London: Dont have a phone in my room. rent a cell? call card?

Hi Mel: I posted a message about the same subject about a week ago (regarding unlocked cell phones and preloaded SIM cards) and someone posted a similar message a few days before. Just scroll back and you should find these postings. I am deciding between buying a used unlocked GMS phone on ebay and then buying a proloaded SIM card when I arrive in London. The alternative is to buy a budget preloaded cell phone from Carphone Warehouse. I will not rent a cell phone. One of the responders to my posting listed the pros and cons of all the options, and the ones listed above seem to make the most sense for me. Have a good trip.

mel, I wouldn't suggest renting a phone, as the cost will likely be high and having to obtain the phone and then return it would be a nuisance. There are a couple of options you could consider: (1.) Pick up an inexpensive PAYG phone when you arrive in London. Cell shops and outlets such as Carphone Warehouse are are all over. Of course, this would have a UK number, so your friends would have to dial an international long distance call if they want to call you (texts are much easier). (2.) Obtain an inexpensive quad-band GSM phone from E-Bay, and use it either with a SIM card obtained in the U.K. OR with a SIM card from one of the "travel phone" firms (more on that below). (3.) Obtain a Cellphone from one of the "travel phone" firms such as Roam Simple, Cellular Abroad, Call In Europe, Telestial or Mobal (there are others, but these come to mind). These typically also use U.K. numbers, BUT some offer optional local numbers which can be "linked" with the travel phone. Billing is often post-paid, with calls charged to a credit card. One advantage of this option is that you'd have a working phone as soon as you step off the plane. I've been using one of these services for the last few years, and it's worked well so far. Check the respective websites to determine if the features and costs will work for your situation. If you buy just a "basic" phone, you won't have to worry about the issue of data roaming charges. While Calling Cards are cheap, as you noted you won't have a phone in your room so you'd need to find a Pay Phone (not too convenient when compared to a Cell), and of course you wouldn't be able to receive calls or texts. Happy travels!

mel, "if i had a smart phone then this would not be an issue." I forgot to address that point in my previous reply. Even with a Smartphone, it could STILL be "dead" when in London if it's not capable of operating on a GSM system (which could certainly be the case with a Sprint product which uses CDMA). Having a Smartphone also raises the issue of data roaming costs, and potentially HUGE BILLS when you get home (if roaming with your home network). Yes, you will have to pay VAT on purchases in the U.K. You can get a refund when you leave, but the paperwork and hassles wouldn't be worth it for such a small bill. This wouldn't be an issue if you went with a phone from one of the "travel phone" firms. Cheers!

@ken do they have that store in the airport?
wouldnt it be more because they will charge me 20% tax on my phone and sims purchase?

Is it really true that non-smartphones won't work in Europe? Can anyone confirm this? I have AT&T and am planning to take my non-smartphone (a RAZR flip phone) on my trip in September.

Hi, Which area are you staying in? Ask at the hotel where the closest internet cafe is. The staff should know. You can call from there. If you're in the Kings Cross area, an internet cafe is on Gray's Inn Road, more or less opposite from the Travel Lodge, or call at Kings Cross/St Pancras stations using a pay phone, the same if you're at Paddingon. Gare du Nord has numerous pay phones, if you're willing to drop in coins, on the main floor. You're not going to waste good vacation time looking for a pay phone because they are in the train stations (London and Paris) and, most likely, near or across the street from your hotel. I know of a few pay phones on streets in the Gare du Nord area as well as internet cafes.

Sarah, it only has to be a GSM phone, it doesn't have to be a smartphone. Some CDMA carriers offer GSM models that happen to be smartphones, but they don't have to be.

@ fred im staying by the waterloo station. if there are lots of pay phones in the metro then i guess it would be better to buy a calling card. and im also taking the eurostar to paris, if i find a room. Im staying at the Tune Hotel in "westminster" some1 told me that its not really westminster. but im ok with that. im still pretty close to everything. @ ken
do you know anyone who tried Cellular Abroad. i also notice the rental phones come with attachments to different country's outlets. maybe thats a plus too in renting the phone.

Mel, your trip is only 9 days,, seems to me you don't need to phone home more then once,, why get a cell phone for that? I travel without a cell for weeks at a time.. other then one phone call to say I've arrived,, I find I only phone home once a week at most. When I was 23 I phoned home twice during my entire trip,, almost three months long... lol , I think people today are too freaked out about "being diconnected"..
The time you will waste on finding , and renting/buying a phone seems wasteful. Use an internet cafe if you must to email home every few days. Or buy a phone card,, there may be fewer phone boxes but I don't think they have completely dissapppeared.

@Sarah, "Is it really true that non-smartphones won't work in Europe?" NO, that's ridiculous and absolutely NOT true! Who told you that??? I've been using a Motorola V-551 "flip" phone for several years, and it works fine. I've used both roaming with my home cell network as well as a SIM from one of the "travel phone" firms. As your RAZR phone was with AT&T, it's very likely that it's a GSM model so will work just fine in Europe. However, just to be sure I'd check the spec's to verify that and also that it's a quad-band model. If you plan to use it with SIM cards other than AT&T, the phone MUST be unlocked. Be sure to check the Charger to ensure it's designed to operate from 100-240 VAC (Plug Adapters will be needed). Cheers!

mel, "do you know anyone who tried Cellular Abroad. i also notice the rental phones come with attachments to different country's outlets. maybe thats a plus too in renting the phone." No, I don't know anyone that has tried Cellular Abroad, however it's a very well known firm and I believe it was recommended by Rudy Maxa on his European travel show. I've been using Roam Simple for several years, so I can comment on that (based on my experiences so far). I've found their customer service to be very quick and responsive, and the cellular service has been great throughout Europe (they're affiliated with O2 Telefonica in the U.K.). Regarding the Chargers, I wouldn't use that as the basis for choosing whether or not to rent a phone. Even if a phone is only supplied with a North American-style Plug, a $4 Plug Adapter easily deals with that. The "bottom line" is that a rental is still going to be expensive. If you're planning any future European trips, buying a cheap phone now will provide you with a travel accessory you can use well into the future. Cheers!

Mel, You can bet on Waterloo Station having pay phones and probably an internet cafe nearby to call from. That's where I go to make a trans-atlantic call or to any where else. It'll be no problem.

I replied to one of your other questions in another thread about phones around your "hotel".

@Nancy - thank you! @Ken - Mel stated that in her post at the top of this thread, so I got worried. My phone worked fine in Europe 2 years ago so I didn't know if anything changed. The phone is unlocked for SIM cards but in the past I've used AT&T's World Traveler plan for calling and texting home, which is not a bad deal. And thanks for reminding me about the voltage.

@ sarah. its just sprint. if you dont have a smart phone the phone is dead in europe.

mel, Sprint Smartphones will also be "dead in Europe", except for accessing data via Wi-Fi. The phone and text functions will NOT work.

I'm sorry but "Smartphone" or not "smartphone" don't enter into it. It is a red herring. It is the type of radio inside the phone that matters and the frequency. Quad band GSM works regardless, if enabled. CDMA doesn't. The wrong frequencies don't. Simples. It's the carrier that makes the difference.