Thanks for your replies. I really welcome your ideas.
moondog is making me realize I need to change my question: I need Android after all. I will look for a used Pixel phone. My main usage is still texting and calling, but some data allowance may be required. Perhaps I should
first identify service and then find an Android phone that works well with that service.
In order of importance, these are the countries I'm interested in. The top five are Eastern Europe.
- Hungary
- Czech Republic
- Estonia
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Spain (probably)
- Portugal (probably)
- Netherlands (possibly)
Originally Posted by
draver
Depending upon the countries you'll visit, a service like Roamless could be an inexpensive plan, and for text and calling, any iPhone from the past 6 years or so should have the proper bands for connections.
If you list the countries you might visit I can check my plan for service and per minute costs with Roamless. Their account balance never expires so whatever small amount you deposit is available until you need it in the future. In Estonia for instance, calls are charged at $.02-$.09 a minute, data at $.2.45 Gb. The Ukraine is $0.18-$0.34 a minute, data is pricey at $12.95 Gb however. Most Euro countries are pretty low, but as you can see, there are some that are expensive.
Thanks for sharing the information about Roamless. I will look at it.
Originally Posted by
moondog
What's your rationale for insisting on obsolete models? How will you handle communicating with people who dislike both voice and SMS?
I don't have a good answer to the second question. For decades I've done nothing more than calling and texting. I would regret limiting myself if it turns out that some app is obligatory. So Android it is. (There are many reasons why I dislike Android and iOS for a secondary travel phone, but I will force myself to accept it.)
Originally Posted by
draver
I am unsure what you want when you say you wish to avoid Google and Apple devices. Does that mean no Android or Apple operating systems?
I was aiming for the most basic phone with a number pad (excluding iOS and Android). As stated, such a basic phone is too restrictive.