more on now talking about cellular ripoff

Begin forwarded message:

From: Craig Partridge <[email protected]>
Date: November 30, 2006 11:12:46 AM EST
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: re: IP] now talking about cellular ripoff
Reply-To: Craig Partridge <[email protected]>


Hi Dave: [for IP if useful]

Brad Templeton talks about the benefits of having an unlocked cell
phone and getting a SIM card for the country you are in.

I follow this practice too and just want to warn of a few challenges.

There's a startup curve for every SIM card you purchase, and  
sometimes real
problems.  A few examples:

     * You inevitably have to call some number and deal with a set of
       voice menus in the preferred language of the company that sold  
you the
       SIM (e.g. Italian for an Italian SIM card), to get the system to
       talk to you in English and to learn how much money is still in  
your
       account.  I used to buy my SIMs in advance of travel and then  
have to
       ask hotel clerks to help set up my account.  Now I've wised up  
and buy
       the SIM card on arrival in the country and have the phone shop  
do it.

     * Sometimes the SIM card and your phone fight.  E.g. my UK provider
       enables the voice mail notification and controls on your phone
       by sending you an SMS message with some embedded instructions
       in it.  My phone would not accept the embedded instructions
       and multiple visits to the provider's phone stores in the UK  
failed
       to solve the problem.  In another case, a SIM caused my phone  
menus
       to change to the local language (which, of course, I didn't  
know --
       more startling, the menu graphics and structure changed too -- so
       getting my phone back under control was an exercise in  
orienteering).

     * I've yet to get a SIM to work well outside the country of  
issue --
       despite assertions from the seller that it should.  E.g. my  
Swedish SIM
       was explicitly labelled to work throughout the Nordic  
countries, but
       I could receive but not dial out in Finland.  One of my European
       friends says that this is universally true.  So you  
potentially need
       a SIM for every country.  In Europe, that's a pain.

Still, the prices usually make the nuisance(s) worth it.  I was  
paying about
15 cents a minute to call the US from Scandinavia last week.

Craig

PS: Two travel notes from Europe last week.

     * The EU has just initiated the liquids only in (one liter) plastic
       bag rule.  Enforcement is a bit spotty.  When I started to open
       my bag to get out the plastic bag in Amsterdam, the inspector  
waved
       his hand and said "don't bother".  On the other hand, the  
implementation
       was well handled from a customer service side -- there were  
people
       handing out liter plastic bags at checkpoints and big signs  
explaining
       the rules posted throughout the airports I was in.

     * The duty-free liquids on plane story is getting most complex.   
The
       advice now given travellers in European airports [or, at least,
       Stockholm and Amsterdam].  You can buy duty-free liquor in the  
airport
       and take it onto your flight.  If you are going to change planes,
       however, things get interesting.  If you change within Europe,
       you *should* be able to carry the liquor onto your next flight,
       but no promises as local airport rules vary (I would imagine  
Heathrow
       is a no-go and it looked as if flights to the US didn't permit
       passenger carried liquids -- the liquor had to be purchased in  
the
       transfer airport and delivered by the duty-free folks to the  
plane).
       If the transfer point is in the US, you have to find some way to
       pack the liquid for the US leg(s).