Smartphone Data with A SIM card?

Nina, As you're concerned about "emergency calls to/from home, maybe a few in-country calls for directions/reservations, text messages to/from home, email to/from home", using the Verizon roaming may be the best option if you buy "travel packs". Keep in mind that when you change SIM cards, your number will change. Anyone wanting to call you for an "emergency" will have to dial an international long distance call, using a number sequence they may not be familiar with. One other important consideration is that your phone MUST be unlocked, or it won't work with an Italian SIM card. Roaming with your home provider can be a cost effective option, but there are a few caveats..... > You MUST tell all your contacts NOT to call you when you're travelling, as you'll be paying for EACH incoming call (usually billed in one minute increments). Getting calls at 03:00 from some moron that forgot to check the time can be especially annoying! > If you choose a data option, you'll have to be VERY careful to ensure that you don't exceed the limit established by your home network. Leaving cellular data "off" and using Wi-Fi most of the time is one way to handle that. It's a good idea to monitor usage during the trip to get some idea whether you're getting close to the limit. > If your trip will be longer than a month, keep in mind that most roaming data plans have a 30 day limit. You might want to speak with Verizon customer service staff to get all the details (should you choose to roam with them). Happy travels!

My wife bought an Italian SIM card with a one month data plan from Vodafone for her Galaxy. The cost was I think 20 euro. 5 euro was for the card, the remainder for voice+SMS+data (1 Gb for one month). Now Vodafone has a special offer for 9.90 euro called Smart 350 Limited Edition: 350 voice minutes/month (also consider that in Europe incoming calls are free for the receiver, unless you roam out of the country) + 350 SMS + data for 1 GB for one month. TIM has a similar offer, same stuff as above, for 10 cents more (10 euro/month). I think the card itself will be 5 euro. So basically 5 euro. Go to a store and ask for a: SCHEDA SIM RICARICABILE CON DATA PER ACCESSO INTERNET PER UN MESE. (pronounce: skedah SIM rick-aricka-biley coun data per ah-CHESS-oh internet per un mesey) To get one you need a Passport, local address (your hotel), and a codice fiscale. The codice fiscale will likely be calculated by the store, but you can do it yourself here: http://www.comuni.it/servizi/codfisc/ COGNOME=Last Name NAME=First Name (+ middle name if applicable) SESSO=SEX COMUNE= STATI UNITI PROV=EE
DATA DI NASCITA=BIRTH DAY (mm/dd/yyyy) Print and you are set.

Wow, Roberto, thanks for the info!
Will that card include international calling from Italy to home in the voice minutes or would that be a different rate?

International calling will be at a different rate. However Vodafone (which is my provider) has a plan called "My Country" which gives you better rates for a country you might call more often. In any case, calling the US is more aptly done using Skype (download it on your smart phone or Ipad if you take one with you, and buy credit before leaving). Calling the US from your smart phone, even with an Italian SIM card, will cost you dearly. Cheaper than using your American cell phone, but still nowhere as cheap as Skype. I think the rates for calling the US with vodafone is 60 eurocent/minute. However if someone calls your Italian number from the US, it will be totally free to you. Receiving calls is totally free on Italian cell phones while you are inside Italy, therefore if people in the US want to talk to you let them call you and let them pay for the call. You stick to Skype when you need to call the US. In any case go to a Vodafone store or a TIM store when you are in Rome or Florence. They might know better, I'm not really an expert on smartphones. Stores in those cities are more likely to have sales people speaking English.

I just returned from three weeks, and got an Italian Sim card put in my phone (emailed my contacts in the U.S. the new Italian phone #) and spent a whopping 25eu, called my husband many times, and he called me -- plus in-country calls to friends in Italy and hotels prior to arrival, etc., and never ran out of minutes. I got the one month plan through Vodaphone, who also installed the new sim card.

I am also traveling for a few weeks and am interested in the same information. When I g to the vodafone website..I can't find the info on the webpage for the data plan. Do we just go into the store and just let them know what we want and trust them. I am thinking I will use Viber (not sure if you have heard of it - but supposed to be free with family at home that has the same app)...for phone calls, but want something to be able to update facebook etc.

Stacey, here's Vodafone's website. It no longer has the Smart 350 plan plan Roberto described, but instead shows "Smart 200" and "Smart 500" plans: http://eshop.vodafone.it/ricaricabili.html. Yes, you can get help in the store, as long as you find someone who speaks English (in Venice, the cell phone store I used had probably one of the few Venetians who didn't speak English). But it's also helpful to print out the webpages, and to have looked at them on Google Translate, so you have some idea what you want, just in case.

Unless your phone is unlocked from Verizon, a different SIM will not work. My smartphone is not global, but I use it for everything but calls by using it only in wifi areas. For calls I use a cheap prepaid phone.