Basic cellphone questions

If you want to use data, especially overseas, you need to be careful. It can cost a bundle. You'll get lots of advice to use wifi whenever possible. That is good advice. AT&T offers its contract customers the chance to buy an overseas package with reduced rates, but that would require you to sign up for a two-year plan. Consequently, your best option is probably to buy a local prepaid SIM card when you get overseas and use that. As an alternative, there are traveling prepaid SIM companies that have data options. Because you are admittedly a novice with smartphones, I suspect you're going to need a bit more explanation and you'll probably get it shortly from all the others who will chime in.

Except Paul, if they are not accustom to using phones, the idea of buying and using SIM cards is probably in the next universe. Those easy buying smartphones at Office Depot, etc, are all tied to service plans. I think the better approach for you is a wifi ipad since the wifi/internet is free and universally available and easy to use. Then buy a local, incountry phone calling card for the few phone call you might make. You can use the ipad via Skype, Facetime, or other free phones services to make free calls back to the US. You can do nearly everything you will want to do without messing with a data package or phone service for a smartphone. We never take a cell phone to Europe but there are some who could not live without a cell in Europe. We didn't need a cell phone 30 years ago and we still don't need it today in Europe.

You can run up huge bills using US data service internationally, so make sure you clearly understand terms if you take that approach. But I think the suggestion to use an iPad on WiFi is a great one, provided you'll have easy access to WiFi; another possibility would be an iPod Touch on Wifi. You could make phone calls on Skype, and just have a phone card for backup when you needed to use landline phone if you didn't have WiFi. You could download map apps for use with GPS. I'd definitely recommend sticking with Apple operating system, rather than Android if you're not comfortable with the technology; the user interface for Apple is quite intuitive (and I hate technology); Android takes learning/figuring out and I think it is best for folks who find that enjoyable. Re using a foreign SIM card: I relied on that on one trip and found it crazy-making, since all instructions/notices/etc were in French or Italian or whatever the local language way. I never knew what it was trying to tell me. Never did it again.

Dav, Unfortunately, your criteria of.... - "My wife and I have decided that we need a couple of smartphones" - "I want web access, GPS, email, and, of course, voice" and - "I'm looking for cheap" .... are somewhat contradictory. Basic phones for voice and text will be relatively cheap. You'll be able to find unlocked quad-band GSM phones on E-Bay for about $35 (ie: Motorola V-551), which you can use either with SIM cards bought in Europe or with SIM's from one of the travel phone firms such as Roam Simple, Cellular Abroad, Call In Europe, Telestial, Mobal or EuroBuzz. Smartphones will be considerably more expensive to both buy and operate. For example, a recent check of E-Bay shows unlocked iPhone 4S units ranging from $300-450. As soon as you add data, the operating costs increase, in some cases substantially! Also, the availability of PAYG data plans may be difficult to get in some countries. Some of the travel phone firms offer data plans but they're not cheap. Although it wouldn't provide you with data "while on the go", the cheapest way to travel with Smartphones is to BLOCK the cellular data and ONLY use internet access via Wi-Fi connections. That will limit the ability to check E-mail, schedules or whatever, but will also save you from a huge bill. The bottom line.... Unless you're willing to pay for a Smartphone and data, you'll have to change your criteria. The cheapest option will be basic voice and text phones which you can use either with local SIM cards or with "travel" SIM's. Good luck!

Dav, One more comment...... Frank's suggestion of using an iPad or other Tablet is worth considering. You could buy two basic, inexpensive "travel phones" for voice and text and pack along a Tablet or Netbook for internet access, schedules, etc. That could be an effective, but cheap solution (although wouldn't allow "on the go" net access). Cheers!

If you must have data, wherever you go, why not buy just one smart phone, under contract, and just get some other cheap phone for the other half of the team. (Don't forget that the data plan for the EU is NOT going to be cheap!) We have unlocked Iphones that we use here at home on "payasyougo" (PAYG)plans. Mine has "unlimited" talk, text and data for only $45/month. BUT my US PAYG plans don't work in the EU. And, like Ken says, not every country has reasonable PAYG SIMS available to purchase. But, we are lucky enough that our travels this year will be in England and Ireland, and we will be able to find UK PAYG SIM cards that will allow us to have some talk, text and data, for a resonable price. Even if we don't buy two PAYG SIMs, we can still use the other Iphone in wi-fi hot spots, make calls with Skype, read maps that we download earlier, take and email pics, have copies of our documents and travel plans; ie use it just like an ipad, etc.. And will also take along our netbook, which we also use in wi-fi hot spots.

I used my non-GSM smartphone all the time in Spain last year and it cost me nothing. I just turned on Airplane Mode, and turned on Wifi. All of my apps worked just fine in wifi areas. (I also carried a cheap unlocked GSM phone with a local SIM in it for voice calls.)

Based on the advice I got here and elsewhere, I decided that the smartphone idea was trying to pack too many functions into one device. I decided to get prepaid phones for voice communications and an inexpensive (probably obsolescent) tablet to use for web access via wifi. We will use it in hotels and, if necessary, cafes and such. I'm not saying it's the best possible deal, but I ordered this phone: http://www.telestial.com/promo/econopluspack.php. I think it will do for our purposes.