Travelling overseas

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eXDee

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#29964 24-Jan-2009 19:09

Two people i know are travelling overseas for almost 2 months, to USA, Singapore (very briefly), and parts of europe.
The phones they have are
Person 1
Alcatel 332 Vodafone
Nokia 3155 Telecom
Person 2
Samsung i325 Telecom

As i understand it, person 2 will be able to go pretty much anywhere in the world. However it seems person 1 would have to be using the vodafone phone to get coverage in most places? Someone in the telecom store told Person 1 that the nokia 3155 will be useless for roaming completely and just won't work.

Also i believe someone else going has an Okta Touch, though is probably getting a loan phone. What are these like for roaming?

Is there anything they should know before leaving, apart from the charges are going to be absolutely massive, will the crazily priced data work on the i325? It seems so?
Also i understand you also have to call a roaming number on each phone before leaving?

Any tips are greatly appreciated.

Lastly, would it be a good idea to buy a cheap nokia prepaid phone in the USA to replace the alcatel? But aren't they all locked, so wouldnt work back here on the vodafone network? What about using a different sim card etc?

nzbnw

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#191875 24-Jan-2009 22:04

The Nokia 3155 will work fine in North America. If person 1 would like to use their Telecom number (and as their provider) they can simply get a Telecom SIM card and put it in their GSM phone for use in Europe, assuming they are on account / post-paid.

Okta Touch is OK for North America.

Samsung I325 will use data in GSM mode only.

See http://www.telecom.co.nz/dataroaming

nzbnw

grant_k

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#191878 24-Jan-2009 22:07

I am planning a similar trip during the coming winter.

Last time we went to Europe I used Global Roaming with Vodafone and the charges were shockingly high. This time I am determined to find a cheaper way of staying in touch. After looking at the options, I have decided to buy a UK SIM card to use with my GSM mobile phone (thanks to SBiddle for this tip). Any mobile sold in NZ for use with the Vodafone network will be suitable. This works out to be the cheapest way of making voice calls while in the UK and Europe. For the Canadian leg of the trip, I'm not sure. Maybe a Canadian SIM will be best, although the calling rates to/from a UK mobile are also quite reasonable.

So far as Data Connectivity is concerned, any form of Mobile Data is way too expensive IMO, so I am planning on using Wireless Hotspots or WiFi as provided by each of the hotels we will be staying at. This will let me use Skype and e-mail to keep in touch with those back home in NZ at minimal cost.

nzbnw

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#191881 24-Jan-2009 22:29

Hi Grant, make sure you have a quad band device for Canada (I'm sure you already know this, but worth checking!).

Also when you are using a PDA on WM. not sure about palm OS or a Blackberry, but generally they download the email headers at 2kb, so at $12/MB how much damaged can you do (as long as you avoid surfing and downloading the larger attachments)? At least that way, either roaming or with a local SIM you can be aware if you need to be that you have emails and make the choice to find somewhere with a more affordable option to view your attachments and reply.

nzbnw

nzbnw

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#191882 24-Jan-2009 22:32

O and eXDee, make sure all the Telecom customer's dial *22800 before they leave New Zealand.

nzbnw

grant_k

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#191886 24-Jan-2009 22:56

nzbnw: Hi Grant, make sure you have a quad band device for Canada (I'm sure you already know this, but worth checking!).

Thanks for the tip NZBNW. My phone supports the following:

2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900

So it looks like I won't have any problems.

nzbnw: Also when you are using a PDA on WM. not sure about palm OS or a Blackberry, but generally they download the email headers at 2kb, so at $12/MB how much damaged can you do (as long as you avoid surfing and downloading the larger attachments)? At least that way, either roaming or with a local SIM you can be aware if you need to be that you have emails and make the choice to find somewhere with a more affordable option to view your attachments and reply.

Yes, I take your point that the e-mail headers won't consume much data, but any e-mail messages on this trip will be non-urgent i.e. can wait until the evening when we are back at our hotel. Anything more urgent can be dealt with via a phone call.

However, using a PDA just to download the e-mail headers is a smart idea and certainly worth keeping in mind should I need to receive them more quickly on a future trip. Thanks again for pointing this out.

nzbnw

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#191888 24-Jan-2009 23:17

grant_k:
2G Network

Hey that’s a hand section of that site, haven't come across it before!

Just added it to my favourites.

Cheers!

nzbnw

Dell

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eXDee

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#191893 25-Jan-2009 00:57

Thanks for the tips guys. Great help.
Person 1 is prepaid for both. Person two is obviously postpaid, since telecom don't do data devices at all on prepaid (rant rant rant).

Mobile data is the last resort for usage, hotel/cafe hotspots etc are planned to be the main source of internet.

They looked at getting sim cards from other countries but it seems too much hassle for people in NZ calling them at high rates, and they will probably be using a company phone for most calls.