Few questions about mobile phones in Europe?

[wylie]

I want to take my iPhone to England, France and Italy for our trip. I don't want to make calls but I am planning on buying and loading an application for each city we are visiting that gives us details about the cities and helps us navigate with "no roaming fees". Does that mean it does not connect to the net and is cost free? My understanding is that this is the case, and unless we initiate a connection to the net, we can just use it like a travel guide.

I'm also thinking of loading an "app" with basic language necessities for French and Italian in case we get stuck.

To ensure we don't somehow get it wrong and end up with a nasty account, I am thinking of buying a prepaid sim card in London. If we need to text home or connect at least we know we cannot spend any more than the prepaid amount.

Does anybody know if this is a workable solution.

Would I need to buy a prepaid sim card in each country or could I use the one I buy in England for France and Italy?

And... if I load an "app" here for each city we visit, does anybody know if those will stay on the phone when I take my Australian sim card out, or are they somehow "linked" to my sim card and I might lose them if I remove the card.

Link to the "app" called mtrip is here - http://www.mtrip.com/

Sorry if these questions seem basic, but I AM over 20, which seems to be the age that all this stuff comes naturally .

 

[Rolf Latham]

questions not related to the specific one : )

what I phone do u have ? the 4 has a mini sim that can be harder to get pre paids for

Is ur phone locked to an OZ provider ?

ta

rolf'

 

[wylie]

questions not related to the specific one : )

what I phone do u have ? the 4 has a mini sim that can be harder to get pre paids for

Is ur phone locked to an OZ provider ?

ta

rolf'

Hi Rolf.

I have an iphone 4 and the sim is indeed teensy. I did wonder about that, but figured there would be a few million people with the 4 in Europe. I will see if I can check that out.

I'll also check if I am locked. I am on a two year contract with Optus, so I guess I am locked.

However, I have my old iphone 3 that is not locked (according to the chap who issued me the new 4 phone. Maybe I will take that and load the apps onto that. The sim size might be an easier find too.

I know I can go to my local Optus shop, but I hate to say I don't hold a lot of confidence in the young staff there. I'd rather hear from people who have actually gone overseas and done what I am planning on doing.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[Bigtone]

Hi Rolf.

I have an iphone 4 and the sim is indeed teensy. I did wonder about that, but figured there would be a few million people with the 4 in Europe. I will see if I can check that out.

I'll also check if I am locked. I am on a two year contract with Optus, so I guess I am locked.

However, I have my old iphone 3 that is not locked (according to the chap who issued me the new 4 phone. Maybe I will take that and load the apps onto that. The sim size might be an easier find too.

I know I can go to my local Optus shop, but I hate to say I don't hold a lot of confidence in the young staff there. I'd rather hear from people who have actually gone overseas and done what I am planning on doing.

Thanks for your reply.

i think that is the best idea, load them on the I3 and buy a pre-paid in london.

i got a big bill on my phone from europe in 2009 when i left data roaming on but in 2010 in USA turned it off and bill same as if at home.

use prepaid and u will be completely safe, add on "VIBER" as an app so people can call and text u for free if they want to.

 

[wylie]

Thanks Bigtone. And... I'll check Viber out. Sounds good.

 

[BV]

Would I need to buy a prepaid sim card in each country or could I use the one I buy in England for France and Italy?

Wylie
Last year I could not find a prepaid card which will work all over Europe.
It probably has to do with roaming and the money the Telcos make from this function.

Do you want local sims to be able to call each other?
Texting may be a way around this.
You can use your existing sims and I believe you pay 25c per text.
If you want to avoid paying for incoming calls you can let them go to message bank and then retrieve the messages later.