Hi Everyone, I recently purchased this phone TMOBILE HTC WILDFIRE S BLACK SMARTPHONE GSM UNLOCKED (yes it's a quad band phone) for my daughter (who is 16 by the way) for her as she travels to Germany this summer for 5 weeks. I need some help as to what type of SIM card she will need. I would like her to have data as well, and I want her to have the SIM card BEFORE she leaves. I have looked at Rebel Fone as this is something we can rent and return. It seems easy enough and we wouldn't need to worry about topping up as everything will get charged to our credit card. Wondering if anyone has used this or have had better luck using something else? Or we have Germany friends that are willing to purchase a SIM card in Germany and send to us before she leaves. Any suggestions on what they should purchase? Would it be hard for her to set up her phone with at German SIM once in Germany? I'm a bit confused I've read other posts/threads and I'm still confused as to what to purchase. I'm not that tech savy so any help words of wisdom would be much appreciated. Wendy
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32345 posts
Wendy, If your daughter is only going to be in Germany, using a SIM purchased there would probably be the best and cheapest option. However, I don't have any information on what type of PAYG plans are available there with data. Your friends will likely have a good idea on the best one to suggest. Using a rental such as RebelFone is probably not going to be the most cost effective option, especially for a plan that includes data. You could also look at purchasing a SIM from one of the travel phone firms such as Roam Simple, Cellular Abroad, Call In Europe, Telestial, Mobal, EuroBuzz, One Sim or Max Roam. Their plans which include data will probably also be a bit "pricey". You could also consider buying a SIM card that includes only voice and text, but not cellular data. That will still allow access to the internet in Wi-Fi areas, so she'll still be able to check E-mail on a regular basis. If she's staying with your friends, I'm assuming they have Wi-Fi? Using texts will be the cheapest way to keep in touch on a regular basis (received texts are usually FREE). Good luck with your decision!
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
For lots (and I mean LOTS) more information about German mobile phone plans, look at the Germany forum on Prepaid GSM: http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/germany/. The discussions there can get very technical, so don't be afraid to ask for clarification. If you can wait to get the SIM until she gets to Germany, she'll get much better rates. She can always e-mail or text you the number. If you buy a SIM at a cell phone store (rather than, say, a supermarket), the staff there will set everything up, including making sure it's all in English instead of German.
Posted by
Tuscaloosa, AL
1152 posts
If you have friends in Germany who can help get the SIM and set it up on her phone, I'd go that route. AT&T has some decent data packages if you are an AT&T customer already. T-Mobile may have some, too, but they may be limited to their business customers. You say you've read other posts and threads. Not sure if you saw this one For overseas data use, local prepaid is the best solution, but it details my experience in Germany, but with a SIM from T-Mobile U.K. I can't imagine that T-Mobile Germany doesn't have a similar plan (especially being that T-Mobile is a German company). I'd agree with Ken about limiting data to wifi whenever possible although as I note in that somewhat old thread (which someone recently revived), when I was there, my usage was such that I mostly stuck to cell-based data.