adventurekq
Ross & Kathleen
- Time of past OR future Camino
- 2012 Camino Frances
2022 Caminho Portugues
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peregrina2000 said:Hi, Kathleen and Ross,
There are several technology gurus on the forum, who will give you good advice no doubt. I am NOT one of them, but I do walk with a phone.
I don't know if your main purpose is to be in contact with home, or to be able to use a phone on the camino, but I think that will be important in determining which way to go.
I use the phone for in-Spain calls with family at home knowing they can contact me in an emergency on the number (but it's very expensive for regular communications). For me the easiest thing to do is to just buy a cheap phone in a phone store (I go to movistar, which seems to get the edge in terms of service) and put about 25 euros on a card. The last time I bought a phone was about 8 years ago, and I just keep bringing it back every summer to reload with a new card. Buying a phone with about 10-15 euros time on it will run around 25 euros. I forget the exact rates for calling, but it seems to have gotten a bit cheaper over the last few years.
For calling home to the US, I typically go to a locutorio, which is a store that has internet/phone/fax, etc. and you can find them in most large places. This past summer, the going rate was about 8 centimos a minute.
But if you plan to use the phone for regular US contact, you might want to go the way you odescribe.
Buen camino, Laurie
Hi and thanks.Anniesantiago said:It's much cheaper just to buy a pay as you go phone or a SIM card for your unlocked phone when you arrive.
Merryecho said:I take my AT&T iPhone when abroad, turnnoff data roaming. Answer only calls from numbers you know you want to accept. As easy as calling you at home for callers, around 1$/ minute charged to you if you answer, easy to call home if you want to. And Download Skype to your phone and talk to home free anywhere with wifi. Don't see need for extra overseas phone, but as others say, local phone is good to have for in Europe calls.
Thanks, Lisa.caminocalling said:Hi,
I have used Telestial for my phone..its a great little Euro phone..I used in Italy 3 years ago and just reactivated with new sim card..its called the A55 Siemens it does not have bells and whistles but is a great a compact travel phone for calls and incoming are free..I used it a ton when Italy and thought it would be good to meet up with pilgrims, make reservations or just check in with friends at home..and of course in "emergency"
check out the website for Telestial..there are a couple of deals..
Happy Trails!
Lisa
Hi Laurie. Thank you for the information.peregrina2000 said:Hi, Kathleen,
The phone I buy is a Spanish phone with a Spanish number (they just give me a new little card with a new number every year), but my family has a calling card they use to call me in Spain for about 3 cents a minute. It's from onesuite.com and it works great. I have professional contacts in both Spain and Portugal and I use it all the time. It's really cheap and reliable. I guess I don't know why it is a good idea to have a phone in Spain with a US number, but as I said, I'm pretty low tech.
I rarely call to make reservations, but sometimes it's a good idea. More than that, though, I find that having the phone allows me to be in touch with other peregrinos a few days ahead or behind. If your phone has a US number, it would be very expensive for others in Spain to call you, or for you to call them in Spain, right?
Sorry if I'm not helping here, I should leave these threads to those who understand phones better. Laurie
My brother did that, and was fine.Take your ipod touch
You can probably buy a data SIM chip for an unlocked phone, have internet connections many places as you walk, and be able to make emergency/expensive cell calls along the way. The chip is nearly free with the initial 10E of data on it.take my android phone, turn off the data
poogeyejr said:What a difference a year makes. I walked in May 2011 and no one would sell me a SIM for my unlocked iPhone3. Progress is fabulous!
Milepost99 said:I have the iPhone 5, Verizon. Supposedly it's unlocked although you wont read that in any Verizon literature. it uses a nano sim, I hope to buy a prepaid chip when I get to Spain.
Yes. I just got my iPhone in March. Not a problem.rickster said:I had my iphone unlocked this year prior to walking the Camino, but my contract had run out. Are you sure that Verizon and Apple will unlock if you are still under the 2 year contract?
Note that iPhone 3, 3GS, and 4 locked SIM's are not addressed. A Verizon rep told me that the SIM in their earlier iPhones cannot be removed. That did not sound right to me, but I was just shopping for better service than I was getting on my T-Mobile chip in an unlocked 3GS, so did not feel like challenging the assertion. You can get lied to more often than in a cellular store only if you go to the airlines! Two service industries based on duplicity, an interesting marketing model.Verizon has officially told the AP that the SIM slot on its iPhone 5, which shipped unlocked, won’t be re-locked later on, as was the case with the initial shipment of Sprint iPhone 4S devices sold last year. That means that Verizon iPhone 5 owners can effectively use their devices with any GSM carriers around the world, including AT&T in the U.S.
That freedom not only to travel, but even to switch carriers within the U.S. once a contract expires puts a big premium on Verizon iPhone devices, if you ask me, allowing customers to save money both in the near- and long-term. It also increases the resale value of used Verizon devices, since the person you’re selling to doesn’t have to be on the same carrier.
There is a significant caveat, however: The iPhone 5 from Verizon will need Verizon’s network to achieve true 4G LTE speeds, while on AT&T it would have to settle for so-called “4G” HSPA+ network connections. That’s still a far cry better than being limited to EDGE, however, and probably plenty fast enough for most people.
As for the competition, AT&T has a policy of unlocking phones once they’re off-contract, and Sprint provides unlocking for international use only after a customer has been in good standing for six months or more.
Long story short, frequent business travelers looking for as little hassle as possible when taking their phones on the road would do well to give Verizon a good long look if they’re interested in buying an iPhone 5. Well played, Verizon.
Hi All
I purchased a 16GB iPhone 4 in the US and have found that i can't use it at all in Australia. It has no sim card slot to take my sim.
Details are ads follows :
Carrier - Verizon 11.2
Version - 5.0.1 (9A405)
Model - MC676LL
I'm going to have to sell it and i need help to verify if it is the same as this one selling on ebay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iPhone-4- ... 701wt_1141
Can someone please help me out , i'm in a real pickle and i don't want to lose hundreds of $$$ for nothing.
ArnettH_VZW
Correct Answer by ArnettH_VZW on Jan 6, 2012 10:49 AM
Hello @cleaner and other community members,
As we all know, the iPhone 4 is an impressive device with an array of features! It is one of the most popular devices in the wireless industry. The original iPhone 4, as great as it is, is not a global device. Global usage is one of the added capabilities found on the new iPhone 4S that was released in October. Based on the information that you have provided, the iPhone that you have is the original iPhone 4. The easiest way to visually confirm is the SIM tray located on the right side of the device. If there is not a SIM tray then it's the iPhone 4.
Looking at the link that you provided, the device shown is a iPhone 4 also. I also noticed that the bidding has ended for that device. If you are interested in purchasing an iPhone 4S then I have a link that posted for your review.
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/splash/iphone.jsp
If you have any questions or concerns about the iPhone 4S and it's additional features then please reply to this message so I can further assist.
Thank you...
A Verizon iPhone only works with Verizon, apparently.If I'm not mistaken that unlocked iPhone 3G will only work on another GSM network, not on CDMA (Verizon).
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