Mobile Phone Simcard in NYC
 

Hello, we are arriving in NYC on 2 July. Can you wonderful knowledgeable people help me please. I need to know if it is possible to purchase a sim card on arrival in NYC for use in an Australian Phone (iphone), which would then give us a US mobile number and allow us to make calls back to Australia cheaper than using our phone on international roaming. For business purposes we need to be able to receive calls as well while we are in the States for the three weeks, and are looking for the easiest way to do this, at the same time not spending a fortune. Please give me your advice and Opinions, Thanks Again for all the help, Lissa

My best advice is to find an iphone forum on the web and ask your question there. A lot depends on whether your phone is unlocked and what functionality you want it to perform while here. I also gather in Australia several carriers provide service for iphone while I believe only AT & T does here. Buying a local SIM would only reduce costs of local/USA service and avoid roaming charges. I believe it would make calls to/from Australia very expensive.

SIM cards in the U.S. are expensive (usually more than the cost of a cheap prepaid cell phone, which you can buy anywhere). Plus, they are hard to find.

I'd actually suggest buying a cheap prepaid phone in virtually any NYC drug or cell phone store for about $20. This will allow you to receive calls for free. However, there is no U.S. SIM card that will allow you to make calls to Australia cheaply. For that you need to buy a phone card, which is sold at any deli/grocery store as well as many drug stores (though delis or newsstands are best) and use a pay phone, or if it's not too expensive the phone in your hotel room.

Using your iphone and its features will cost a fortune in NYC, so I'd reserve it only for emergencies.

T-Mobile has inexpensive phones that come with a SIM card.
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/phones/prepaid.aspx

I doubt that they will ship to Australia, but they might ship to the hotel where you will spend your first night in NYC to be held for your arrival.

Alternatively, obtain a cheap unlocked GSM phone in Oz and simply buy a T-Mobile SIM card for $6.99.

Thanks everyone, got a sim card from Telestial and it should do the trick. Lissa