Buying a mobile phone in London

Do it! You can buy a pay as you go mobile here for about £10 or so that will give you minutes and texting. I have these for my guests. You can top them off at many different shops - not just at phone stores. Carphone Warehouse is fine - they will have what you need and they have tons of locations.

I find CPW staff helpful and patient. A couple of weeks ago I spent the grand sum of £9.99 on a new phone and, although I was a less than clued up customer, I was not made to feel a nuisance! They also transferred my old SIM to my new phone for me. You will be able to walk out of the store with a fully functioning phone. They have the cheap phones because they buy up end of line models, these days that probably means 3-6 months old!

Agree 100% with the above advice. I am hopeless with mobile phones but have always bought from Carphone Warehouse. They have always treated me well and unravelled my requirements and explained my options. And I have never spent more than about £15 with them on any visit so far. Last week the very kind guy manning their Geek Squad desk explained my options for mobiles/PAYG plans that work in Vietnam (upcoming holiday) which I am now thinking about.

I've got to chime in here too. In 2009 I got a simple mobile phone + prepaid service at the CW store near Earl's Court tube station. I spent about 15 GBP for all that (including lots of minutes for calls in the UK and to the US). They got the phone set up for me right there in the store, and were completely pleasant and helpful.

Cathy, I agree with the others. I think you'll find that the staff at Carphone Warehouse are very helpful, and they'll explain the various plans. As they offer phones from several networks, I'd suggest telling them that you'll be travelling in the Czech Republic, as some carriers may have better coverage there. The "usual" networks are O2, EE (Orange, T-Mobile), Vodaphone and 3, and there are also some MVNO networks (don't actually own a network but contract with others) such as Virgin, Tesco and TalkMobile. FWIW, I've always had good luck with O2. A phone purchased in the U.K. will work in the Czech Republic, however keep in mind that your minutes will be depleted at a faster rate there as you'll be "roaming". Be very sure that the staff provide information on the methods for topping-up outside the U.K. A basic phone (ie: no data) will be a less expensive and simpler option than a Smartphone. Happy travels!

Dear all, Thank you so much for the advice. I've asked a couple of you privately about an international SIM card that would work throughout the EU (for example, England and the Czech Republic, where we'll be traveling). Would the roaming rates by the same throughout the EU? If you've had any experience with this type of SIM card, I'd appreciate any advice you can give me. Thanks again! Cathy

I have no experience with international SIM cards. But, in addition to any information you get here, look at Prepaid GSM dot net. Here's their listing of international plans: http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/international.php If you click the Forums tab on top of that page, you can get even more information http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/international-gsm-prepaid-cards/. Be aware that these discussions can get VERY technical, so don't be afraid to ask for clarification.

I bought my phone from the Carphone Warehouse near Victoria Station, they were lovely and got it entirely ready for me. I paid 20 pounds total for the phone and coverage. My rates to call home to Canada were cheaper than if I was calling from in my own town. Only problem was that they don't sell reloading cards for them, but thankfully one day my carrier had a stall set up in the middle of Victoria Station.

Roaming charges will vary by provider BUT by law roaming charges in EU countries can be no more than those shown in the chart in this Wikipedia entry. As you can see the cap will be lowered again from July this year. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Commission_roaming_regulations

Cathy, If you want an "international card" that will work in a number of countries and provide consistent rates, have a look at the "travel phone" firms such as Roam Simple, Cellular Abroad, Call In Europe, Telestial, EuroBuzz, etc. They offer SIM's or SIM's with phones that have the same rates within "zones". Zone 1 is typically most of the countries in western Europe. Many of these services provide SIM cards from U.K. networks with U.K. numbers. Billing varies between providers, but many use post-paid billing with calls charged to a credit card. That way there's no need to top-up when minutes are depleted, and customers are only charged for what they use. The one very minimal issue with this approach is that if the phone is lost or stolen, it's imperative to contact the provider immediately, in order to minimize fraudulent charges. I've been using one of the above services for the last few trips, and so far it's worked well. I already had a phone, so only needed a SIM card. I'm now trying out an iPhone for travel, and used a travel SIM with that for my last trip. Cheers!

Thanks for all of the advice!

Cathy, here is a link to a thread from summer 2011. It is getting a bit dated, perhaps, but you may find it useful as to using a SIM in multiple countries, especially for data. I hope to my overseas phone experiences this summer. For overseas DATA use, local prepaid is best solution Also, I've purchased several phones from Carphone Warehouse and had good experiences.