iPhone 4S in Europe

Katie, To begin with, which Cellular network was your iPhone 4S purchased from in the U.S.? The answer to that will have a bearing on how to travel with the phone. Changing SIM's in each country is a complicated and inefficient way to travel, and not something I would ever recommend. Each time you change SIM's, the phone number changes which makes it a bit of a "guessing game" for people trying to contact you. If you have any funds still left on the SIM when you change to a new one, those funds are lost which is a waste of money. Also, prepaid SIM's with data are NOT available in all countries, so you may only be able to get "basic" service in some countries (NO Internet). Regarding the "SIM Cutters", I've heard of a few problems with them, such as vital parts of the card being cut "by accident". This is not something I'd use. You might have a look at some of the "travel phone" firms such as Roam Simple, Cellular Abroad, Call In Europe, iPhone Trip, Telestial or Mobal. Some are now offering iPhone plans which included limited amounts of data as well as voice and text. They're a bit "pricey" but would allow travel in multiple countries with consistent rates, and most are able to provide Micro-SIM's, so no need to "chop" the card. Check their respective websites for details and prices. I will likely also be travelling with an iPhone 4S this year, so I'm looking at all the options too. Happy travels!

I've used a SIM cutter before, but I don't recommend it. There should be no need anyway as most companies will sell the SIM that fits in an iPhone. You can buy prepaid SIMs which allow you to use data, but the amount of data you get is fairly low for the cost involved. You have to be frugal in your usage, use wifi whenever you can, and stop apps on your phone from doing checks in the background you don't even know they are doing. Get an app that shows you how much data you're using each day to be sure. Getting just one SIM card could work because the European carriers let and expect their customers to use their phones in other countries. I'm writing this on my phone but when I get back to a bigger computer I'll post some links that give you more information.

Katie, here is a link to a message thread that cites a bunch more message threads that talk about using an iPhone: iPhones in Italy. I hope some of those threads give you some helpful information.

Katie,
We travel several times each year to Spain, Portugal and France and use AT&T, which actually has a rather decent data program for the iPhone when traveling abroad, if you watch your usage. I don't know if Verizon offers the same types of programs, but if they do, they will be better than any data program you can find in the EU. Since you're using an iPhone, you'll be able to use the free, or pay for use, WiFi hot spots (hotels and other locations) and not have to worry about having a data program. The free WiFi hot spots also work with the iPod and iPad. Using the phone to make voice calls is another matter altogether and can get expensive quickly. For that we use Skype when in a WiFi zone or make calls using our Spanish mobile lines.

Phil wrote: I don't know if Verizon offers the same types of programs, but if they do, they will be better than any data program you can find in the EU. The international plan offered by AT&T is much, much better than whatever was available just a year or so ago. For that reason, I would now advise travelers who have AT&T to check out that option first. It is easier and much more convenient. It has been my experience, however, that you can still get a better deal using the prepaid data options available from a European carrier, at least on the lower end of data use. It's not a lot better, but still a bit better. And a bit more flexible. With AT&T's world traveler data global add-on packages you pay the following monthly rates: $24.99 for 50 MB with overages charged at $10/10 MB. To get 125 MB, you pay $49.99, 275 MB for $99.99, and 800 MB for $199.99. With T-Mobile U.K., you can pay £1 ($1.62 U.S.) for 3 MB of use for one day, £5 ($8.10) for 20 MB you can use over 7 days, and £10 ($16.20) for 50 MB you can use over 30 days. Once you run out of these data amounts, you can buy another package, even if the 7 or 30 days haven't run yet. Comparing the two options, AT&T's plan is less expensive only at the highest end, when you buy 800 MB of data for $199.99. But it is so close, that if I had AT&T, I'd buy their packages, just for the convenience. FYI, here is a post with my experience last summer using data.

Yes, AT&T has dropped the cost quite a bit since last year, by half for the 50 MB program. If you're away from a WiFi spot, which happens more often than not, I certainly recommend going for the 275 MB data program at a minimum, which they didn't offer last year. If you happen to use T-Mobile and have a later model BlackBerry, the email program is fairly inexpensive ($19/95/month unlimited usage) if you're using your email a lot, but they do not offer a data program for everything else. Be sure to turn off the automatic s on the phone's apps. It could end up costing you a few dollars each day. The one good thing about the BlackBerry (with WiFi calling) from T-Mobile is that you can now call back to the States at no cost as long as you are calling from a WiFi zone and the UMA icon is showing.