Travel Technology - Lowest Cost Prepaid Euro Mobile Phone

I'm taking a trip from Us to Europe at the end of July for ~ 10 days and am looking to get a mobile phone (possibly 2 if cost is reasonable) that is prepaid. Searching through the Euro SIM card thread has me somewhat confused. I currently have Verizon in the US but don't have a GSM phone. Verizon rental is $3.99/day + $1.49/min.


I looked at mobal.com - $49 with a GSM phone and SIM card
callineurope.com - also $49 with a GSM phone/SIM card
travelsimshop.com - E99 with a GSM phone/SIM card

I'm traveling to Paris (3 days), Italy (Florence/Rome, 6 days), Amsterdam (1 day). Do I have cheaper options other than what I've noted?

moderator: I posted in the Europe forum also - if this needs to be consolidated in one thread/forum, pls do so.

Go to eBay, pick up a decent tri-band or quad-band GSM UNLOCKED mobile phone, and buy a prepaid sim when you land.

prepaidgsm.net will provide options on sim, cost, usage fees, etc.

i checked the thread noted, lots of info but 17 pages will take me some time and it sounds like buying an unlocked phone and a sim card is the way to go

ok, now what sort of frequency do i need for Paris, Rome/Florence, Amsterdam? i checked ebay and there are plenty of phones out there, some $, some $$$$.

is there a deal out there with either cingular or t-mobile for prepaid minutes and phone? and how do i go about unlocking the phone?

is it better to buy the phone/sim card in paris - can i then use it in florence/rome?

I got a cheap unlocked tri-band phone and use a SIM from www.united-mobile.com that has free incoming calls and decent rates for calls back to the States.

Agree with the previous posts on ebay. Buy a cheap tri-band phone from ebay. Many can be had for under $10. If you don't need anything fancy, go with an older Ericcson or Nokia. Once you're on the ground in Paris, buy and Orange pay as you go SIM. It will have cheap rates in France and higher roaming rates in the other countries. If your calls are mostly outgoing you may want to get a new SIM in each country. If your calls are going to be incoming, then have Verizon forward your number while you're away. Most of the time, incoming calls are free on European mobiles (including PAYG). Though, Verizon may charge you for the international forwarding.

I had done this dozens of times in the past in the UK, France, Belgium, Italy and Germany prior to switching to a GSM provider in the US.

i checked the thread noted, lots of info but 17 pages will take me some time and it sounds like buying an unlocked phone and a sim card is the way to go

ok, now what sort of frequency do i need for Paris, Rome/Florence, Amsterdam? i checked ebay and there are plenty of phones out there, some $, some $$$$.

is there a deal out there with either cingular or t-mobile for prepaid minutes and phone? and how do i go about unlocking the phone?

is it better to buy the phone/sim card in paris - can i then use it in florence/rome?

Don't go to Cingular (AT&T) or T-Mobile in the US for a European phone. They'll gouge in because they can.

Europe is standardized on their GSM frequencies, as is most of the rest of the world. Here in the US, we're different. Any phone on eBay that is Tri-Band or Quad-Band GSM will work. As my previous post says, depending on your needs, it may be practical to buy a SIM card in each country you're visiting, or a single SIM card when you arrive in your first country. It all depends on what your calling needs are.

In the pre-9/11 days their used to be a prepaid swiss card that had direct calling anywhere in the world for around .65 per minute. The last UK card that I purchased through Orange had outbound land-line calls at .20p per minute, outbound cell calls at .40p per minute and calls to the US at .75p per minute.

Will you be making calls back to the US? Or making calls locally in the countries you're travelling in? Will you be receiving most calls?

Don't go to Cingular (AT&T) or T-Mobile in the US for a European phone. They'll gouge in because they can.

....... It all depends on what your calling needs are.

........
Will you be making calls back to the US? Or making calls locally in the countries you're travelling in? Will you be receiving most calls?

