Sim In France

[Bonjour_Voyageurs]

Ignore last posting...
According to cellular abroad http://www.cellularabroad.com/franceRcell.html
when I purchase the French SIM card I will have prepaid for minutes. Is this correct? Judging from their prices, you all are correct that it would be very expensive to go the rental route.
:wacko: I guess I am just so obviously confused about what ought to be something logical.

All I want is to be able to have a phone in France to communicate with hotels as we journey across the country for 19 days. That is primarily the reason. It might also come in handy for other reasons and give us a sense of security if let's say we were to breakdown somewhere in the middle of nowhere in Provence.

From the standpoint of cost, let me see if I understand now:
1 - Spend $ to buy phone here.
2 - Spend Euros and buy SIM card there. Turn on phone and make calls.

(3 - All set or do I have to spend Euros to make calls?)

Michele

[Effendi]

Of course you have to spend euros to make calls, they are not free!
My suggestion is always to buy a phone (maybe tri or quad band, so you can use it at home in the US as well) and a sim-card on eBay. The starting kit always include some "free" credit, but it can be not enough for your trip and so you'll probably need to buy some refill cards during your stay in France.

[Bonjour_Voyageurs]

I don't have time any more to waste on being outbided on eBay like I have been for the past 48 hours. Right now I am considreing a 'buy now' option of a SONY ERICSSON T200 GSM UNLOCKED TRI-BAND CELLULAR PHONE (Item number: 9711462941) for a total of $55. Does this seem like a good deal? I thought I could get a decent package for $30-40 but apparently not at the present time.
Michele

[Bossman]

Not bad for a basic phone.

But see if you can grab one of these very similar but much better phones for around the same price (remember to do the conversion and contact seller for shipping cost to US). Specifically look at the "buy it nows". You have enough time for shipping from UK. I went to ebay UK, because 90% of the same phones sold here do not haev the 900 band, they have the 850 band instead. I have one of these bought brand new on ebay UK for less than $100 about a year ago. You may also need to get a US Nokia charger or adapter. That can be done for arount $10


OTOH, you can just buy the one you posted above and close the deal.

http://search.ebay.co.uk/search/search.dll...3120&category0=

[Marc]

Hi Michelle,

I hope you bought the (a) phone. Looking at how long you're going to be in France and the rental prices, either on-line or through US cellular carriers, buying a phone is more cost-effective. As people have pointed out already, with a tri-band you can use the phone as a back-up here in the States, or, even if you're not going back to Europe for a while (and how do you know that?), you could lend it to a friend going overseas and have them eternally in your debt.

Buying the phone separately will also avoid being overcharged for your SIM card. The one rental place you mentioned doesn't seem to rent you a phone without your also buying the start-up SIM from them--at $60 was it?!! My start-up SIM package purchased in Paris was only 15 euro, and included 5 euro of call time.

As Effendi mentioned, you're going to have to recharge whatever SIM you do get. Even though the French companies all charge by the second, it's a rare call that stops under a minute. Those initial few euros of credit won't last long. If you're calling ahead to a hotel, think of the seconds flying by as they find your reservation record, look it up . . . ask someone a question about it . . . answer a question from someone else. You get the picture. Also, you'll find other uses for the phone. It's always a good idea to make restaurant reservations, if you can. And when you're tired from running around, it's nice to be able to call a shop or a sight to be sure they're open before you trek out to them.

The fact that you're gonna use the phone more than you expect also rules out international roaming with your US carrier. My carrier, T-Mobile, I think has the lowest international roaming rates of the big carriers--but they're still 99 cents/minute, and they charge you for incoming as well as outgoing. (Other US carriers run as high as $1.49/minute.) The French prepaids are all in the 0.50-0.60 euro/minute range (60-70 cents), and DON'T charge you for incoming calls.

There's detail on a few of the French cards in the sticky at the top of this European forum.

Have fun.

Marc

[Bonjour_Voyageurs]

Marc and others,
Many thanks for your tremendous help.
I have decided to buy this phone on eBay:
NEW SONY ERICSSON T200 UNLOCKED GSM WORLD CELL PHONE
Item number: 9712532318
Mich?le

[Bossman]

Good choice. Enjoy your trip!

[Bonjour_Voyageurs]

The Sony Ericsson T200 arrived a little while ago. There is no instruction manual and I cannot figure out how to open the cover on the back. I called the seller's number and was instructed to go to their website www.mrwireless.us to find the corresponding owner's manual.
I downloaded the manual but apparently I need to insert the SIM and then the battery (the diagram and instruction still don't instruct on how to open the cover).
I was going to buy the SIM in France but wanted to charge the phone to make sure it is working before our departure. Any suggestions?
Mich?le

[Bossman]

There has to be something on the back that you need to press/pull in order to open it. I also find it suprising that you can not charge the phone unless the sim is in it.

Try the SE forum at howard forums:

http://www.howardforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=37

[snaimon]

http://www.travelcell.com/PDFs/SE_T200.pdf

Not much info on removing the cover!

FROM THE DIAGRAM of closing the thing......

There should be a button at the top of the sliding battery cover that you DEPRESS and slide the cover down or away from the remaining phone body.

There were other google entries that might have other info.

Google can be your friend.

Stan