Cell Phones etc. in Italy
 

Hi, hoping for some help with cell phones, skype and wifi access.

I have read prior posts on this, but just can't seem to put it all together to determine what is best , as I am not technologically savvy at all! When travelling a number of years ago I rented a phone from Roadpost, recommended here. It works great but I found it very expensive.

On my last trip (to England/Scotland) again using advice from the forum I just walked into a store in London (Virgin I think), bought a phone and some time and was off to the races (well, except for the part about the first phone malfunctioning and the second one getting lost, but that is another story!). Other than having to replace phone 1 this was quite economical.

I would really like to do the same in Italy (landing in Rome at FCO and staying in Rome for first couple of days). I still have the phone from England, which presumably is an unlocked phone (?) and so if I could use that and just buy a sim card that would presumably be cheaper. So any info on that would be appreciated.

However, because I am not technologically savvy, even if that will in theory work, I want to be ready with Plan B so would really appreciate knowing how to buy a phone and a card in Rome and how expensive it would likely be.

The purpose for the phone is a) being able to communicate with others in Italy while we are there (i.e. we would each get a phone); and b) communicating with home.

For the home communication I could also use the phone on my blackberry but that would be quite expensive I think. Alternatively maybe skype, but I don't understand what I would need on a computer to do that. In order to avoid my bb roaming charges I am considering buying a cheap notebook pc and accessing my email on it at night so that would be another option for skype (if I understood how that worked!). Not sure though how much free wifi access there is in Italy.

Thanks very much and please forgive my techno ignorance!!

Check out an article in today's NYT - it's about exactly what you are asking about ... (I think , I am NOT very tech-savy myself)
here's the link

http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes....the-cheap/?hpw

If for some reason the link does not work, go to NYT.com and look at the "most emailed" columns today - it's number 1

I bought a phone and SIM card from
http://www.callineurope.com
and used it last week in Spain - no problem.
Should work in all of Europe.

Thanks screen name, I should have mentioned that I did see the nyt article - its what finally moved me to send in my questios, because it seemed so complicated!

Thanks danon I will check that out.

What Blackberry are you using that has roaming charges for email?

Work blackberry - Rogers (Canada).

Oh, I thought Blackberries (is that the plural of Blackberry) had no roaming charges -- at least the T-Mobile blackberries here don't. That's too bad.

Yes, its quite the scam if you ask me - all the bb here have charges that kick in when you travel, and when you are overseas they can add up really quickly. People who don't realize they exist come home from Europe or the Caribbean owing thousands of dollars after a week away!

My T-Mobile blackberry was useless in Italy last year. I tried to use it in the center of Rome and Amalfi Coast and never got a signal.

I purchased the Blackberry with international service especially for this trip and the store rep assured me that I would have access to email anywhere in Italy - but not once in 3 weeks. I tried to call customer service from Italy and was placed on hold forever, so I hung up since I was paying international rates. Upon return home, I called to complain and went back to the store and they did not even apologize or remove the monthly international charge! They said "I should have had service!"

Everyone I ran into that had AT & T service - either an iPhone or Blackberry - had no problem with service; however, the roaming rates are supposedly pretty high on the iPhone...

Ciaolaura--I had the exact opposite experience. I added T-Mobile's international email service (I think $5 a month but they prorated it just for when I was there) and had a signal virtually the entire time (we were in Rome, Siena, Florence, Venice and in between). I don't know what happened with you...maybe they didn't actually sign you up for the proper service.

T-Mobile's Blackberry email product is pretty appealing: $39.99 a month all over North America and Europe.

European roaming voice is 99¢ and outgoing texts are 45¢. No monthly fees for these.

If you're not tech savvy get a phone from callineurope.com as danon suggested.

I got one last year and it worked perfectly in Greece and France. The call clarity back home to Canada was better than using my Telus cell a couple of miles from home. Billing for calls goes right onto your credit card so you can't run out of time or need to buy a new sim at the most inconvenient moment. For an extra 10 cents a day while I was away they provided a Toronto area code number relatives could use to call me in Europe. A phone ready to go is 48 bucks plus shipping.

If you want to go the Skype route you'll need a laptop of course. You can get a 'netbook' these days for 300 odd dollars. Very compact and easy to carry. Download and install Skype and you're good to go to call computer to computer. A small headset would be handy as well although most portable computers now have a built in mic. Foe a fee you can use Skype to call a real phone.

Good luck!

Rob

Thanks.
robespierre- unfortunately we can't get T Mobile here, although we hope it lands here soon.

ParisAmsterdam - thanks a lot for the recommendations. I have looked at callineurope as you and danon have recommended and it looks like just the ticket. I wasn't able to get through to a live person today, but am hoping I may even be able to hook up my bb.

Thanks to all!

McCooper...what did you end up getting for your cell phone service? Our daughter will be studying abroad in Italy this summer (for one month) and we need to get her something...she will also go to Munich, Amsterdam and Paris.

I have a Blackberry and an AT&T contract. I pay an extra charge for roaming that varies from country to country (about $65 a month on average)and use the phone with reasonable charges in Europe, Asia, Africa, and elsewhere.

You can pick up a phone in Italy for like EURO40, and a sim card for EURO15. I recoemmend TIM, as you'll get an Italian wide reception.

As for Blackberry's if you're on holiday leave it at home..Do you want your time to be spent looking at whether the little light has gone from Green to red?

:)