mibile phones/ calling cards
 

Hi fellow travellers,

Which is the best and Cheapest way to keep in touch wiht home, a Mobile with roaming charges or a calling card?
Is it possible to get a local Cell SIM card?

thaanks,
Sanjay

Cheapest...without a question phone cards but be aware of the following

1. Some hotels charge an arm and a leg (or just a leg) to access the networks you are using to trigger your call.

2. In my experience, in many parts of Europe with every ten year old kid walking around today with a mobile phone, just as in America, public phone booths are becoming harder and harder to find.

3. What about receiving calls...you have to give your entire itinerary to those who you wish to call and sometimes things change or if you are one of those who don't make plans in advance you know as you hit each new burgh you find a place to stay, how are people to reach you?

For convenience, although it can be a tad more expensive, I would take a mobile phone as the solution any day in the week and twice on Sunday!

xyz is the forum expert on these matters, he's helped me a lot in the past (thanks x)

But he left out a couple things. If you have an unlocked, quad band phone you can receive calls for free with a local SIM card, and local calls are cheap, but calling back to the US (or other continents) is more expensive. If you are going to be in more than one country, or if you plan to travel to Europe every year or so, I suggest a United Mobile (www.united-mobile.com) card. Works in something like 80 countries, incoming calls are free and local calls are .29. Overseas calls are more but I just have my family call me. I've had the same card for three trips and havn't used up the initial $45 yet.If you have a decent phone plan at home (I have Comcast) it's pretty cheap. On a recent three week trip my family called me at least every other day, talked for 20 or so minutes and the bill was about $13. If you don't, you can see if you can use 10-10-987 which is quite cheap.

If you are only going to one country and don't plan on returning to Europe anytime soon I'd wait till I got there and just buy a local SIM card for about $15.

I second the suggestion of United Mobile. Local SIM cards are cheaper, but if most of your cell phone use is incoming, United Mobile will be fine. Plus, they ship to you and save the time of hunting down local phone shops. For outgoing calls, we use calling cards from www.nobelcom.com. Works from most phones, except those that block toll-free numbers.

I know OP is asking about phones and cards, but <i>the very cheapest</i> way to keep in touch with home is yahoo.com/voice (requires a broadband internet connection and a computer). It costs $0 to set up and 0&cent; per minute. If the kids ring our computer and we don't answer, they send us an SMS (for free on our T-Mobile sub) to tell us they want to yak on yahoo. They can also send us status reports not requiring responses via SMS <font color="blue">@tmomail.net</font> (T-Mobile's email-to-SMS server).

If you don't have a phone with European bands (900/1800 mHz), here's an unlocked one at a decent price: telestial.com

Robespierre:

do you think the $49 phone is adequate? I was set to get it, then someone made me doubt whether such an inexpensive phone would be sufficient for calls from NA. Any thoughts appreciated, thanks.

I'm not Robespierre, but I think I can answer. Cell phone coverage in western Europe is really good, and I think the phone from telestial is adequate for calling. The problem is that you also have to take the sim card that comes with it. A better solution, in my opinion, is to buy an unlocked used gsm cell phone on ebay (Nokia 6610 is a good choice) and then follow isabel's advice.

isabel...

You are aware that united mobile, because of the very high termination fees to call a Liechtenstein number, is in the process of recommending very strongly that cardholders of the +423 card (Liechtenstein) upgrade to a +44 (UK although Jersey not Great Britain) card...the promotion was supposed to end 31 July but I believe it is still going on...they will send a new +44 card for free...see their web site www.united-mobile.com

sjj:

just looked at the used nokis 6610 on ebay...costs almost as much as the telestial $49 when shipping is included, and i still have to get the SIM card.
what is wrong with the SIm card that comes with telestial?
I have a Nokia 6085, which I understand can be unloccked, but I have to take it to a certain place to have it done, and I have No idea how much unlocking costs. Rogers, my provider in Canada, does not perform this service. Then I still have to buy a SIM card.
So I just thought it might be simpler to buy the Telestial $49 package, and have everything I need, incl a universal charger. My daughter could then take the phone with her to Austalia.
I have read some neg reviews about Telastial, and how they overcharge for their SIM cards, but this just sounds like a neat package with everything I need...we will be in the countries where incoming calls are free, and we get 45 free minutes of incoming calls. That should be enough just for the kids to call evry 3 days to let me know all is well!
I appreciate any and all help with this decision.

See how this works for you: buy the Telestial, use up the included SIM, then buy local SIMs in the countries you visit - or a United Mobile SIM if it's cheaper.

Some of the deals for &quot;passport&quot; on telestial aren't bad...where telestial is a total rip off is when you buy a local sim from them for the &quot;convenience&quot; of knowing your number in advance (doesn't always work that way) and in some cases, some countries are now requiring registration of prepaid sim cards before they are activated (not true of UK cards, but then again UK cards are so cheap, some are available for free) that some people have run into trouble dealing with them.

