Cell Phone use in UK - Blackberry or Motorola
 

Hi. I'm checking ebay to get a used quad GSM phone for use on our upcoming trip to UK. Blackberry 7100T cost as much as a Motorola V190 and Blackberry has other features which will be nice. Will both of this work in the UK? Is a sim card all I need to either of this phone to work? Thank you.

Generally speaking, consumer features included in "branded" phones are not accessible unless your phone was manufactured for that carrier.

As an example: T-Mobile offers "T-MobileWeb" internet service that's not available with an AT&T branded phone, even if it's using a T-Mo SIM.

So a proprietary BB email function might not work unless you buy the phone from a European carrier whose service you will use.

Thanks Robespierre for your quick reply. I was just going to use the BB for storing addresses, notes about our trips, the calendar and of course the phone. But I did more research and it looks like it doesn't include an expansion card where I can maybe play MP3 or save documents.

If you spend a few bucks more you can get a phone with an SD card slot. I am sure you can get basic new phone with all the features you may need for $100 or less. On eto look at is the Moto SLVR L7, V195, RAZR. These can all be had brand new for $100 or less. Of these 3 phones, the L7 is the only one that has an SD card slot though. The key thing is to make sure you are getting an unlocked phone.

Wow, I would like an unlimited data package, so that I can use my Blackberry GPS enabled device - 8800 for navigation around UK and Europe. The website referred shows some promise but I cant see the link to an unlimited data package either. To go back to the original question I have used both Motorola and Blackberry handsets without any problems in the UK while roaming with US,Australian and UK SIM cards. As previously mentioned make sure the handset you purchase is unlocked.

If you can get unlimited or a cost-effective data plan for UK/Europe - then get yourself a blackberry. You can then use Google Maps and you won't need to carry a map around with you anymore.


Even better if you have a GPS enabled blackberry. I just did a 2 weeks road trip around Europe and the Alps and relied solely on my GPS blackberry and google maps - it took me everywhere - and it covered all the roads in the Alps for example.

Thanks, Good_Will and kwcm! I just downloaded Google maps mobile on my 8800. I had no idea this was available. How long has it been around? I had a subscription to Telenav but canceled it because I have another GPS device and wasn't using it that much but now I can use this for free!

luveuropa,
Thanks for pointing out it's under the UK SIM.

Other advantages of Google Maps apart from purely a street directory:
- you can find out where things are by just doing a search for it - saves u having to find it on the map (you can type in eg Marriott Hotel rather than find its address somewhere else and typing in the streetname).
- it also often provides very brief reviews of hotels/restaurants and essential details like their phone numbers etc. I had to find a hotel in Zurich and whereever I was, I just searched "hotel" and it basically listed all the hotels within a certain radius. And with the phone numbers I could just call the hotel!

However, don't rely on the public transport option too much - for eg, in London, it only has the tube and doesn't cover a lot of buses.