Best cellphone for international operations?

[gringo]

I've got an iPhone for domestic use, but AT&T charges up the wazoo for any international stuff...

Any suggestions on a good phone/carrier for international data/roaming while overseas? I'm open to all carriers, even foreign ones.

Thanks!

 

[satpak77]

where are you going? I would buy an UNLOCKED GSM phone on Ebay and when you go to your international destination, buy a SIM card from a local cell phone store.

That being said, for roaming in Mexico and Central America, the prepaid GoPhone roams best. I have personally, physically, carried all the major carriers while in Latin America and the GoPhone roams the best.

 

[gringo]

Worldwide operations. We fly to every continent except Antarctica, so there's no telling where I'll be. One month Africa, the next month Asia, after that South America...

I'm hoping for a solution that won't require a SIM card for every country, but I don't know if that exists...

Thanks again!

 

[refplusnone]

When I was out of country I just left my iphone in airplane mode then used Skype on my phone. Worked great for me, but maybe I was lucky and was able to find pretty decent wi-fi.

Ref

 

[badlander45]

Blackberry 9700 on ATT with international roaming and unlimited international data on top of my normal calling plan comes out to 80.00 a month total.

 

[ackattacker]

Using a t-mobile phone with "UMA" (Hotspot@home) you can make calls over wifi just like you were using the cell network. This works great when you are international in an area that has wifi (such as most hotels). It still uses your minutes but it acts like you were still in the states. Also the phones are GSM so they can take other sim cards.

 

[atpcliff]

Hi!

From reading other posters with LOTS of intntl experience, Blackberry/Verizon is the best. If you JUST want a phone (no email, calculator, scheduler, todo list, alarm clock, calender, etc.) then get a Verizon phone.

cliff
LFW
PS-The sim card thing is crazy, if you travel all over. Guy I work with had 50 or so sim cards he kept track of (or at least tried to)!

 

[satpak77]

Skype mobile would be best bet

http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/on-your-mobile/download/

But if you want a "real" cell phone, make sure it is a unlocked GSM phone.

 

[Cloudroller]

Verizon was the best, sinse the updated there roaming agreement with Vodafone, they have gone to not working in Kosovo, Biskek, the Middle East.

 

[gringo]

Blackberry 9700 on ATT with international roaming and unlimited international data on top of my normal calling plan comes out to 80.00 a month total.

Is this a recent plan, or have you had this option for a long time? I've called AT&T; they told me their best international data plan was $200 for 200MB.

Maybe it's a plan limited to Blackberries...

 

[MD11Drvr]

Gringo,

There is a ATT plan which you will not find on their site. If you are eligible for a discounted plan (DOD,Airline discount plan,etc) then call the international desk as a basic ATT customer service does not see it. Ask for their 65.00 unlimited data plan. You must be on a corporate type or DOD discount plan to be eligible. For the IPhone it will replace your 30.00 domestic plan so it is a net gain of 35.00 to your bill.

I do not like the changing sim card either so between this plan and the regular ATT int'l plan its all I use.

Good Luck! Hope this helps....

 

[FastHap]

Sprint Blackberry Bold 9650. Unlocked and good to go. Unlimited international data plan for $69.99/month.

 

[gringo]

Called up AT&T like suggested, and they DO in fact have an unlimited data plan for $60 a month. It's called the "PDA International Unlimited Data Plan", or something similar.

Since I already have the $30 data plan that comes with every iPhone, they simply swapped it and now I'm paying only $30 more a month.

You DO have to have a business (not personal) account, which I apparently do. Not sure how it became a business account, as it's been my personal line for about 6 years, but I'm not complaining.

Thanks MD11Drvr!

As for voice, hard to beat Skype at the hotel. So I'll stick to that!

 

[Rifmaster]

If you have an unlocked phone, check out these options for sim cards:
http://www.telestial.com

 

[pilotgolfer]

Called up AT&T like suggested, and they DO in fact have an unlimited data plan for $60 a month. It's called the "PDA International Unlimited Data Plan", or something similar.

Since I already have the $30 data plan that comes with every iPhone, they simply swapped it and now I'm paying only $30 more a month.

You DO have to have a business (not personal) account, which I apparently do. Not sure how it became a business account, as it's been my personal line for about 6 years, but I'm not complaining.

Thanks MD11Drvr!

As for voice, hard to beat Skype at the hotel. So I'll stick to that!

I am on the road doing IOE right now. I spent all of last week in Europe and Asia. I got a txt from AT&T about 20 minutes ago saying I had an unusually high useage of International data. I had left my Blackberry on in case my wife needed to get in touch with me. I had racked up over 30 MegaBytes of data in that one week. ATT charges $20 per MB so it adds up quickly. 50 cents per txt, incoming emails, etc. Strike it up as a rookie mistake on my part. I had good intentions of researching that and updating my phone service before I left...I just ran out of time.

What really blew me away was this...I asked the girl to sign me up for the unlimited International data plan. It cost an additional $30 or $35 for the month. The nice thing was that she backdated the plan to include all my useage from last week. That just saved me $600 bucks. Beers are on me tonight...look out Anchorage!

 

[lear24]

Verizon was the best, sinse the updated there roaming agreement with Vodafone, they have gone to not working in Kosovo, Biskek, the Middle East.

When did this happen?

 

[Rick1128]

I tried to use Verizon internationally many years ago and it was nothing but an pain in the butt. Maybe it has changed. Though expensive, ATT has worked just about everywhere, but Iran and Korea. As for T-Mobile, a former employer issued T-Mobile phones to all the brass, but when we landed in some of back-woods areas we went into, they always seemed to want to use my ATT phone, because it always worked.

Another option besides Skype is Magic Jack. But use a internet computer, but what I like about Magic Jack, you can call people that don't have it at no cost and you have a regular phone number for people to call you.

 

[Draginass]

Buy an used unlocked quad band GSM phone (like a Razr) off the internet and then get a sim card from these guys. Works all over the world and is relatively cheap. Better than telestial.com, I think. But you need to compare features, and cost of calls in the locations you'll be using the phone most to figure which is best for you personally.

http://acetelecomstore.com/

 

[9rj9]

I've had the ATT international data roaming plan for 2 years, 60 bucks a month and i don't have to worry about turning on my phone in East Ouagadugo or Berlin. Phone works great everywhere. You can pay 3 bucks a month for international voice discount for quick calls, and use skype if you have wifi. I use yahoo chat with the kids which is great with the unlimited data.
I used Verizon before and it was expensive and spotty.

 

[turpentyine]

http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_n8-3252.php

You should get the Nokia N8. It will be out soon. It is the only phone that supports all the 3G and GSM bands currently used by networks around the world. So wherever you are the phone will always be fully compatible with the network you are on = less dropped calls
In the US it will 100% work on ATT or TMOBILE. I am actually gonna get it myself when it comes out.