online) but we only use it for emergencies and occasional hotel reservations. You always have the same phone number and have no SIM's to buy. Once your account is activated, the phone works almost everywhere in Europe with no more to do than switching on the phone -- it automatically knows where you are. We've had ours ($49 one)for several years and recently our daughter purchased the $99 phone and she likes it too. There are lots more choices of cell phones, but for the convenience, we like the mobal.

ekscrunchy - I failed to note that with the mobal phone there is no yearly fee or any other charges other than the original purchase price and the calls you make.

'scuse me for butting in! My husband and I are going to Italy in a couple of weeks and will spend a week of our time there in a hilltop town in Tuscany. We want a phone for emergencies and occasional use for making reservations, etc. We do this type of travel 2-3 times a year and would like to use the phone for all these trips. Is Mobal Classic our best bet?