A Travel and vacations forum. TravelBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » TravelBanter forum » Travel Regions » Europe
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Cell phone for European travel



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #41  
Old August 23rd, 2013, 05:18 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Frank Clarke
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 90
Default Cell phone for European travel

On Thu, 22 Aug 2013 09:24:53 +0200, "Tim C." wrote:


On Wed, 21 Aug 2013 15:34:39 -0400, Frank Clarke wrote in post :
news



I actually expect to use it only for (a) contacting other members of my party
"Where the hell did you go off to NOW??" or (b) calling ahead to my next lodging
"We're stuck in heavy traffic, but we'll be there. Don't give our reservation
away." or (c) drunk-calling the kids at midnight Paris time to tell them what a
great time we're having on their inheritance :-)

FrankC
(chg Arabic# to Roman to reply)


I see no need for you to get a SIM in every country you go to (that would
be the only reason to get an unlocked phone - so you can use other
companies' SIMs). Personally I'd just get a PAYG card from the first
country you are in, and get any old phone that works with it. That leaves
you with the problem of refilling the card when the credit runs out. But
that can normally be done online with a credit-card number.
(I'm assuming you can get to an internet cafe/hotel at some stage wherever
you are travelling to)


I expect so. We rarely do more than one or two countries on a trip, so I'll
probably get a SIM at the first stop and eat the overcharges when out of its
home range.

Some here seem to be saying I should just get a new phone for each trip. Did I
misunderstand? That doesn't seem to be a very cost-efficient method, but given
the cost of electronics these days...??

We're also contemplating a "repositioning cruise" to get us -to- Europe,
followed by 5-6 months on the road (possibly in an RV), followed by a
repositioning cruise to get us back (to Florida). In that case, we'd break the
two-country rule easily. I suspect that might change the equation some, but I
expect it won't matter much.

What I'm hearing is that it's fairly easy (minutes or hours rather than days or
weeks; tens of dollars rather than hundreds) to get communicating. That's a
relief. I will stop worrying about getting the right kind of phone here
pre-trip and just buy one locally when I arrive.



FrankC
(chg Arabic# to Roman to reply)
  #42  
Old August 23rd, 2013, 05:26 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Frank Clarke
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 90
Default Cell phone for European travel

On Thu, 22 Aug 2013 18:22:12 +0000 (UTC), Erilar
wrote:


Frank Clarke wrote:



I actually expect to use it only for (a) contacting other members of my party
"Where the hell did you go off to NOW??" or (b) calling ahead to my next lodging
"We're stuck in heavy traffic, but we'll be there. Don't give our reservation
away." or (c) drunk-calling the kids at midnight Paris time to tell them what a
great time we're having on their inheritance :-)


I particularly like (c) 8-)


We actually did that:
http://tbm-mo.home.mindspring.com/20.../IMG_9827.html
The kids STILL tell the story to great laughter.

That trip, BTW, was the first with a phone of my own and I have vowed NEVER to
go to Europe without a phone I can use. $0.39USD per outgoing minute anywhere
except Asia/Australia, incoming minutes free. The phone was $60USD and I used
99 minutes, $39.61. Best $100 I ever spent.


FrankC
(chg Arabic# to Roman to reply)
  #43  
Old August 23rd, 2013, 10:55 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Doug Anderson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 78
Default Cell phone for European travel

Frank Clarke writes:

On Thu, 22 Aug 2013 09:36:40 +0200, "Tim C." wrote:


On Wed, 21 Aug 2013 16:20:10 -0400, Frank Clarke wrote in post :
m :

Is it possible to hit town (Paris, Vienna, Prague...), find a phone shoppe
easily, buy a cheap phone (40-50 Euros), load it with its brand-new SIM and get
talking?


In Vienna it'll be a doddle I bet.
As Martin said, you may have to activate it online, but they can do that in
the shop for you anyway. These often immigrant-run 2nd-hand-shops are all
over the place. If you're going to MariahilfeStrasse there will certainly
be some up the side streets if not directly on the street.

Beware although most do, not all SIMs will work with older phones. Do ask
before buying!

You could do worse than popping into an official 3, A1 or Tele-Ring shop
and ask them. They might have a good deal on some old-stock non-too-smart
phones in a package. I got one for my son recently for €50 including phone
and SIM with €10 credit.


Great! (What's 'doddle' mean?)

I originally said 'unlocked' because here in the States all phones are locked by
default and I know that's not conducive to swapping the SIM. If phones in
Europe are unlocked as a rule, then getting one there sounds better
and better.


I don't think anyone was suggesting that phones are unlocked by
default in Europe.

But there are people suggesting you just buy a cheap locked phone in
Country1, and then you use that locked phone roaming in countries 2,
3, etc.

My own experience is that in the US it is easy to:

(a) buy a cheap locked phone.
(b) get it unlocked cheaply.

But each time I've done this I've checked beforehand that there was
someone who seemed to be selling unlock services for that phone
cheaply.
  #44  
Old August 24th, 2013, 08:46 AM posted to rec.travel.europe
tim.....
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,591
Default Cell phone for European travel


"Doug Anderson" wrote in message
...
Frank Clarke writes:

On Thu, 22 Aug 2013 09:36:40 +0200, "Tim C." wrote:


On Wed, 21 Aug 2013 16:20:10 -0400, Frank Clarke wrote in post :
m :

Is it possible to hit town (Paris, Vienna, Prague...), find a phone
shoppe
easily, buy a cheap phone (40-50 Euros), load it with its brand-new
SIM and get
talking?

