Which cellphone, plan, carrier combo for international traveler?

June 29, 2008 5:55 PM

Cell phone - Unhappy with tmobile coverage in the US. Need advice on a carrier, plan and (smartish) phone that can be used in other countries with local SIM cards.

Visit the US 3 times per year for business and pleasure and otherwise live in Colombia. I have a t-mobile prepaid sim from when i lived in the US. Was able to hack my palmone 600 to accept my Colombian SIM (spend 90% of my time) and an Irish SIM where i also visit occasionally.

I now need to get a new carrier (v unhappy with reception in the US). What's the best carrier and phone combo for me? Needs to be an economic plan and the phone needs to sync with my mac address book, and ideally have a qwerty keywboard.

I'm not a US citizen but do have a SSN.

Cheers - J

posted by lapsang to Technology (3 answers total)

T-mobile, AT&T or Cingular are the GSM providers in the US.

Bill Shrink can help you find a phone plan for your needs.

Howard Forums are a good cell phone resource.
posted by sharkfu at 6:39 PM on June 29, 2008

AT & T looks like the one you need if you don't want T-mobile, but want to be able to swap SIMS.

Make sure when picking out phones you test how easy the back opens. I have a Samsung BlackJack and curse myself everytime I try to take the back off, you practically need the Jaws of Life to get at the damn SIM
posted by Mr_Chips at 6:45 PM on June 29, 2008

Check also to see if you can fit a spare sim card under the battery cover too, it's a useful place to store it. Some phones will fit it, some won't.
posted by MrC at 3:54 AM on June 30, 2008