Thinkpad & iPhone travelling thru Europe & Canada: Prepaid GSM & Data HELP!

crashnburn

Thinkpad & iPhone travelling thru Europe & Canada: Prepaid GSM & Data HELP!
Thinkpad+iPhone thru Europe+Canada: PrepaidGSM & Data HELP
Thinkpad & iPhone travel thru Europe & Canada: Prepaid GSM & Data Help

I’ll be traveling through
Europe (24th June – 8th July), mostly Germany (Berlin, Bad Antogast) but maybe entering Europe via Brussels, Belgium etc.
Canada (8th July – 17th July), mostly Montreal
Frankfurt (18th – 19th July).

I have an unlocked & jailbroken iPhone 4 & Thinkpad T61 & X61T. (If not MicroSIM, I have cutter, but do mention)

What would be my best options for? : Hardware & Service Providers.

Prepaid GSM:
Calling & SMS Rates for > Local, Across Europe, International (India, US, Canada) Numbers:

Data/Internet access via iPhone:
Data (GPRS/EDGE/3G?):
via iPhone
Options of Unlimited Data/ Fixed amount Limited Data/ or Weekly Unlimited/ Daily Unlimited data.. etc?

Internet Access via Laptop:

Option 1:
3G/4G Unlocked Data Card + SIM for Data Access via Laptop:
Which are best Data Cards for Europe – Internal (Thinkpad) or External (USB/PCMCIA/Express)

AND/OR

Option 2:
If a pre-paid SIM provides access to 3G/4G data via tethering with iPhone 4 (I can install iPhone tethering enablers from Cydia etc & Configure the IPCCs if the right app or tutorial is pointed out).
This saves me having to buy a Data Card. Also, I’ll have lesser time to access my laptop so via iPhone is the best option.

GUIDE PLEASE:
Please guide for mainly Germany & Canada even if you don’t know all of the above. Whatever you know / understand.

ALSO: Any Navigation/ GPS App recommendations for Europe welcome.. But not critical

PhotoJim · 25-06-2011, 12:51

Unfortunately, there aren't yet any GSM/UMTS-based prepaid data options for Canada that really make any sense. Some Canadian providers are starting to provide reasonably attractive Canadian roaming if you buy a specific Canada/US data package; perhaps your US provider has something similar. (Only in the past year or so have any US carriers implemented affordable data on prepaid, and Canada is a little behind.)

I'll let the others comment on Germany, but odds are good that there is something quite good there. Most European countries have very affordable prepaid data plans.

DRNewcomb · 28-06-2011, 15:58

You may wish to also consider WiFi roaming via BoingoMobile.

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	(#1)
crashnburn (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 3 Join Date: 16 Oct 2007 Country:	Thinkpad & iPhone travelling thru Europe & Canada: Prepaid GSM & Data HELP! - 23-06-2011, 03:51 Thinkpad & iPhone travelling thru Europe & Canada: Prepaid GSM & Data HELP! Thinkpad+iPhone thru Europe+Canada: PrepaidGSM & Data HELP Thinkpad & iPhone travel thru Europe & Canada: Prepaid GSM & Data Help I’ll be traveling through Europe (24th June – 8th July), mostly Germany (Berlin, Bad Antogast) but maybe entering Europe via Brussels, Belgium etc. Canada (8th July – 17th July), mostly Montreal Frankfurt (18th – 19th July). I have an unlocked & jailbroken iPhone 4 & Thinkpad T61 & X61T. (If not MicroSIM, I have cutter, but do mention) What would be my best options for? : Hardware & Service Providers. Prepaid GSM: Calling & SMS Rates for > Local, Across Europe, International (India, US, Canada) Numbers: Data/Internet access via iPhone: Data (GPRS/EDGE/3G?): via iPhone Options of Unlimited Data/ Fixed amount Limited Data/ or Weekly Unlimited/ Daily Unlimited data.. etc? Internet Access via Laptop: Option 1: 3G/4G Unlocked Data Card + SIM for Data Access via Laptop: Which are best Data Cards for Europe – Internal (Thinkpad) or External (USB/PCMCIA/Express) AND/OR Option 2: If a pre-paid SIM provides access to 3G/4G data via tethering with iPhone 4 (I can install iPhone tethering enablers from Cydia etc & Configure the IPCCs if the right app or tutorial is pointed out). This saves me having to buy a Data Card. Also, I’ll have lesser time to access my laptop so via iPhone is the best option. GUIDE PLEASE: Please guide for mainly Germany & Canada even if you don’t know all of the above. Whatever you know / understand. ALSO: Any Navigation/ GPS App recommendations for Europe welcome.. But not critical

	(#2)
PhotoJim (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 389 Join Date: 10 Dec 2006 Location: Regina, SK, CA Country:	25-06-2011, 12:51 Unfortunately, there aren't yet any GSM/UMTS-based prepaid data options for Canada that really make any sense. Some Canadian providers are starting to provide reasonably attractive Canadian roaming if you buy a specific Canada/US data package; perhaps your US provider has something similar. (Only in the past year or so have any US carriers implemented affordable data on prepaid, and Canada is a little behind.) I'll let the others comment on Germany, but odds are good that there is something quite good there. Most European countries have very affordable prepaid data plans. CA: SaskTel, Wind postpaid; Rogers, Bell postpaid iPad flex plans; US: T-Mobile postpaid data, prepaid voice; PureTalk (AT&T MVNO) prepaid voice/data; AT&T prepaid iPad plan Hardware: Too much but notably iPhone 5, iPad Mini Retina LTE, Moto G LTE (N.A. version), iPhone 4. All unlocked.

	(#3)
DRNewcomb (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Professionist Posts: 1,465 Join Date: 27 Feb 2004 Location: Mississippi, USA Country:	28-06-2011, 15:58 You may wish to also consider WiFi roaming via BoingoMobile.