cell phone company

I haven't used Rebelfone, but I too have heard negative reports about it -- enough to convince me to use another company. I'm looking at Call In Europe (www.callineurope.com)for my trip in September. Many on this forum will tell you to buy one from eBay or pick one up in Europe cheap, but I prefer to have one in hand before I get there.

I just purchased a kit from callineurope.com with a Nokia 1208 + SIM(France) thinking, from older msgs on forums, that the phone would be unlocked giving me the option of getting other SIM cards later if I preferred. Then after reading more chatter, of uncertainty on whether their phone is locked or not, emailed Call in Europe to ask them.

The answer is that YES the Nokia 1208 they sell at a special price is locked to the SIM card... AND they cannot give terms on unlocking because they don't have the unlock code[gasp]. Now, the SIM they supply is for the SFR network but there's no way to tell if it's customized for Call in Europe or not.

The Euro rules specify that the networks MUST allow unlocking after 6 months or after the discount on price has been recovered through call charges but the situation here is hazy since it's not a European company. Call in Europe is either owned by or an associate of a new French service called Zero Forfait, www.zeroforfait.fr, and it's worth taking a look at their service and rates, e.g. Eu0.19/min. in France... only for comparison since you'd need a French credit card, Carte Bleue, or a French bank acct. to use their service.

To tell the truth I'm not too worried about the unlocking issue, though I'm annoyed they are not more upfront about it. I like the service terms and if the time comes where I want a different SIM service, I'll just buy another phone - $29. is not a big loss.

J.,

I'm in Italy at the moment and using a SIM with one of the "travel phone" firms, and so far it's been working well. The SIM I'm using is from the O2 network in the U.K., and provides consistent rates throughout western Europe. As I'll be in a variety of countries on this trip, having consistent rates was important to me.

Cheers!

J, I use a Mobal World Phone, www.mobal.com.

Their calls are higher than some of the other services available, however the Mobal coverage and service is second to none.

If you want something for emergencies, this is your best bet.

I too have used some of the other services in the past and have been let down, so that's why I've used Mobal for that past couple of years.

Another vote for Mobal! I've had mine for several years now, and it's been used in Finland, Costa Rica, and the mountains of northern Spain with absolute clarity and reliability.

One more time for Mobal. A little more expensive, but if you can limit your calling, we've found it to be top-notch!

One more for Mobal.

I've had mine for seven evers. In the past tweleve months it's been all over europe, to northern china, and to the far south of argentina and chile, plus a few other odd spots.

The only thing you have to do to it is turn it on.

Do you have an unlocked GSM cellphone? If so, you may have some other options. But you'll need to say what you have.

I bought a callineurope phone and sim card for use in Spain and France. It worked great. The phone was cheap and the usage very affordable. It worked great!

Would it be possible to just buy a european sim card and put it in your ordinary phone? Wouldn't it be cheaper?

Leticia...only if your phone...
is GSM operating on European frequencies (so you need a tri- or quad-band GSM phone...
unlocked...so it works with a European SIM. Phones you get from your serice provider are "locked" to their services, but it's usually pretty easy to unlock them.

I bought a $20 phone from callineurope. I can now just purchase the correct SIM card for any destination I travel in the future.

I'm pretty sure I read in another thread that Callineurope.com sells only locked phones, so you can't just buy one of their cheap phones and use another sim. You would have to use one of their sims, or somehow unlock it.

I think Skype is the way to go, using an iTouch I can make calls for around 2 cents a minute or free if you skype to skype.