Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with europe and phone

Best voice+SMS GSM carrier for one month of travel in Europe?

thewalrus — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 07:30:50 -0800

What is the best flat calling rate pan-European GSM SIM card for temporary use? Two people with iPhone 2G (iPhone1,1) quad band unlocked phones will be in Europe for one month. We want voice and SMS only, not GPRS data, and the ability to add credit to either phone by scratch cards... From around August 20th to September 20th I'm going to be in western Europe with my wife. Our area of travel will primarily be Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Italy.

We both have unlocked iPhone 2G (first generation) phones, pwned with pwnagetool... There's no doubt the phones are unlocked as they have been successfully used for voice+SMS service with GSM carriers in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

We would like to buy a pair of SIM cards and prepaid service (scratch cards) for voice+SMS service only but are not sure which carrier has the best flat rate coverage of western Europe. We don't care about GPRS data service as there's ample 802.11b/g coverage at the places where we will be staying.

Last part of the question: Can anyone tell us specifically where at the Frankfurt airport a mobile phone shop is located, or near the airport? It should be accessible from international arrivals, after customs, so I think anything in the departure lounge areas is probably not possible...

A good quad-band phone for Europe?

ninotchka — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:22:58 -0800

What's a good quad-band, GSM, UMTS-compatible, QWERTY-keyboard phone to take to Europe? I'm going to the Netherlands soon for nine months, and am keen to find a good phone (or rather, a shell) to take with me. The plan is to buy a Dutch Sim card upon arrival and recharge with gusto, yielding an affordable telephone solution. The basics of what I want (or at least what I, in my admitted uninformitude, *think* that I want!):

1. GSM: As you can imagine!

2. Quad band: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 mHZ bands. I'll be doing a great deal of traveling, and having all four bands would save a lot of headache later, for instance, when I come back to the States.

3. Unlocked: I'd like to be able to swap up Sim cards when I get there, as you can imagine.

4. Euro Power! Comes with a 220v/European/Eurocompatible charger: don't want to have to buy one separately.

5. No Camera: I really don't want or need a camera in my phone. If it made no real difference in price, I suppose I wouldn't care, but beyond that, a camera is not a plus for me.

6. Keyboard: It might be nice to have a small QWERTY keyboard and texting capabilities. I always prefer sending something text to calling someone, since I'm an incorrigible, irascible hermit!

7. Shape/Durability: Durability definitely matters, so nothing peculiarly fragile, but beyond that I'm not picky. As far as shape I do think I might like a 'slider' shape, but either slider or clamshell is fine. 'Bar' shaped phones are a no-go.

8. UMTS-Compatibility: Ideally, I'd like to be able to link into UMTS (3G) in Europe. However, I don't know much about whether a card that is running a bought Sim card can, well, fully access UMTS/3G (would I need to buy a special Sim?).

9. Portability Not an Issue: Weight, size and shape aren't terribly important factors to me. I currently carry a i560, which is a rubber-encased, bright yellow hockey puck (that I adore), so I'm not wedded to any particular aesthetic.

Any advice that any of you can give as to what to buy - or positive/negative experiences in Europe with phones like the one I'm hinting at above - would be great. Thanks, all!

What cell phone for usa and europe?

NorthCoastCafe — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:37:14 -0800

Please recommend a cell phone for use in the USA and Europe. Will be in London and Italy for at least six months. Would like a phone that I can use in the USA and Europe. Pay-as-you-go plan preferred. Just starting to think about a smart phone for email and wi-fi internet access. Cost is a consideration. Suggestions please.

Where can I buy a cheap unlocked 900/1800 GSM mobile phone in Manhattan?

enoent — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:22:41 -0800

Where can I buy a cheap unlocked GSM 900/1800 mobile phone (one that will work in Europe with prepaid SIM cards) in Manhattan? I'm looking to spend less than $50, if such a thing is possible.

Mobile software for the mobile traveller?

zaebiz — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:30:18 -0800

What applications/software for your mobile device did you find useful/essential for travelling? I will be travelling initially around Europe and then who knows.... I have an iMate JasJam phone running Windows Mobile 6 but would acquire another device if this will be more suitable for running useful applications.

Holy GSM, help me find the cheapest cellphone for use in Europe!

theiconoclast31 — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:25:46 -0800

Should I get the Motofone F3 or the Motorola V190 for my travels to Europe? I want a cheap (~50 USD) cellphone for my 3-week trip to Europe later this year. Reviews tell me that the Motofone and V190 are good phones, but some folks claim that they're locked. Why would people think this? If any of you own either the V190 or F3, what do you think? Would you guys recommend a different phone? I'd like something that supports all the GSM frequencies and can accept sim cards ("unlocked").

Thanks, and sorry to add to the growing pile of cellphone questions.

Moving to Europe: Cell phone?

sdis — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 19:13:39 -0800

CellPhoneFilter: Moving to Austria. What do I do about my cell phone? I'm currently with T-mobile, and my contract will be up in ~9 months, and I'm moving to Austria (Vienna) in ~7 months. What do I do in 7 months?

Help us stay connected!

pdb — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 15:22:35 -0800

Options for temporary mobile phone access while in Western Europe? The lovely fiancee and I are going to be spending about a month in England/Ireland/Paris. While there, we'd like to have a mobile phone for making connections with various friends/family members.

We're both Verizon customers, and have CDMA phones (without SIM cards) so our phones won't work on the GSM network in Western Europe. Verizon rents GSM mobile phones, but at $4 a day we're up to about $120 before we even use the $1.50 a minute airtime.

So, what kinds of options do we have? Can we buy one of those pay-as-you-go phones here, assuming we can find one with GSM capability, and buy minutes here for use over there? Or can we buy the phone here and buy minutes there that will work with it?

Or, would it be possible to buy a pay-as-you-go phone there, not being a resident and thus having no billing/credit history in Europe? We could do the calling card/pay phone route, but there's not always a pay phone around when you need one, and it would be a lot easier to have a mobile if the price is right (less than $50 for a mobile, excluding minutes, if at all possible).

I'm hopelessly ignorant about this sort of thing, so any advice would be most welcome.

Can a European telephone work in the U.S.?

omidius — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 05:29:11 -0800

Is there any way to make a european telephone work on the U.S. system? MORE INFO:

I recently got a b&o telephone from a friend. it's really nice and i'd hate to throw away or eBay without giving it one honest try to convert. the phone is assumingly on the european system as the wiring jack is the same, but buttons are different. I tried pulling it in, nothing happened.