cell phones

My Verizon Droid is not GSM, which a phone must be to operate in Europe. Technically, you can buy a SIM that fits in the Droid, but it won't work because Verizon phones are the wrong technology. You need to obtain a GSM phone, whether from a travel phone firm (with a world SIM that charges your calls to your credit card as you use it), or by buying an unlocked phone on eBay or once you arrive in France. Which option is best will depend on how long your trip is and what you want to do with your phone. Are you just planning to make in-country calls, calling home to the US, texting? How many calls do you anticipate making? Once you figure out how you want to use the phone (and how much) you can evaluate the different options to see which would work best for you.

As the above post said there is no SIM card slot in a Verizon CDMA phone like the Droid it is a different technology than GSM like AT&T, T-Mobile and most of the rest of the world uses. Either get Verizon's loaner world phone (if what you want is to call the US), get an unlocked GSM phone to later add a French SIM in the states or buy a phone in France when you arrive (2nd and 3rd best if you need to call within France). Phones are pretty cheap in France. That is what I did in 2006.

I too have Verizon and it is very frustrating you cannot use your cell phone for international travel. I looked into AT&T but didn't want to buy into another contract and ended up purchasing a phone through National Geographic (you have the option of buying or renting) when I went to France last year. You can buy sim cards (per country) from NG as well, you don't have to worry about roaming charges, nor a contract. You use the phone when you need it, but you cannot use it in the USA (which is fine b/c you have your other cell phone). Phone was a little hard to figure out but I called their customer service (which you can do in the USA) and was walked through on how to use it. It worked out great.

You can often purchased unlocked cell phones on amazon or ebay. You want to search for unlocked GSM phone.

Despite all you read and hear, Verizon does offer a line of phones with GSM global calling capabilities, ranging from some Droid and Blackberry models to the no-frills Escalade model, which my wife and I have. Check the Verizon website for the choices.

You can buy a mobile phone in France, including a sim card and prepaid minutes, for 29€. Virgin Mobile sells these as does Phonehouse (with locations all over France) which will also top up a sim card for you. Lebara sim has the best rates/minute in France including calls to the US for 0.09€/min. What you should do about a phone depends upon your personal requirements and budget, keeping in mind that when using a French mobile, there is no charge for inbound calls.

Thank you everyone! What a wealth of information. Surely, something will work. peg

Peg,
I used a loaner verizon phone on my trip last October. If you're going for less than 30 days you can do the same if you choose. Call 800-711-8300 for info. If you do decide to borrow a phone, make sure you charge the phone in advance, I had a problem with my charger, luckily my travel buddy had the same phone so I was able to use her charger.

Claudette,
Thanks for the valuable info. Glad to hear it worked because I think that is what I'm going to do. Sounds like my easiest option. Did you have to pay for the loaner? Peg

I have a question. I'll be in Italy in April and will have my company iPhone 4g. They will add the international coverage for me. Is it that simple and then the phone will work in Italy? They're paying for the phone and I'm paying for the trip. Hmmm...thanks in advance. ;)

I have a question. I'll be in Italy in April and will have my company iPhone 4g. They will add the international coverage for me. Is it that simple and then the phone will work in Italy? They're paying for the phone and I'm paying for the trip. Hmmm...thanks in advance. ;)

If your company is paying the bill and they don't care what it is it should work. Call AT&T and get an international roaming plan added. If you want to save your company money turn off data or automatic retrieval of email until you can get to a wifi area.

ATT roaming works all over Europe (and elsewhere). Roaming for the phone and data functions are two different things, though. ATT has international roaming for the phone and also different data roaming plans for internet access. Without a data roaming plan the charges can be very high, like 100s of dollars. Be sure you're clear on what your employer will cover.