Originally Posted by
mzzxx11
it seems that travelling with a backup/2nd mobile could be handy, for example:
- if the 1st gets damaged
- some anti-theft apps request a phone number to which they will text the location of the stolen mobile. so the 2nd could be used for that (of course, that would require buying 2 sim cards at destination country).
the 1st mobile would be the more expensive and features-rich one. the 2nd "backup" mobile would be a cheaper, no frills model.
any inputs on this setup?
TIA
I have this exact setup and it came in handy. I went to Thailand for Songkran and somehow the iPhone 4 got wet inside the drybag I had for it. ($50 later its up and running but it took about a week). Yes I shouldn't have even had it with me, but that's another story.
I pulled out a cheap Nokia I always carry. Using it for a week really sucked but it did get the job done. I'm dependent on chat apps to talk to folks abroad that you can't SMS (like Whatsapp) and I couldn't use any of that. I wish I'd picked up a cheapo Android somewhere that could have run a barebones setup.
The other thing to consider is if you want to keep using your MicroSIM on a less-smart phone you need a MicroSIM adapter. Fortunately I had one.
I have always thought for travel this
Samsung Duos Android phone would be perfect and it's down to $120 which is almost throwaway cost. In come countries different SIMs have different advantages, in particular ultra-cheap VOIP rates home.