If you want the phone for emergencies, Virgin is your best bet. The phone will cost you around $50 and calls are 25c/minute for the first 10 minutes then 10c after that, add 35c to the above for calls to the UK (rates don't drop for the international calls). You need to purchase a $20 card (minimum limit), I think they may have a $10 bonus charge on the phone already. BTW Virgin phones do not work in the UK (they don't even work in Canada).
My T-Mobile phone worked nicely in the UK (using Vodaphone networks, they also share with O2, Orange and T-mobileUK of course) so you may want to check with your carrier and bring your own phone.
OK I know this is nothing to do with SAABs, which is why I made the header clear.
I'm travelling to Florida for a 2 week holiday in June. Want to stay in contact with UK by mobile phone. I have, (or soon will have- on order) a triband phone.
I'm told I can buy a US Pay as You Go sim card, and use that rather than use my network? Is this a good idea, if so where would I go for such a sim card and what's the best network in the USA, bearing in mind nearly all calls made and received will be to UK.
My brother was in Sri Lanka at Christmas, and my folks don't want to go through same worry they had with him, should there be a problem in USA. (He's fine, up a mountain at time)
I expect that you ordered an "unlocked" phone, otherwise it likely will only work with the SIM from the company that sold the phone in the country where it was purchased. Normally the phones and the "pay as you go" cards in the US are sold next to each other in the same store. They are available from stores like Best Buy, Circuit City, Target or WalMart. I prefer to buy my cell phones from amazon.com. An online purchase might not be the best solution for you, but at least you can see what is available. Keep in mind that your US phone (or US SIM) will be associated with a US phone number and that in the US, the minutes for both incoming and outgoing calls are charged to the mobile phone user.
Pay as you go systems likely assume that calls will be made within the US and might not work or will be very expensive when you want to call an international number. I know that with my Cingular pre-paid service, I get many minutes per month to call anywhere in the US. This calculates to about $0.10/minute. Calls to Western Europe are $1.49/minute unless I pay additional for a special service. I used to have T-Mobile. I seem to recall they work the same way and charge $1.99/minute for international calls. Another thing to keep in mind is that SIM cards only work with GSM systems. Verizon, Sprint and Nextel do not offer GSM technology (this information may be outdated). T-Mobile, Cingular and AT&T (the last two companies have merged) are the well known, nationwide companies that have GSM systems.
A unlocked triband is all you need. I have one, a Nokia of certain model i don't even remember. T-mobile is my carrier. I have GSM so it worked anywhere I go, so far at least. It does in London, Paris, China, Taiwan, the Caribbean in addition to all of US, just to name a few. But sometimes it is more economical to get a local SIM card. They stick you when you are overseas.
Over Thanksgiving of 2003 I was in the Philadelphia area and got a Virgin Mobile "Party Animal". Marketed at "brainless teens" to judge by the gosh-wow phrasing of the paperwork, this worked well enough for me to want to revive it for a California trip in July
2004. At 10 cents/minute after 25 cents/minute for the first I- forget-but-a-low-number of minutes each day, anywhere in the US, costs seemed reasonable. The phone was a simple Kyocera unit, I would guess a design they were ready to retire and gave VM a good deal on. The package cost me $30, including a voucher for $20 of time, from a VM store.
The only downside (other than slight patchiness of coverage -- I had a strange time finding a live spot in the southwestern Mojave Desert, ending up among waste bins behind the local Jack-in-the- Box) was Virgin's useless marketing.
Between late 2003 and mid 2004 my phone number had expired and to reactivate it I had to feed at least $20 to Virgin Mobile -- but it had to be the US company, not the UK one. Their US web system would not accept a credit card not matched by a US address... It was a pretty klutzy arrangement, for a big international company.
To make the phone work (with a new number) I had to travel to the US and buy a top-up card from IIRC a Ralphs (supermarket). After that it went smoothly, with a free phonecall to Virgin and a wait of about 4 hours.
Overall, using Virgin worked and I'd say to consider them. But I really cannot say much for their marketing savvy. (Though maybe it has since changed.)
Thanks for the info Guys, since my "fruity" (no names no pack drill) UK provider is being particularly unhelpful with regards to supply of my handset, I think I'll grab a cheapie when I'm in the US.
It's my intention to take the good lady to New York or Boston later in the year anyway, so I can re-use then.
Getting back on topic, normal Saab questions will undoubtedly follow soon....
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