Cellphone Usage and E-mail Between France and US

Nancy, Regarding the Cell phone, it would help to know whether you presently have a Cell, and if so which network you're with? I'm not clear on your question on "how to modify it". If it's a quad-band unlocked GSM phone, the only "modification" it will need is to place a valid SIM card in the tray. It will be easier to provide more specific suggestions with some further information. If you're only planning to make a few calls TO the U.S., you could also consider a calling card. I like the convenience of a Cell phone, as I frequently keep in touch with family back home using text messages. I also like to be able to contact Hotels in Europe to confirm reservations, especially if I won't be arriving on time. Regarding E-mail, I'm not too familiar with the Kindle Fire but believe it's capable of E-mail use. I don't believe it has 3G (cellular) capability, so you'll only have internet access in Wi-Fi areas. YES, E-mail will absolutely work between the U.S. and France (and anywhere else). That's how I keep in touch with contacts in Europe, North & South America and elsewhere. You might want to delete your duplicate Thread on this topic, so you can keep all replies in the same place. Cheers!

Thanks, Ken, for responding so quickly. I currently have a not-very-smart Verizon cellphone, but am planning to "upgrade" soon. Is it safe to assume that, when I upgrade, a Verizon smart phone will be configured in such a way that I can request the addition of the SIM card to accomplish what we need. I will only be using the phone to make a few calls, so maybe the calling card is the answer. When we have traveled outside of the US before, I borrowed a phone from Verizon's international group and used it only for text-messaging. The Kindle Fire can be used for e-mailing -- and I am familiar with e-mailing between the US and Europe, but I just was not sure if the Kindle would work for this purpose since it has a built-in WI-Fi (provided by Amazon). Obviously, I'm not very technologically savvy -- which presents another question -- How do I delete the duplicate thread? Ouch! Appreciate your help -- very much.

Nancy, Thanks for the additional information. I was going to suggest the Verizon international "loaner" phone, but it sounds like you're already familiar with that. That can be reasonably cost effective if it's used somewhat "sparingly", especially when used with a "travel pack" which reduces voice calls to 99¢ per minute and sent texts to 50¢ each. What type of phone are you planning to "upgrade" to? Not all Verizon models have GSM capability, but one Smartphone that does is the iPhone 4S. As I recall, the GSM portion is disabled normally, but that can be activated by Verizon. The phone may be locked, but after a length of time, they may be willing to unlock it. Hopefully Paul or one of the others can confirm that. Others here have travelled with a Kindle Fire, and AFIAK they've never had any problems using the E-mail when in Europe. If you click on the duplicate Thread, you should see both an "Edit" button and a "Delete" button on the left side. It's been a while since I've done that. Cheers!

Wifi is wifi everywhere. You will be able to use your Kindle to email as long as you are in a wifi area. As for the phone, even if you upgrade, I think the phone will still be locked to Verizon so your only option with them would be their international roaming, which isn't cheap. Since you only plan to call a few times, you could probably get by with a calling card. I usually find, though, that with the time zone difference it's hard to find a time to call when we both can talk. I use email - I can write when it's convenient for me, and they can write back when it's convenient for them.

In order to use the Kindle Fire, you will need to find a wifi connection (as has been mentioned). While WiFi can be found everywhere, free wifi is less common. I would suggest that you contact the hotel/apartment/etc. that you are planning to stay at and find out if they offer free wifi (or what they charge for wifi). They should have instructions on how to connect to it. Once you are connected, you will email as if you were in the US.

Nancy, for just a few calls, I'd do what you've done before and just get a loaner phone from Verizon. Just keep your calls very, very short and use text messages when you can. You may find that if you communicate by email over wifi that you really won't have much need to call. There are lots of other options, but you've stated you're not very technologically savvy, so why add a new, possible headache to your travel plans. Personally, I do a mixture of a local SIM card, a prepaid calling card, using Skype over the Internet, and using my own U.S. carrier under some circumstances. But I generally enjoy making all the different possibilities work. There are times, however, when I sometimes wish that the costs permitted me to just use my U.S. carrier alone (or that I was wealthy enough not care about the cost). So much easier. My wife on the other hand, just hands me her phone and tells me to fix it so it works.

In the last several years traveling in France, it's been rare to find a hotel that doesn't have WiFi, although sometimes you can only get access in certain common areas. I also haven't stayed at a hotel that charged for WiFi, but I'm sure there must be some. Maybe even a lot.