vincenzo32951

I'm essentially ignorant about cell-phone options. The last couple of times we went to Europe from the US, we both took our iPhones and just had AT&T activate a one-month global plan that was cheap enough and worked fine.

Just curious: I have an old Nokia flip phone that I kept when I bought the iPhone. Suppose I wanted to take that to Europe and somehow activate it to use there, instead of taking my iPhone. Can I buy a card to insert into the phone? And is that an economical way to go?

StCirq

The first thing you need to figure out is whether your old phone is unlocked and will operate as a quad-band. If it won't, it's not going to work. If it is, take it and switch out your U.S. SIM card when you get there for a SIM from whatever country you're in (or, in some cases, you can order a free European SIM ahead of time to be inserted upon arrival, activated, and registered).

greg

There is no advantage in using your old Nokia phone. If you can buy a SIM card and use it on your old Nokia phone, you can just as well do the same using your iPhones.

"Economical" way depends on your usage pattern. What is economical to someone else can be very expensive for your case.

If your usage pattern is just few minutes of voice, the ATT global plan you have been using is not a bad choice.

I have gotten local SIMs when I use my phone as a navigation device where it continuously downloaded maps. So for my use, it was a good option. However, for just a few minutes of voice calls, it would have been an expensive choice.

StCirq

One advantage of an old Nokia flip phone is that no one is likely to be tempted to steal it. Not the case with an iPhone, which is one of the most common things to be stolen from unsuspecting tourists all over Europe.

vincenzo32951

StCirq: Yes, theft was one reason I was considering it. Not that I'm paranoid about such things, but I figured if there was an advantage to using the Nokia and I didn't have to worry about loss/theft, then why not?

So, to follow up, I would purchase a SIM card at an airport or similar and insert the card. Then, what are the options are far as charges? I suppose you can get built-in minutes or have your CC charged according to usage?

ParisAmsterdam

See Lebara.fr for SIM card info.

I wouldn't take an old relic like that Nokia. Get your iPhone unlocked (call ATT or get it done at a phone shop) and use it...
as long as you don't put it down on a cafe table you'll be fine.

greg

I presume you have never used a prepaid phone? What you should and can get are PrePaid SIMs. You don't have need or have local addresses or local bank account to be able to obtain PostPay plans. You buy some kind of "bundle," depending on which country/company you are dealing with. You pre-pay so much data, so much fund to apply towards your voice/messages. When you use up your quota, your service stops until you add fund to your account=phone number.

I won't tell you to use iPhone or Nokia. However, here is a framework you can look at your situation. Each has value/risk tradeoff. I think you are only looking at the risk part.

Nokia: disposal phone, might operate on correct band, might be able to be unlocked to accept local SIM cards, cannot provide online help, e.g. word translations, maps, location GPS, look up phone numbers, look up locations of restaurants, look up opening hours of shops, museum, castles, palaces, etc, look up transportation schedule, look at train departure boards without going to the board, look at connection flight info while your plane is taxing to the gate, look up exchange rate, etc.

iPhone: theft target but no more than your wallet. All ATT iPhones are quad-band and will work in Europe. It can give you online supports away from Hotel Wi-Fi reaches. Still needs to be unlocked to accept local SIMs.

vincenzo32951

Thank you, all.

I realize the limitations of the old phone, but my wife has an iPhone, too, so we really don't need two for the functions you describe.

To reiterate, I don't obsess about theft or loss of the iPhone, any more than I do any other possession. I just considered that since I have a perfectly good flip phone and don't need the iPhone, maybe taking the flip is a good idea.

Will consider your replies. Thanks again.

greg

Can your wife's iPhone access internet without WiFi? If not you don't have the functions I described once you leave your hotel, etc.

hetismij2

If you are visiting more than one country then a pre-paid Sim from country A will incur roaming charges in country B, if it is even allowed to roam with it.
You need to bear that in mind when considering buying a Sim, for whatever phone you decide to take.

vincenzo32951

>>Can your wife's iPhone access internet without WiFi?<<
Yes. We've done this before.

>>If you are visiting more than one country then a pre-paid Sim from country A will incur roaming charges in country B, if it is even allowed to roam with it.<<
Thanks. I think we'll be in one country, Italy, but that's something to keep in mind if plans change -- which they often do.

kybourbon

I take an old phone I have and just buy a sim there (make sure battery is still charging before you leave). In Italy, you can buy a TIM sim for about 10€ which includes 5€ time. You can purchase more time or add more later.

To see if your old phone is quad, Google the specs. To see if it's unlocked, put a different sim card in it from another carrier. AT&T gave me the unlock code for mine, but I couldn't get it from any of the stores. I had to call to get it and that was several years ago. I now have a T-Mobile sim in it which I keep active for $10 per year. I don't know if you can still get that deal (not my real every day cell phone). So when I travel to Europe, I buy a sim there and use it. When I land back in the states, I change to the T-Mobile sim and can call from the airport for someone to pick me up, etc. That way I don't have to carry my two cell phones when I travel.

StCirq

And for under $30 you can buy an unlocked GMS phone on e-bay or Amazon. Mine, which cost $26, holds 3 SIMS. I keep my T-mobile in it for use here in the USA (with prepaid minutes - no plan), and have French and Italian SIMs for when I'm in those countries. Of course, I can always pull out a SIM and replace it with another, depending on where I'm traveling.

snowgirls

LOL don't make the rookie mistake I did of trying to "text" to phones in Italy that turned out to be landlines.

bvlenci

Roaming charges within Europe are much lower than they used to be. I now pay about the same for roaming, not only in Europe, but also in the US, as I do when I'm in Italy.

No one asked whether this Nokia phone was CDMA or GSM. Most US phones are CDMA, which don't use SIM cards and don't work in Europe. As someone else said, you can get new unlocked quadband GSM phones for under $30 on Amazon. I've even seen Android phones in the €70 range here in Italy, so they're probably under $100 in the US. That's a reasonable cost for a phone that could be used in the future for international travel, allowing the use of mapping applications, and many other useful travel apps. And it certainly wouldn't tempt most thieves.

TIM, Italy's biggest cell phone service provider, has a good monthly bundle for tourists, called TIM Welcome, for phone calls and data services. It costs €20 for a month, with 200 minutes of talk time to any place in Europe and a lot of other countries, including the US. It also has 2 gb of data. This plan has to be activated on a new SIM card, which costs €10, and it can't be renewed when the month is up. Of course, if you don't have a smart phone of some sort, the data wouldn't do you any good.

Foreigners in Italy can get a TIM International New plan which allows them to call foreign countries for a reasonable price, maximum 20 cents a minute, with a 16-cent connection charge. This plan costs nothing to activate. TIM also has various plans for roaming, usually covering Europe and the US. With these plans, phone calls within Europe and the US cost about the same as domestic calls within Italy.