I'm coming to the US, next Wednesday - hitting Colorado first, and then Washington DC for a couple of days. Now instead of paying a lot of cash for internet access through my own provider, I'd like to grab a prepaid sim card in the US, with some voice, but mostly data (no sms needed). Any thoughts about which providers to avoid or choose? It would be perfect if I could just pick on up at the airport when I land Or I could order one through amazon and have it delivered to where I stay, of course. Any advice would be much appreciated. I'm staying for 3 weeks. Oh, and I have an android smartphone (3G), no iphone here
Coverage varies wildly, so the carrier best in one part of the country might not be the best in another. Price wise, t-mobile has a 100 minutes of voice and 5 gigs of data plan offered on their website.
assuming your phone is unlocked, there is more than one protocol and some US carriers may not be compatible with your phone. I'm guessing your android is "GSM" (CDMA is the other big protocol here). If GSM, T-Mobile and AT&T are the majors. Somebody probably has a kiosk at the airport (haven't been anywhere recently to know) but you may get a better deal once you're in a town. Part of your cultural experience should be a visit to WalMart. They sell prepaid cell phone plans.
It's GSM. Nobody in Europe uses CDMA. He'll need to check on the frequencies his phone uses, now that I think about it. Depending upon which frequencies it can use, he may be limited to just t-mobile or AT&T. There's some overlap in the frequencies they use, but each one of them have their own unique groups that they use. Some European Android phones only use the frequencies which are in the US held by one carrier.
Your phone may able to access WiFi networks, there are plenty of free ones available. You may be able to get by using those.
Unless it is a world band phone you might run into problems. Post the model number and we can look up the specs and see if one of the US carriers is compatable.
Like Tuckerfan said, no CDMA here It's a Sony Xperia S, Lt26i: specs. I think the phone should be fine. It's not my first visit to the US, so I'll pass on Walmart, if possible Unless, of course, they have what I need. I'll be in Cañon City, although I think 'city' is a bit of an exaggeration.. We'll also move around a bit, do the Rocky Mountain national park. I think 3G coverage there is fine, my sister is there already and doesn't seem to be having any problems with her iphone. Someone suggested readysim.com ?
It seems a number of xperia Z models will work on t-mobile so I am going to guess the xperia s will as well though you may want to call t-mobile or AT&T when you get here to make sure. Of those two carriers T-mobile is the better carrier.
Ready Sim is a Canadian mobile virtual network operator that seems to cater to international men of intrigue. They piggy back on T-Mobile's network so it should work fine. Googling them, this wiki for prepaid plans came up that may help you compare prices and services. I'm jealous of your trip. I lived north of there in Denver for a while but spent more time jeeping in Southern Utah. If your travels take you out that way I've got some recommendations. I have no idea about cell phone coverage (I lived there in the BCP era). Here's T-Mobile's coverage map. Zooming in on Canon City they cover it, but it's a bit spotty outside. They say they use a "partner" network for some of the area, I don't know if a SIM with Ready Sim would allow that. AT&T's hosted (not 3rd party) network looks better in that area.
Would a Tracphone ("Burner" phone) work? You can buy one with prepaid minutes, then toss it before you go home.
Yeah I want to use the smartphone But I think I can manage with these options. I think I'll just grab an AT&T-card. Can't believe those Tracphones are actually that popular - what happens with them after? People just toss them? Do they get recycled? Sounds like a waste, bit environmentally unfriendly for a treehugger
They're what poor people and drug dealers use. In the case of poor people, they're the primary phone that the person has. For drug dealers, they're disposable.
Automatic. Avis rents them. Not really, but you can hire-a-horse at many parks. It isn't as nice as a privately owned horse (they tend to have bad attitudes, much like rental cars). Still it's an interesting way to get off road that doesn't require a jeep or feet.
What's the matter with my feet? I'm proud of them! Regular proudfoot, even, hair and all. But yes, a horse is a horse, of course, of course...
That is, of course, unless the horse is... They get Mr. Ed in the Netherlands? Curse you, now I have that theme song running through my head! It's an interesting experience being carried by a four-legged animal if you've never tried it. Bring aspirin for later.
Actually I did it once, in Wales, for a couple of hours in the fog. Was great! And no, Mr. Ed was a long time ago, although they may have aired it, but a well know DJ used that part of the theme song as a jingle, adding his own name to it
