unlocked cell phone

There's no easy way to check that it's quad band, but from the Amazon listing, it looks pretty clear that it is. To see that it's unlocked, you will need to have or borrow a T-Mobile SIM and an AT&T SIM (if you don't use one of these carriers, check with friends). First, put in a T-Mobile SIM and turn it on. It should boot up and find a T-Mobile signal. Next, put in an AT&T SIM and turn it on. Again, it should boot up and find an AT&T signal. If it can work with both of these carriers, it is unlocked. If you put in a SIM and it almost immediately asks for a "SIM PIN 2" and refuses to go any further (will not boot up), it is locked. If it works fine here, but when you put in the SIM in Europe, it just says "searching for network" for a long time before giving up, it does not have the European bands (900 and 1800). That's why I said it's hard to test here; you need to be in Europe to test the European bands. Even if you were to put in a European SIM in the US, it will search for a partner (usually AT&T) and would work here on the US bands (850 and 1900). So, the fact that you can get a signal in the US, even on a European SIM, does NOT mean that you have European bands.

From both the Amazon description and user reviews, I think it's pretty safe to count on it being unlocked and able to work overseas.

Thank you! That explanation was much appreciated for a non-techie like me. :-) There was 1 reviewer that said he received a locked phone, and another reviewer that says it wasn't quad band. But yes, most of the reviews were favorable. Verizon is our wireless provider, so I'll have to get my hands on AT&T and T Mobile SIM cards to test it.