I've read the tips, the advice, the messages about cell phones in Europe. I'm reasonably certain I understand what I need and what I want (which aren't necessarily the same thing!)

I'm ready to move on to "who should I get it from?"

I will travel all over Europe in April and May, with no preset itinerary at all. I know I need a quad-band unlocked GSM phone. That's the "need" part.

I want a single SIM card that works all over Europe, so I do not have to spend time looking for and buying and setting up different SIM cards in each country I go to.

I believe that texting will be cheaper than voice, if I need to call home in an emergency or my wife needs to call me. I can live with that.

I might use voice while in one country to call ahead to inquire about hotel resv etc while on the road (actually "on the rails" but that's a different thread!).

All things considered, including what I think this whole 7 week trip will cost, I don't think it's worth a LOT of my worry budget to shop endlessly for the absolute cheapest opportunity, within the guidelines I've described above.

So my question (finally!) is: Is there one vendor I should prefer over the others? I've read what Mobal says online, and also Telestial, and I can't tell which I should prefer.

Thx.

Tom

You can check out the following. There are others, but they are all about the same: www.callineurope.com
www.telestial.com
www.onesimcard.com

If you buy a sim from anyone, make sure it is a new sim card. Old cards can be a problem.

And if you want to broadband service while traveling in several different countries, then you can check out www.abroadband.com

Personally, I would just buy a sim for what ever country I plan to be in, as the EU service providers currently do not have good roaming plans. You can purchase many of the cards ahead of time and have the numbers before you leave home.

If you have a iPhone, you can use Skype.

Thx Robert. I appreciate the suggestions and esp the tip about making sure any sim card is fresh, not stale!

2nd reply, to clarify my OP:

Frankly, after looking at rates from some of the companies, my sense is that considering the total amount I expect to spend on 7 weeks of hotels/hostels, meals, train tickets all around Europe, etc., the differences in rates for the few phone calls I might make at all while I'm there aren't worth worrying about.

My main concerns are convenience, and buying a sim card per country is not what I consider convenient; call quality; and help in English if I need it. I'm trying to find out if any one particular provider--Mobal, Telestial, whoever--is much better in these areas than most of the others, or if they're all pretty much equal.

Given your follow up above go with CallinEurope.com They have a package of phone and SIM for 58 dollars. I have used them on 3 trips...one to Greece and twice to France. No problems at all.
I like the fact that they bill to my credit card so I never need
worry about running out of minutes.

Some people look upon the billing as a bad thing... what if the phone gets stolen?... but using that logic I should leave my credit card at home too! LOL

If you have a BlackBerry from T-Mobile, they are now offering free calls back to the States from any WiFi hotspot in Europe.

"T-Mobile Free Wi-Fi Calling gives you unlimited Wi-Fi minutes, unlimited high speed data and when travelling internationally free calls back to the USA – all at no additional cost."

Maybe AT&T will add this feature one day to the iPhone and BlackBerry!

Given that you expect to have minimal use, are you sure you even want to bother with a different SIM? Who is your provider / what is your phone at home? I use AT&T with a quad band smartphone and for short trips with little anticipated usage I just sign up for their discounted international roaming, then cancel that when I return. May cost a bit more than the local SIM option (or may not when you figure acquisition cost and roaming rates) but definitely less hassle.

Of course, if your provider does not operate on European networks you are in a different situation. I have used Call in Europe in the past, stopped when they began to require $20 minimum usage per quarter to keep SIM active, but service was fine.

I'm with Seamus on this one, but only if you have world phone from AT&T or T-Mobile. Their plans work and Skype on the iPhone works well in most cases. And the new calling feature from T-Mobile for the BlackBerry is a real bonus.

Since we maintain mobile service in Spain, it's what we use to make and receive calls within Spain, France and Portugal. There is a roaming fee (which should be going down soon), but it's tolerable.

AS mentioned, if you already have an unlocked phone that will work in Europe, then you can just get a sim card in the first country you visit, and then use it in the other countries. The roaming rates in the EU have been capped at 0.36P out going and 0.14p incoming I believe. This is reasonable enough being that you only plan on using the phone sparingly.

Have a look at http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/international.php they have a list of international cell phone suppliers and they are impartial. Happy travels!

I'm going to go with Skype this trip, but bookmarking this for next time.

BTW, my issue is that I need a phone with a US number, as my older relatives are technologically challenged and wouldn't know how to reach me on a European phone number!!!

I have bought two phones from Telestial.com. The Passport Plus sim card has worked all over Europe for me, including Russia and Bosnia. Most calls from the USA are free to my cell phone. I have had better luck with it than my son has had with AT&T and Verizon. And he has payed some whopper bills!