int'l travel

[shampoomaker]

I am planning on going to London for a week. I have an A900, and I don't think it will work over there.

Is there a "temporary" cell phone I can get in the US to use over there?
What service is the best in London (and possibly surrounding areas)?

Thanks.

 

[Roverjo]

i also want to be able to call the US.

 

[ryan.james17]

I am not familar with that phone it self, but I believe what you need is a GSM phone. Most new phones will have that. That is what most of Europe runs on and there primary frequency's are 900-1800-1900. So a phone that runs off of these frequency's. Then you may need to set up international calling with your provider, although that will be expensive. Although an unlocked phone would be your best bet. A phone not locked to any specific carrier and will be up anyones signal.

 

[phantomgirl24]

you pretty much a GSM phone. just get an unlocked gsm phone and once you get to london get a prepaid sim card and put it in the phone ans use.

 

[elnino_9]

do they have stores with stuff like tracfones? would those be cheaper?

I have not messed with sim cards, are those like SD cards?

 

[joeblow]

Get a Virgin Mobile card. They are 20 pounds but you get 15 pounds worth credit. Make sure you got an unlocked GSM 900/1800 phone. Use google to check. If not unlocked check some websites for that.

 

[scene1918!<333]

Hey Nau1977, to answer your first question, Sprint (and the Samsung SPH-A900 you have) operate on a digital standard called Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). The digital standards over in Europe are Global Systems for Mobile (GSM) and Wideband CDMA (WCDMA). Your Sprint phone will not work on any of the networks over there.

Since you won't be gone long and you probably won't do anything other than make a few phone calls, I suggest you buy a Nokia 1100 or 1110 with a "pay as you go" plan. It's basically a pre-paid plan like Tracfone, but that's what they call it in the UK. Most carriers have them.

The 1100 and 1110 models are cheap enough that you can throw/give them away when you leave. Avoid buying a cheap phone Stateside and brining it over to the UK because unless they operate in the 900 and 1800 MHz band, they will not work over there. The US versions of the 1100 and 1110 are 850 and 1900 MHz.

If you Google "Nokia 1100 pay as you go" and look at websites selling them in British Pound currency, you will get a good idea of the deals available to you.

I would not buy an expensive model phone for use in the UK unless you are planning to switch your service to Cingular or T-Mobile. If you do that, your A900 becomes useless.

Good luck!

Tango Uniform.

 

[Blanca G]

I forgot to mention that SIM cards or System Identity Modules are small card that some carriers provide you when you purchase a phone (Sprint and Verizon do not use them). These cards contain all the information necessary to identify you to the carrier you are trying to use. They can also contain your phonebook if you so desire. They are not SD memory cards.

If you switch a SIM card from one GSM phone to another, all the information follows and the second phone becomes "your" phone. If you want a new phone on Sprint, you have to buy and activate the phone. Once you do that, you can not switch back and forth between your old Sprint and your new Sprint phone easily. This is not the case with the GSM phones.

You will notice some people referring to "unlocked" phones. Some GSM phones are locked to carriers and only the carrier's SIM cards will activate the phone. Unlocked phones will work with just about any carrier's SIM card.

Tango Uniform

 

[stephsteph]

Thanks for replies. I saw this from a Frommers last night...http://www.travelcell.com/tcrates.asp?ID=KYBHGVTCXE1146715851839&COUNTRY=160&cntitle=U.K. . Not sure if it is a good deal. But I'll check with hotel to see where PAYG phones are sold. I'm sure in Gatwick airport, but the cost could be a bit much, knowing airports.