Best prepaid SIMS card or short term phone rental in London

Geor, Renting a phone isn't the best idea, as the cost would likely be rather "steep". There are several choices you could consider..... > Buy an inexpensive PAYG phone when you arrive in the U.K. For example, Carphone Warehouse has a Nokia 1800 starting at £9.95 plus £10 top-up. Cell shops are ubiquitous, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding a phone. > Buy an unlocked quad-band GSM phone off E-Bay or other sites. I've used a Motorola V-551 flip phone for many years, and it's been very reliable. Once you get to the U.K., you can buy a PAYG SIM card. One advantage of this is that you'd be able to buy the type of phone you're comfortable with (flip or candy bar), and familiarize yourself with the operation before travel. > Buy a phone from one of the "travel phone" firms such as Cellular Abroad, Roam Simple, Call In Europe, Telestial or Mobal. This would provide a working phone as soon as you step off the plane, and these often use a U.K.-based number so the costs wouldn't be much higher than if you bought a phone when you arrive. Billing is usually post-paid (calls charged to a credit card), so there would be no worries about "running out of minutes" in the middle of a call or "topping up". If you buy a phone off E-Bay, you could just use it with a SIM from one of the travel phone firms. One of the firms currently has a special of a FREE U.K. SIM (unfortunately $10 for shipping). Happy travels!

Geor, I've successfully used a prepaid SIM from T-Mobile U.K. for years now in the U.K., France, Italy, and Germany. Bought it from a street vendor. Although I've bought many, many phones off ebay, I'd suggest buying a new one once you're there, or an unlocked new phone from amazon or tiger direct. With ebay, I have gotten one or two phones that did not work properly. If you can buy it well in advance of your trip, a used phone off ebay will work, but you might not want to risk it.

Mel: Ken in Canada has provided a good overview of your options. One of the recommendations is to buy a phone at Carphone Warehouse which are located throughout London. Here is a link to their page which shows that you can purchase a cell phone for under $10 USD. You will have to buy a pre-loaded SIMS card that will provide airtime. http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/pay-as-you-go/shopybyprice From what I have read the GSM cell phones sold by USA services like ATT are locked which means that you are stuck with their service. They, or a neighborhood cell phone store, might unlock the phone for a fee ($30 is what I see). Again, your best options seem to be to purchase a used GSM phone off of ebay or to buy a phone from Carphone Warehouse when you arrive. The Carphone Warhouse has a page which shows the various services that are provided by different cell phone carriers in London. This might have some bearing on which way you go.

mel, Yes, both AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM phones, but you'd have to check with them regarding costs and terms. I'm not sure if they "sell" phones, or whether you'd be required to sign-up on a contract. Check with them. Some things you'd need to consider: 1.) BE SURE to choose a quad-band model. 2.) BE SURE to check the Charger supplied with the phone to ensure it's designed for operation from 100-240 VAC. You will of course need Plug Adapters. 3.) The phone will likely be "locked" when purchased from them, so you'll have to enquire on their terms for unlocking. I've heard that T-Mobile is a bit more "receptive" to this. Unlocking won't be an issue if you plan to use international roaming with either AT&T or T-Mobile. If you plan to use either a SIM purchased in Europe OR a SIM from one of the travel phone firms, the phone WILL have to be "unlocked". Cheers!

do you know if they sell gsm in t-mobile or at&t in the u.s? or can i easily buy a gsm at the airport?

@megan, Yes, you can use your phone throughout Europe, however you'll be "roaming" in the other countries so your minutes will be depleted at a slightly faster rate. It's possible you may be able to find a calling plan that provides consistent rates throughout Europe, but I haven't checked. Cheers!

ok, this is probably a silly question, but, if i buy a phone in london and buy plenty of minutes, can i use this phone easily throughout europe, or will i need to buy new sim/minutes in each country.

megan, yes you can likely use a pay as you go phone purchased in London throughout the rest of Europe. I've successfully done that with T-Mobile U.K. Look at their web site and you can see the Euro roaming boosters you can buy. Advantage of using a U.K. prepaid cell account: All the text messages, prompts, and customer service calls are in English (although I got a Scottish customer service representative once and although I loved her accent, I had a heck of a time understanding her). The trick on traveling, though, is that you have to either load enough credit on the phone before you leave the U.K. or find a way to top-up on the go. You can buy a prepaid top-up voucher before you go and apply it as needed. I've bought several such vouchers off ebay to keep my account current.