Originally Posted by
SMSMom
I'm heading to Paris next week with my toddler, and since we'll be out and about on our own I'd feel more comfortable having a cell phone with me just in case. Unfortunately my US cell phone is an iPhone so I can't just pop a new SIM card into it to use in Europe. I've looked a bit into various companies but am having a hard time navigating the French sites, and would love anyone's input into how best to acquire a phone while we're there.
This question has been discussed numerous times on the this forum and you would do well to search for some previous threads.
If you want the
easiest (not necessarily the
cheapest) way to do this, buy a prepaid
Orange Mobicarte phone when you land. Mobicarte phones start at 19€ which includes a 5€ credit. If you are technically adept, a Mobicarte SIM is listed at 7€.90 also with the 5€ credit, however, this is a web-only price. The store price is probably higher.
There are 73 different phones available on the Mobicarte plan ranging in price from 24€ to 499€ (a Blackberry, out of stock). If you buy one of these, it's ready to use right out of the box. All you need to do is ask the clerk to tell you your phone number, ask to have the language of the phone switched to English and find out the emergency numbers.
Bon voyage.
P.S. I missed something on the website. You can also buy an iPhone 4, 32 GB model for the Mobicarte plan at 729.00€. At the current exchange rate, that's around $1,100.