The question though Robespierre and I don't have the answer, do you, is that the telestial phone might be (sim) locked...not that it's an insurmountable problem but may cause a bit of a extra work.

and would SIM locked mean you could only use SIMs purchased from Telestial?

tropicalkerrey, I was thinking of somebody who travels every few years to Europe, each time to a different country. For the case you're talking about, your solution sounds good.

Yup....the phone is a cheap dual band (900/1800) which will most assuredly work throughout all of Europe and Australia...it may or may not be locked...also the number of countries with free incoming is very limited...if you're going to those countries it's not a big deal although there are excellent and much alternatives if you're going to the UK where with the right choice of sim card you can make calls to North America and Australia on a T Mobile UK sim card for as little as 3p/minute while in the UK with the free incoming (and you can get T Mobile UK sim cards for free very easily and pay only for calls you make) but it requires a tad more work...if going to France, it's probably a better alternative than French sim cards which are very very expensive, Italy is a toss up and I'm not really familiar with Spanish sim cards (never been to Spain and have no desire to go there)....

Most phones you buy on the internet are unlocked although you do have to be careful with the frequency issue.

United Mobile now provides a sim card with a +44 number and you get free incoming in over 80 countries and rates are far far cheaper than the rates for outgoing charged on passport lite (see www.united-mobile.com).

I really won't argue Robespierre's math that with $20 worth of calling credit, the phone costs $20...he is quite correct but how useful the phone is if it is locked is a debateable question but as a phone itself it is certainly adequate!

thanks everyone!!! I think I will find out how much it costs to unlock my phone, then may buy the united-mobile card if it works out cheaper. If not I'll go Telestial $49. Being in Europe fror 3.5 weeks, even if I never use the phone again, I'm paying &lt;$20/week to be able to hear from home...worth it to me!

Telestial's phone costs $49 plus shipping. That's not a bad deal even if there's only $10 worth of airtime at other vendors' prices.

The phone IS unlocked - it says so here: http://www.telestial.com/gsm_phones.php

robespierre:
thanks for doing some of my research for me!Appreciate your input, and again many thanks to everyone!

I'm still wrestling with this issue, also. Ok: I buy a $49 Telestial phone, use the minutes that are provided, then buy a SIM card in France. How much will it cost me per minute to call home to USA with the French SIM in the Telestial phone? Thanks, anyone and everyone; not meaning to highjack this thread but hate to post yet another one about this.

French mobile rates to the USA are high in the vicinity for the most part of $1/minute (although receiving calls while in France will be free) but there are 2 ways around it..

1. Open up an account with callbackworld which will lower calls using a French sim while in France to the USA to something like 28¢/minute

2. Getting a phone card which is triggered with a local French number (not necessarily a toll free French number)...I use bizon....in this case you pay for a French local call on the mobile (which isn't all that cheap BTW) and then a couple of cents per minute to reach the USA...the problem is that even if the call to the USA isn't completed, you pay the one minute charge for a local French call.

Rates on French sims are available on the operators section of www.prepaidgsm.net

The fact that you bought the phone from Telestial doesn't mean a thing as far as calling rates go. What counts is the sim card. If you use the Passport Lite sim you got with the phone, you'll pay $0.99 a minute to call the US from France. I don't know how much you'll pay if you use a local French sim, but I can guarantee that it will be a lot less than $0.99 a minute. Incoming calls will be free with both the Passport Lite sim and a local French sim.

Oops, I was wrong. Apparently local French sims charge a lot to call the US. Another way to get a lower calling rate is to buy a United Mobile + sim. Incoming calls with this sim are free, and calls to the US cost $0.40 a minute.

Here I go again: so I can buy a $49 unlocked phone from Telestial, which will include some prepaid minutes, and then I can buy a United Mobile SIM here in US before I leave, and that will give me free incoming calls and &quot;relatively inexpensive&quot; calls from France to USA?

Wonder if there is ever going to be a more seamless system?

Again, thank you, you kind and patient folks!

grandmere - As you know, if you want to use a cell phone in Europe you need an unlocked gsm phone that operates on European frequencies and a sim card valid for use in Europe. You can get both by buying the Telestial phone/sim card combination you mentioned. The sim card gives you $20 of calling credit at a rate of 99 cents/minute, and you can buy extra minutes by calling Telestial from your phone. This is the simplest option, and if you don't expect to use the phone much it's probably the best. If you DO plan on calling a lot, you can buy the United Mobile sim I mentioned before you go and you can take it along with you for use if you run out of time using the Telestial sim.

Not to belabor the points, but . . .
I have a $69 Sagem phone bought in Italy last year. More than adequate. Although I find some of Telestial's pricing a bit much, I suspect that the $49 deal is on the order of a loss order so that they expect to make up the difference later by selling you costly recharge time.
I've used several &quot;local&quot; cards with my Sagem phone and they've all worked fine. This time, I'll be using a United Mobile SIM card. I didn't specify the +44 card (as opposed to the +432) but expect that's what they'll be sending me. I use my phone almost exclusively for incoming calls.

The A55 isn't a loss leader. It's a hopelessly antiquated (albeit perfectly serviceable) phone with virtually no bells and whistles, which Telestial undoubtedly got from Siemens in a large quantity for dirt. It's totally adequate for staying in touch in Europe, though.

