I would like to bring a GPS system with me on my Italy trip, does anyone have any suggestions? I know I could rent one with my car (renting car 1 week, using public transportation 1 week) but I was hoping to use one for the entire trip. Also, does anyone have suggestions about phones? I have read that getting a SIM card through http://www.cellularabroad.com/ is a solution, has anyone tried that?

Additional information: Will be in Tuscany, Florence and Venice
Up for purchasing a new phone and using a new carrier as my last phone was $20 and my contract is up, so if something like the Droid would do it all (GPS and Phone) I would be up for that, just not sure about service in Italy and if the Droid is international.

My thoughts are of Robespierre - he would know exactly what to tell you. A genius of the electronic world. How I miss him.
Kreinbls - Forgive me. Robes was one of our most admired if not 'notorious' Fodorites ever to grace this board.
R.I.P.

If you purchase an unlocked Windows Mobile phone with a hardware GPS, all you need is GPS software such as TomTom Mobile or IGO. This runs entirely separate and does not utilize data or cell resources. Regarding data outside your own service area, it is usually too expensive to really make sense when you look at the expanding availability of Wi-Fi. If you are only considering the need for data for GPS purposes, then it's again not necessary with the proper phone. Also keep in mind that Cell based GPS is terribly inaccurate compared to hardware GPS. Be sure too that if you do go this route for GPS, that you disable data by either calling your carrier or installing an app such as "NODATA" toe be sure you do not get hit with outragous data charges while roaming. If you are looking for a cheaper phone just for your trip, look for an unlocked AT&T tilt or "Kaiser" out on ebay. If you want something newer to continue to use back home, I would recommend something like the Tilt2 aka Touch Pro or Rhodium. Android phones are nice and simple to use but are still very buggy.

With an unlocked phone, you have the option to purchase more inexpensive local sim cards in any country you visit. Prices are generally higher when ordering on the net.

Would you even CONSIDER purchasing a phone that works both here in the US (assuming that's where you are) AND in Europe?

As to the GPS issue...do you want one mainly for use on the road or both on the road and on the ground?

Thanks for the responses

I would consider purchasing a phone that works in the US(home) and Europe. I would like the GPS for ground and road, normally we are ok on getting lost on vacation (never knew where I was in Japan) but this will be our first trip with our daughter who will be 18 months old which changes the rules (sometimes cranky kid with more crap to carry necessitates a direct path at times)

Again, thanks for the help and suggestions

and tod, you make me miss Robespierre and I don't even know them.

In this case, I would check into a WinMo phone like the Tilt2 or HTC Diamond with a hardware GPS. You could always go the Iphone 3GS route, but you lose a lot of flexibility when compared to WinMo. Unless you want to jailbreak your iphone which is not recommended because Apple locks you down so much with itunes and the like that you no longer get to receive updates as well as other issues. I am currently using a Tilt2 and it is amazing, but really any HTC based phone with GPS would fit the bill. Even if you order it through your carrier, you can have it unlocked, install your GPS software and you have an accurate GPS and a heck of a nice phone you can take anywhere. If you like to tinker, you could even flash a "cooked rom" which basically a high-speed low drag customized operating system with all the latest bells and whistles. They are a vast improvement over the stock Windows Mobile OS and leaps and bounds beyond what an iphone offers. XDA developers is a great resource on the web for folks who want/need more than the Fisher Price level solutions offered by Apple. Not that I am an apple hater, OK, well maybe a little, I have suggested Iphones to folks in the past, but generally they are to older folks and people who only WANT to think they are techies.

My solution 3 years ago and I'd do the same again tomorrow:

- get a TomTom GPS with European maps.
I paid 130 US on eBay for a refurb unit.
It's small and works like a charm. And it has never instructed me to drive into a lake! Be sure you have decent paper maps too, especially for planning.

- get a phone and SIM from callineurope.com 60 bucks. Nice simple phone that works. It doesn't do anything else but be a phone and that's the way I prefer it.

What I like about CallinEurope is that you have a working phone when you land in Europe. No time wasted in phone stores or figuring out foreign SIM cards.
Your friends and relatives can have your contact number before you leave in case they need to get in touch.

CIE will also forward your home phone should you wish. For me the best part is not only the billing charges - which may be lower than a pay as you go bougth i Europe - but they bill onto your credit card. So you don't run out of minutes and need to find a SIM in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere while trying to book a hotel...

Whatever you choose... have a great trip!

Kreinbls - He may not be of this world anylonger but a thought occurred to me - if you click or word search 'Robespierre' on this board, all his information is still available.
Thank you for your kind sentiments. I hope you find just the thing you're after!