I'm checking ebay and note some cheap ones i can BIN for <$25 Just not sure which ones to get as it seems the cheap ones are only dual band 850/1900 (nokia 6340 for example)
Primary need is to be able to make calls in the country we're travelling in. Calls for taxi, hotel, confirm this and if I can get 2 phones, allow us to split up or for peace of mind. I may use it to call back to the US but I can't see any reason to. After all, it is supposed to be a holiday....

I just got back from Europe,

I used my German Nokia D-2 Vodaphone mobile in Germany, Holland , Belgium and Czech republic,
anything outside of Germany was roaming and pretty expensive,

make sure you get european voltage charger or 12v car charger if you are driving,

All incoming calls in Europe are free IF you are in the country of the Sim card,
But I think are charged as roaming if you are in another country.

the "free" incoming calls are actually more expensive for the person calling you ,
as they say, no free lunch !

Rally

I'm checking ebay and note some cheap ones i can BIN for <$25 Just not sure which ones to get as it seems the cheap ones are only dual band 850/1900 (nokia 6340 for example)
Primary need is to be able to make calls in the country we're travelling in. Calls for taxi, hotel, confirm this and if I can get 2 phones, allow us to split up or for peace of mind. I may use it to call back to the US but I can't see any reason to. After all, it is supposed to be a holiday....


Just so you know... Standard GSM freqencies in the EU are 900/1800... therefore 6340 that would be out of range.

A Tri-Band (900/1800/1900) like a old Motorola would be better if you intended to reuse the phone in the USA.

If you're starting off in the UK, a lot of phone shops do PAYG phones for not a lot of money, and no background checks. (I picked up a rather snazzy Motorola F3 with £10 of credit for £25). Again these have cheapish tariffs.

i checked the thread noted, lots of info but 17 pages will take me some time and it sounds like buying an unlocked phone and a sim card is the way to go


The reason there's 17 pages is because it answers pretty much all of your questions (you started with a simple set, then posted two more sets, right?)....a little time and effort rather than being spoon fed will reap lots of benefits down the road...

IMHO

A variation of the OP's question:


I've gotten AT&T wireless to unlock my quad-band RAZR, so I'm down to the "which SIM Card" phase. We'll be spending a day in London, and then 10 days in Italy, with a quick change of planes in Paris. So, other than possible roaming ability in London/Paris, it's a single-country trip.

I want to be able to give out a phone # (work, family emergency contact) before I leave the US. Am I correct that buying the card in Europe is out?

Other than Telestial, which I see gets knocked for being expensive on the up-front, who else do FT'ers use regularly for SIM card in this situation?

TIA...

The reason there's 17 pages is because it answers pretty much all of your questions (you started with a simple set, then posted two more sets, right?)....a little time and effort rather than being spoon fed will reap lots of benefits down the road...

IMHO

BTW, do you think that thread answered the questions for my specific circumstance?

I've bought a quad band phone via eBay and intend to buy a SIM card in Paris (1st touchdown) and in Florence as its been posted that the PAYG SIMS will end up incurring roaming fees in countries other than they are bought in.

I'll check some more and post when I get back from my trip.

In answer to the question about "giving out the number in advance", this is obviously not possible with a card you buy over there.

In order to save the money, you might do what I do and just put the Euro mobile phone number on my US cell's voice mail. That way, if anyone needs you, all they need to do is call your regular cell number for an update. I would NOT leave this on my home voice mail, because it says you are out of town, but on the cell I don't see it as a problem. I also include a "warning" about the time zones, although I always turn off my phone at night. You might also warn them about call charges. It might be that the call is "not that important" if they have to pay for it.

I also have a Vonage phone with me, so changing the voicemail message is essentially free. You could also do this on Skype, or whatever, to avoid spending too much. Generally, though, calls to the US on mobiles is pretty reasonable from most countries, in some cases less than calling a local mobile.

Vodafone passport is pretty good.. you can buy recharges anywhere, and calls are given a euro surcharge if received outside the country of purchase. I have a french SFR prepay sim for that reason.