Phones

John, If you buy a quad-band, unlocked GSM Cell phone here, it will work fine in Europe. Be sure to check the spec's to ensure that it's equipped with the 900 / 1800 Mhz frequency bands (that will almost certainly be the case). I'd suggest buying it here, so that you have it on hand when you land in Europe, and also you may have a greater choice of handsets so can find something that you're comfortable with. I'm not clear on your reference to a "roaming SIM card in Europe"? If you purchase a PAYG SIM in Europe, it will provide the cheapest rates when used in the country where it was purchased. If you use it in other countries, you'll be "roaming" and the rates will increase (ie: your "bucket of minutes" will be depleted more quickly, and you'll have to top-up more often). I haven't done any cost comparisons to determine whether that option would be "just as cheap" as buying one here. There are so many variables, it would take considerable effort and "number crunching" to come up with an answer on that. I'd suggest looking carefully at SIM's from the "travel phone" firms (I believe I mentioned these in an earlier post?). They provide SIM's and calling plans which have consistent rates throughout various "zones" in all parts of Europe (and other parts of the world). These usually operate on a "post paid" basis, with calls charged to a credit card. With that system, there's no concern about running out of minutes in the middle of a call, or having to "top-up". However, it's important to ensure that the phone isn't lost or stolen, as the user could be "on the hook" (excuse the pun) for charges until the theft is reported. Good luck!

One other point to mention.... If you decide to look at the travel phone firms, note that some of them use a "Callback scheme" whereby the user makes the call, hangs up and the system then calls them back when the call is connected. I find that a rather awkward and cumbersome system, so won't use a plan of that type. It's something you might want to consider.

OK. So I have looked at telestrial, planet omni, ekit.com, mobal.com, roam simple and several more companies. I have read many of the reviews about thier attributes and short comings, and I am still confused. There are connection fees, monthly fees, fees to call customer service, and there are listening to voice mail, fees. And then there are call back services. There are pre pay and post pay schemes, and then there are the charges for per minute fees, incoming, outgoing, long distance, etc. I don't like the POST pay schemes at all in case the phone is lost or stolen. I have read horror stories about adults paying $200 for a half hour of talk time. And there were lots of those. Since I will only be using this phone on an emergency basis.....I am wondering if I bought a prepaid SIM card and used an unlocked quad band cell phone and then added just the minimum amount of money to the phone it would be a good idea to have that? It would be worth it for me to have a emergency phone even if the prepaid fee of $5-10 expired after my trip ended. If necessary, I could always use an international phone card while using the cell phone....that way I would be only charged cheap fees for each phone call I made. Mind you, I just purchased a netbook and plan to use skype while in wifi hotspots for routine calls back to the US. So am I way off base here or would using an unlocked cell phone and a (small) prepaid SIM card be a good idea for my situation?

Sounds like a good way to go for your needs.

John, I think the plan you've outlined will work. If you just need it for emergencies, getting a SIM specific to one European country should work elsewhere in Europe even though you'll be roaming in those countries should you have to make a call. Where are you going first? England is one of the easiest places to get a prepaid SIM; France and Italy are more difficult. I have found better deals for inexpensive phones in the U.K. than when buying a phone here. In addition, in the U.S. the phones are often locked, and getting them unlocked is an added hassle. Also, the inexpensive phones you can purchase new here often just have the dual bands that work in the U.S. but not Europe. If you buy an older, used phone off ebay, that phone will be more capable, but you have the risk of getting a lemon. I've bought lots of phones off ebay and have had troubles with only a small percentage of them. But there is no guaranty.

I second what Ken says. I bought a cell phone for travel and wasn't warned that you had to use the callback method. It was very awkward and half the time I couldn't use it. This time I am taking my iPhone and removing my email from it. I have an iPad I will use for email.

I just found a site that is a wealth of information on PRE paid phone, SIM cards and it also has many forums Re: phones. Hope this helps. Prepaidgsm.net