Dummies Guide to Cell Phones in Europe
 

Please take pity on me. There are 108 responses to a recent thread on cellphone use in Europe and I don't understand most of the posts.

Here's the situation:
I don't have a cellphone and barely know how to use one, so all that information is Greek to me.

SO has one and wants to take it to France or buy a 'temporary' one there.

It will only be used for the rare call to Canada to check on elderly mom or (god forbid) emergency calls from Canada.

I don't know what SIM is.

What's his best option for best service/least expense? Please explain to me in words of one syllable because I am cellphonally-challenged.

Ta.

If you happen to rent a car through www.autoeurope.com, they're currently offering a free one week phone rental.

Also, do they have t-mobile in Canada? My T-Mobile Blackberry is supposedly ready to work in Europe out-of-the box. I have not confirmed this yet.

Hi john,
Is autoeurope a reliable rental company with competitive rates? That might kill two birds (poor birds!) with one stone. I assume they'd give you the free week and then let you pay for the rest of the time you need.

I've decided that since I've done all the work of planning this trip, I'm going to give all the cellphone info to SO and let him figure it out!

If you're planning to subscribe in Canada soon, I suggest that you sign up with T-Mobile. Then you just take your phone (be sure the one you get is quad-band) with you and it all plays without any mess.

So let your SO do the research.

Rogers/Fido is the service in Canada that allows you to use your phone in Europe. Make sure you have a quad-band phone and tell them where you will be in Europe. When I went to France last year, as soon as I turned my phone on after landing I got a text message from Fido saying that I was activated and had no trouble using it. I too wanted the ability to just call home and be reachable for emergencies.Hope this helps.

Thanks everyone.

Travelnut, it seems redundant to expect him to learn to take advantage of the fodorites' knowledge and experience when I already know how to do that part.

hdm, AutoEurope is a broker recommended by many on this board for having the best prices on rentals in Europe.

Thanks, john, I'll definitely look into it. I hadn't even started to think about car rental yet.

Just thought it would be simpler, since you've confessed up front your inexperience whereas SO has some experience. You said you didn't understand most of the posts on previous (and detailed) threads, so did SO read these? It might save folks from having to repeat to you what SO might be able to follow just fine.

I'm going to give him all the information on here and let him sort through it. Unfortunately, he has only slightly more experience than I do -- bought a phone, bought a plan. That's it. He didn't have one last time we went to Europe.

Where are you staying? For instance, many apt rental places now offer cell phones for use for a fee. Your hotel might also have ideas.

I used my Fido phone in Europe too, after asking Fido for it to be enabled. You need a tri-band or quad-band GSM-enabled phone. The downside is that it's so expensive - $2/minute to call or receive calls.

I will be in ... from .. too. Will be making calls to... for ... hours/minutes a day. Looking for (cheap/convenient)...
Would buy phone (and card) for ... max. Will (will not) be travelling to other countries. Want to keep bill below ... $,€,Pound,Peso.