European Smartphones and Sim Cards

Frank,

"What kind of phones are available (i don't want to spend much)"

I'm not sure that using Smartphones in Europe and "not spending too much" are possible, especially since you want to surf the net and check E-mails.

If you're a "CDMA person" with Verizon you might check with them regarding rental of a Blackberry 8830, which would probably fit the criteria you want. Be sure to get a clear idea on what you'll be paying for data charges while you're roaming in Europe. It's highly unlikely the device will be unlocked, so you wouldn't be able to use it with SIM cards from Europe.

I'm with a GSM network, but have so far avoided data roaming in Europe so don't have any idea whether prepaid SIM cards for data plans are available?

A rental from Verizon is probably the easiest solution. However, if you're with Sprint or one of the other CDMA networks, you'll have to check with them to determine whether they have similar rental plans.

Good luck!

Verizon's has two "rental" program for data services on phones

The first limits you to 21 days internationally per trip. The cost for the temporary use of the phone is free and the extra for unlimited international data service is about $20/month.

But, I'd have to keep trips down to 18 or 19 days since the 21 days starts as soon as you activate the phone and ends when you deactivate.

The other service is $7/day plus $ .20/10kb--very expensive.

So, perhaps an additional question should be...how hard is it to find wifi hotspots if using my own equipment and not having to rely on an internet cafe?

If you're wanting something just to check emails and surf the web, you might consider taking an iTouch with you. I took mine and at each hotel was able to access my email. At some hotels it was free wireless, at others I had to pay a small fee (2 Euros per hour or something...). The bigger hotels I stayed at actually had a computer room that was free for the guests to use.

If you know where you're staying at in Europe you could email the hotels and ask ahead of time.

Frank,

As the previous post suggested, many Hotels provide at least one Computer in the lobby for use by guests for a small charge. That's an option I overlooked as I focused only on the aspect of using a Smartphone.

I don't know how easy it will be to find Wi-Fi hotspots, as I haven't really looked (I normally just use Hotel computers or Net Cafes). I suspect this will vary by country and perhaps by city. I found that many of the Hotels and B&B's in England provided free Wi-Fi for guests, but I'm not sure how prevalent these are in other locations in Europe? I've found Wi-Fi Hotspots at Starbucks in Germany, but of course there's a charge for these. I'm now travelling with an I-Pod Touch, so I should have a much better idea after my next trip.

Good luck and happy travels!

You'll need an unlocked GSM phone, tri or quad band.
If you would be on t-mobile network, you would be able to use such phone anywhere in the World, but be aware that using internet oversea is very expensive. T-mobile charges $.99 per KB
Another option is to buy a SIM card when you arrive in Europe, but I don't know how much the internet would cost.