I recently cracked the screen of my black Sony Ericsson w580i -- a phone that I hated with all my heart. (Horrible buttons, fragile casing, frustrating software, etc.) My friend happened to drop my phone while it was in my purse when we were out, and somehow that still happened to ruin the screen. My plan doesn't allow me for a free phone until about December or January, but I don't plan on waiting that long for a new one. (This is making it really hard to see text messages from my friends or missed calls from my boss.) I am, however, taking a trip to Europe in about a month -- and I would really like some advice on whether or not I should get a phone there. According to one of my friends, European phone stores are a godsend, like a candy store of brightly colored, electronic trinkets. (He has never gone before, but he has allegedly seen pictures.) I will be touring France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Austria, and Luxembourg. Where would be the best place to get a phone, and which phone should I get? Or should I just go ahead and buy one of our American phones? Most phones should work if I plug my AT&T SIM card in, yes? Thank you in advance for any help. It would be very much appreciated. By the way, I'm not looking for an amazingly fancy phone. At this point, I just want something with a decent sized screen and maybe a camera (seeing as how I was never able to fully take advantage of my old one -- it kept telling me other applications were in process, even when I JUST turned on the phone). Texting-friendly would also be marvelous. I'm willing to pay up to $150 USD for the phone, which again just needs the basics. Again, thanks much! @ Andrew -- Thanks oh so very much. (: I should have about $500 or so saved up by the time I leave for Europe, so maybe shelling out $400 wouldn't be so bad. I make about $15 an hour tutoring, so when I get back I should be able to live alright. The investment seems pretty solid, too. I was thinking about just buying a permanent phone for my personal use there, but I'm guessing by your response it would make more sense to sell anything I get off? Thank you thank you thank you, by the way. (:
Cell Phones & Plans - 1 Answers
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Well i would buy one in Italy, because they sell unlocked phones by law. So that would be the easiest phone to buy without running into problems traveling country to country. Your budget though is a little slim for the types of phones they offer but you will do okay. One idea could be to spend a little more cash and buy a new iphone 3gs, use it on your trip then sell it on ebay when you get back state side. You original investment will easily be doubled, because "true" unlocked phones fetch a far better price than hacked ones, because no matter how many updates are preformed on them, they won't lock to a service provider. It is just a way to buy a nice phone and use it for your trip and make money to pay for your new phone. If you don't want to use the iphone (although this would yield the highest, greatest return) i would say get a named "new" phone like sony ericsson X1, or Nokia N-98, or any hot ticket item going for a lot of money on ebay. I would plan to spend 200 euro or about 400 US to do this though,but you will get $800 back. Or go in half with a friend. Hope i helped:)
