wco81

It only makes sense for some countries or if you want to go to several countries on the same trip.

Or if you don't want to buy a SIM, activate the best data plan, then configure the device with the correct ATN, etc.

But you would save a lot of money by doing the latter in countries like Italy.

guy999

i went to 3 countries. but yes one prepaid sim in one country would be much cheaper.

Dubai Stu

There is a discussion going on at prepaidgsm.net about an Italian vodafone SIM card that gives you 100 megs of EU data per day for 2 euros per day.

nums

Dubai Stu:

I was unable to find the discussion on prepaidgsm.net to which you were referring. To enable others to quickly find it, please post a direct link in this thread.

wco81

I paid 10 Euro for a TIM SIM plus 29 Euro to get an "unlimited" plan which was good for a month.

I used it only for two weeks but used it everywhere, in the hotels, on the road, using a Mifi device.

Wind would have been about 10-15 Euro cheaper for a similar plan.

For email and web, 100 megs would be enough but I was also downloading podcasts on iTunes every day.

Dubai Stu

http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/euro...t-roaming.html

abbys629

hey .. how does this iPhoneTrip works? Does it really works well when you are on a trip.

MR_MAMA

Seriously, go back and read a few pages, we have posted our reviews from various countries.

CarlTheWebmaster

Just got back from 1 week in Switzerland. iPhoneTrip worked great - I have a work-issued iPhone so jailbreaking / unlocking isn't an option for me, so the fact that iPhoneTrip worked on my ATT locked iPhone 4 was a plus. I think the price is decent, and I ended up using about 750Mb total over the course of a week (lots of web/email, a few youtube and netflix videos from time to time, not much voice, all SMS via google voice).

Plenty of info from the company, activation as promised with emails to confirm.

A good service that I plan to use again.

Mike Jacoubowsky

I ordered the microsim version for my iPhone4, but had actually planned to use it when possible in my jailbroken iPhone3, since that would allow me to tether data to my laptop. Which brings up-

#1: In France, using the iPhoneTrip microsim in an iPhone4, you are not allowed to tether the connection to your laptop. I tried, and got the nasty message saying this wasn't allowed and please contact my provider for a plan that would allow it. Darn.

#2: Despite what iPhoneTrip told me via email before purchase, the microsim, with adapter, would not function in either a jailbroken or non-jailbroken iPhone3. Even after going through the stuff about changing carrier settings (APM?). This was later confirmed by iPhoneTrip customer service (but I am almost certain I read somewhere that people had done so?).

#3: Where coverage exists, it's awesome. Just like using your iPhone at home. Googlemaps alone is worth the price of admission when traveling. AroundMe too!

#4: Where I was staying, in a small village a couple miles upstream from La Grave, coverage was all over the map. You'd see it jump between 5 bars 3G and 1 bar EDGE. It never did actually cut out though, and even the 1 bar EDGE was useful for emails. Coverage on the road was mostly great; France seems to do a pretty good job covering regional roads. And even when it would drop out of 3G and go to EDGE, Skype still worked very, very well.

#5: Skype is your friend.

#6: I had my iPhone pick-pocketed on an overstuffed tram (trolley) in Grenoble. Please, install the "find my phone" app and be prepared to wipe its data. I, stupidly, had not. Now somebody has my phone with all manner of personal data on it. Dumb!!! Get the app. It's free.

#7: I sent emails and called iPhoneTrip to have the simcard cancelled (since somebody could use it for a lot of expensive voice calls)... this took a while to do. No answer to the email for a few hours, and the guy I spoke with took quite some time understanding what needed to be done (cancel the simcard). Not a huge deal, but something to think about. Keep track of your phone.

Would I use them again? Well... no. Not because of any issues with their service, but because in the meantime, AT&T has dramatically reduced their roaming rates. $200 gets you 800 megs now. Not cheap, but if you're not a really heavy data user, 800 megs is going to go quite a distance. And, it's likely that would still include tethering (since it's still your own account). Or not. That would actually make a difference to me. With tethering, that's how I'd roll. Without, I'd try and figure some way to make iPhoneTrip work with a jailbroken tethering phone.
You can find the information here. I don't recall an email or banner splash or anything else announcing the far-more-reasonable rates either.

Depends how you use your laptop. If it's just for email and "light" stuff, no problem, I spent 11 days in OZ and used only 500 megs, and that was after going deliberately "heavy" towards the end because I had so much still left. Obviously you're going to set it up not to download automatic updates from Microsoft!

Hope this helps-

jonu

Wow! I missed this announcement. Even without tethering, I agree that this new pricing on 800 MB makes this a viable option. Not cheap, but you keep your phone number, don't have to switch SIMs, etc.

wco81

IF you're going to connect your laptop, 800 MB is not enough, even for a week.

DeKa

I used an iPhoneTrip.com for 14 days in July in a Huawei e585 portable wifi device, shared amongst 3 iPhones, 1 HTC Android device and an iPad while driving and touring en-route from Nice to Paris. It worked really well, and the coverage and speed of the French 3G networks (which use UMTS 900mhz and are supported by the e585) was great. The e585 switched between Orange and SFR.

My only concern is that iPhoneTrip sell the product as unlimited usage, but when the package arrives it is stated on some of the paperwork that it is unlimited, but you will incur additional cost if you go over 1GB/day. I asked them how to monitor this online, but they said they have no usage meter, and I must use my device's own meter. The Huawei e585 does have a very basic usage meter, and it appeared to be accurate enough. I asked them what the additional costs for going over 1GB/day, and they could not tell me what this was which is worrying.

I will use their service again on future international trips, unless something cheaper comes along.

wco81

Hmm, a daily limit would be regrettable.

I used a local SIM in Italy and used it with the E585 as well, so I was using my MacBook Pro. One time, I probably downloaded a Game of Thrones episode. I subscribe to HBO and I confirmed that HBO Go is blocked outside the US.

travelkid

You get them at most airports. But google for best service in advance.