In Vienna it'll be a doddle I bet.
As Martin said, you may have to activate it online, but they can do that
in
the shop for you anyway. These often immigrant-run 2nd-hand-shops are
all
over the place. If you're going to MariahilfeStrasse there will
certainly
be some up the side streets if not directly on the street.

Beware although most do, not all SIMs will work with older phones. Do
ask
before buying!

You could do worse than popping into an official 3, A1 or Tele-Ring shop
and ask them. They might have a good deal on some old-stock
non-too-smart
phones in a package. I got one for my son recently for €50 including
phone
and SIM with €10 credit.


Great! (What's 'doddle' mean?)

I originally said 'unlocked' because here in the States all phones are
locked by
default and I know that's not conducive to swapping the SIM. If phones
in
Europe are unlocked as a rule, then getting one there sounds better
and better.


I don't think anyone was suggesting that phones are unlocked by
default in Europe.

But there are people suggesting you just buy a cheap locked phone in
Country1, and then you use that locked phone roaming in countries 2,
3, etc.

My own experience is that in the US it is easy to:

(a) buy a cheap locked phone.
(b) get it unlocked cheaply.


It's relatively easy to do that in Europe too

But sometimes (2) costs more than (1). (As it does with my phone)

tim



  #45  
Old September 10th, 2013, 03:58 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Tim C.[_5_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 920
Default Cell phone for European travel

On Fri, 23 Aug 2013 12:00:08 -0400, Frank Clarke wrote in post :
news
Great! (What's 'doddle' mean?)


Easy peasy, a cinch, dead easy.


--
Tim C. Linz, Austria.
  #46  
Old September 24th, 2013, 05:39 AM posted to rec.travel.europe
Alexander Arnakis[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 29
Default Cell phone for European travel

On Tue, 20 Aug 2013 13:16:46 -0400, Frank Clarke
wrote:


This question is mostly for the USians on the group but anyone else is,
naturally, welcome to chime in.


I need advice on a CHEAP way to have a cell phone available for travel in
Europe. It doesn't have to be fancy (God, please let's not get into another
****ing contest over the glories of smart phones!). All it has to do is make
and receive voice calls.

1. Get a simple, unlocked GSM phone on ebay.

2. When you get to your country of destination, go to a mobile phone
store (e.g. Vodafone) and buy a SIM card with prepaid minutes. Do this
for each country.

(This probably makes sense if you are to spend a week or more in each
country. If you're just there for a day, don't bother.)

  #47  
Old September 25th, 2013, 07:29 AM posted to rec.travel.europe
poldy
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 788
Default Cell phone for European travel

In article ,
Martin wrote:

1. Get a simple, unlocked GSM phone on ebay.

2. When you get to your country of destination, go to a mobile phone
store (e.g. Vodafone) and buy a SIM card with prepaid minutes. Do this
for each country.


If you get a Vodafone SIM card and set it to International you get 45
minutes of foreign calls plus 200 free SMS free valid for a month for
every EUR 20 of credit you buy.

Free SIM card sent to an address via
http://landing.vodafone.nl/281112-Fr...id=EMAIL&cms_c
hannel_id=ECRM


Isn't Vodaphone one of the poorer options in terms of pricing and
coverage?


Anyways, these days, you also have to consider data as well.

There's a proposal by the EU to abolish all roaming fees within the EU.
They want to see pan-European carriers and alliances form, so that more
investment is made to improve the networks.

So the member states would have to approve but the industry is against
it and is expected to lobby the individual national govts. to reject the
proposal.

If approved, presumably smaller carriers would get squeezed out or lose
customers who want to travel across borders regularly.
  #48  
Old October 10th, 2013, 09:40 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Nomen Nescio
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 201
Default Cell phone for European travel

1. Get a simple, unlocked GSM phone on ebay.

Make sure it's at least tri-band (preferably quad-band) if buying in
the US.

If you buy in Europe, Belgium is the best place to buy because all
phones are unlocked (by law). You should find dual-sim phones for as
little as 30 EUR. Triple-sim phones go for around 90 EUR in Belgium.

There's nothing to stop users having more than one SIM card per
country.


That's the most sensible, in fact.

I suggest a 3 sim phone. Get a 15 EUR sim chip in each country you
enter.

 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Cell Phone Hazards-Mobile Hazards-Cell Phone Safety-Bio Pro Universal Cell Chip, Purchase from a Bio Pro Consultant, Destress EMF Radiation in Australia, South Africa, United States, New Zealand, and Canada!! [email protected] Asia 0 June 14th, 2007 04:58 AM
Asia-Purchase A Bio Pro Cell Chip for cell phone safety, Health Risks posed by Cell Phone Use, Purchase direct from a Bio Pro Consultant! [email protected] Asia 0 June 6th, 2007 04:04 AM
Canada-Purchase A Bio Pro Cell Chip for cell phone safety, Health Risks posed by Cell Phone Use, Purchase direct from a Bio Pro Consultant! [email protected] USA & Canada 0 June 6th, 2007 04:01 AM
United States--Purchase A Bio Pro Cell Chip for cell phone safety, Health Risks posed by Cell Phone Use, Purchase direct from a Bio Pro Consultant! [email protected] Europe 0 June 6th, 2007 03:55 AM
Canada-Purchase A Bio Pro Cell Chip for cell phone safety, Health Risks posed by Cell Phone Use, Purchase direct from a Bio Pro Consultant! [email protected] Europe 0 June 6th, 2007 03:54 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 12:08 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 TravelBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.