sjj

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.

sjj

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.

grandmere

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 "relatively inexpensive" 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!

sjj

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.

nrwayne

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 "local" 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.

Robespierre

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.

SusanP

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!

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!

Robespierre

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

sjj

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.

Robespierre

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).

bianca1975

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.

SusanP

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?

nonnafelice

Re: "incoming calls are free and local calls are .29" 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.

tropicalkerry

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!

tropicalkerry

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!

tropicalkerry

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!

tropicalkerry

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

sjj

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.

SusanP

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!!!

Robespierre

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.