I also appreciate the patience of you experts! I have recently decided to finally get a cell phone. I have read so much that my eyes are crossed! I wish somebody could just tell me exactly what to buy and where to get it! :-d

I want one that will work both here in the US and when I'm in Italy. That Telestial one isn't good in the US. Their one that is good in both places is $159. Is this a good deal?

Let me say that I would truly not be using it a lot at home. I live in a rural area with a lot of dead spots (I can't even call from in the school where I work!), so I would have it more for emergencies and because I'm usually driving alone. I'm sure I would occasionally use it, but not a great deal.

Then in Italy, I would mostly want it for calls within Italy as well. Do SIM cards have an expiration date? I'm thinking that it sounds as though it would still be cheaper to buy a 5-Euro calling card if I want to call the US and just use the cell for calls in Italy.

So...how can I do all this without spending a fortune? And will I need a monthly plan for any phone used in the US? I appreciate any help!

If you don't have a cellular carrier in the U.S. read this: fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?tid=34986388

You don't need to pay $159. You can buy a new phone that will work in Europe and the US directly from Motorola. The URL is

http://www.store.motorola.com/mot/en...irect/motorola

Click on unlocked gsm phones in the left column after you get to the Moto store. The least expensive phones that will work in both Europe and the US are the v197 and the v190, for $100 plus shipping, and the v235 for $111. Re sims, they do expire. xyz123 can tell you more about this. Good luck.

See also: t-mobile.com - their quad-band phones are free to new customers. They will unlock them right away with a little perseverance. Wirefly.com has great deals for new T-Mobile customers, but their rebates are VERRRRY slow (save copies of all your documentation and prepare to send it to them early and often).

I'm not sure where you are going but I have had luck buying SIM chips in Spain and Italy for cheap 5-15 EUR that have free incoming calls and the credits were enough for me to call local restaurants/museums without having to refill all week. In Italy it was TIM and Spain it was Moviestar (sp? maybe it was movistar?) In France, I couldn't easily find a place to buy a chip without a monthly subsrcription but I wasn't looking very hard since our apartment had a phone in it. Hope that helps.

So if I got the t-mobile and activated international roaming, does that mean I don't put a SIM card in while in Italy?

Re: &quot;incoming calls are free and local calls are .29&quot; with United Mobile.

Be aware that this is Euro cents, for calls to local landlines. The rate in US $ is 40 cents/min, and to call mobile phones, it's double that. Plus there is a 35-cent connection fee for each outgoing call. (This is with the new UK-based card.)

I have used United Mobile and been satisfied with their service, but if you will only be in one country, it is better to get the local SIM card.

now that I'm a wee bit educated, I'll venture an answer...if you use your US/Canadian cell phone without a SIM card from Europe, you will pay high roaming charges, as well as per minute charges,( I was quoted $1-6/min) and I doubt any incoming calls would be free. The phone I got from Telestial has free incoming calls TO the 4 countries I am going to for 45 mins, then I could have my kids use Telestial's toll free number and it would cost .49/min. However, my home (land line) phone long distance plan is only .05/min to call the UK(the number on my Telestial phone is a UK #), so they will just dial direct to my UK cell phone, and since it's an incoming call, there is no cell phone charge.
At least, I hope that's how I understand and hope it's gunna work!

Also, my Canadian cell phone is locked and I was qouted a price of $65 to unlock it! then I would still have to buy a SIM card and a universal adaptor, so it was cheaper to just buy the Telestial!

excuse the poor grammar 2 posts ago...I am NOT going to 4 countries for 45 minutes, there is 45 minutes of free calling TO the 4 countries I am going to!

Wow, last sentence in that post is a mess too! Too much surgery and anaesthetics lately! Sorry!

SusanP - If you get t mobile and activate international roaming, I'm almost positive you won't have to put a new sim in the phone. Be aware that this is an expensive solution. You can't get international roaming using the t mobile prepaid plan - you need a contract that costs at least $29 per month and lasts, I think, for two years, and the international roaming rates are high. Also, be aware that the phone you get has to operate on the European frequencies as well as the American ones. This means that it has to be either a European triband, operating on frequencies 900, 1800, and 1900, or a quadband operating on frequencies 850, 900, 1800, and 1900.

sjj, thanks, that's what I was afraid of. I knew I needed the tri or quadband phone (preferably quad). So I guess my next question is, can I buy a phone from t-mobile (or someone else) that isn't a monthly plan but where I can buy a SIM card when I'm in Italy (which I take it then gives me free incoming calls). You see, this is why I'm having a problem. There are just so many variables!!!

If you start service with T-Mobile, you can pick a quad-band phone and ask them for the unlock code. Be persistent - it might take requests to several CSRs before you get one who will cooperate. Whine a lot. If I were doing this today, I'd go with wirefly.com and opt for the Dash tinyurl.com/2n8gv6. You net +$50 on the deal, so you'll have some money to pay someone to unlock it.

Then you can use it at home with T-Mo's SIM, and in Italy with a www.tim.it SIM.