I need help renting cell phone for trip to Europe

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Oct 15, 2007, 12:59 pm

#16

AAaLot

Join Date: Apr 2001

Posts: 3,083

Regular mail from United Mobile took about a week. They did have an express ship option. I would chose express and make sure you have a week.

Oct 15, 2007, 5:34 pm

#17

CessnaJock

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I absolutely don't recommend renting a phone.

First of all, you don't need a quad-band phone. There are only two bands in Europe, and a phone that works on more than that costs money that doesn't do you any good.

Second, you can buy a perfectly serviceable guaranteed unlocked* Europe phone from http://telestial.com for $50, including $20 worth of airtime that might be all you need for this trip. Next time you go, you just reload the SIM and you're good to go.

* Unlocking can be an expensive undertaking. Although some are free, others can only be done with specialized equipment and knowledge.

Last edited by CessnaJock; Oct 18, 2007 at 5:17 pm

Oct 15, 2007, 8:17 pm

#18

boberonicus

Join Date: Aug 2006

Location: San Jose CA

Posts: 1,100

Quote:

Originally Posted by CO FF

Is it possible to get a phone & SIM card in the US that will work in each of England, Germany, Poland and Italy? This is for 2 trips, over a 2 month span.

Vodafone has significant presence in all of those countries. They're the #2 mobile carrier in each of your four destinations (according to Wikipedia.) Perhaps some brilliant FT'er has a better solution, but if you're doing much talking, you generally get socked (in the wallet) for using a SIM from country#1 in country#2. That's why people often stop by the handy Vodafone shop (or the news stand) in the airport and pick up a local SIM. The transaction is quick. The savings are significant.

Oct 16, 2007, 8:37 am

#19

Dubai Stu

Join Date: Nov 2006

Location: Detroit; Formerly Dubai

Posts: 3,652

Quote:

Originally Posted by CessnaJock

First of all, you don't need a quad-band phone. There are only two bands in Europe, and having more than that costs money that doesn't do you any good.

Second, you can buy a perfectly serviceable Europe phone from http://telestial.com for $50, including $20 worth of airtime that might be all you need for this trip. Next time you go, you just reload the SIM and you're good to go.

Unless you only want the phone for this one trip, I'd suggest buying a phone with four bands of GSM and 2100mhz WCDMA. The OP already said that he went to Korea fairly regularly and such a phone would cover the Koreas.

Second, it is clear that this person travels internationally. A quadband phone opens up numerous possiblities. For example, roaming SIMs are usually cheaper int he Bahamas, Mexico, and other places where a CDMA phone works, but works expensively.

Oct 16, 2007, 11:14 am

#20

CessnaJock

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Quote:

Originally Posted by iwebslinger

I use to rent phones in South Korea's ICN airport and would return them when I left. I eventually purchased a phone because my travels were so frequent.

If I read this correctly, OP doesn't need Asian bands - only European. But I totally agree with buying local SIMs rather than a multi-country. The one that comes with the Telestial deal is expensive (although inexpensive compared to using a Country A SIM in Country B), but not a bad backup in case you're not going to be in one country long enough to justify buying a local.

It's an exercise in Linear Programming - with the constraint lines in more or less continuous motion.