callineurope.com -- anyone have experience?

Hi all,

In June I'll be in Europe for about 4 weeks - a week in France, then 10
days in Italy, then 10 days in the Netherlands. My sons and their wives
will be with us for much of the trip, but we may go separate ways for a
time while we're there.

I'm looking for a convenient and inexpensive way to stay in touch with
my sons while we're all in Europe. One kid has Cingular GSM already; the
other has Verizon service here in the States.

Currently my wife and I have Verizon service here in Portland; we're
happy enough with the program and service to stay with it, so no need
for a quad-band phone. Also, we can make the odd call back to the States
using European prepaid phone cards. My last trip to Europe was in 1999
before I got turned on to cellphones.:-)

Some have recommended buying an unlocked phone before leaving, then
acquiring SIM cards in each country, or else a single European SIM card.
Others have suggested just buying a cheap prepaid phone when we arrive.

RailEurope has a lnk from their website to callineurope.com. They seem
to have the best deal I've seen: $19. for an unlocked Motorola C123
(though the phone model seems to change from week to week), plus $29.
for a Europe-wide SIM card, plus airtime at $.39 or $.69 per minute
(depending on country). Incoming is $.39/min in W. Europe. You order it
over the web and receive it here before you go. We do texting rarely if
ever, just brief voice calls.

How does this deal compare with others you've seen? Any experience with
the company? I suppose the RailEurope endorsement means it's not
completely fly-by-night.

Any advice will be much appreciated!

Mike

Looks like no one here has experience with this deal. Personally, my
advice would be to get an unlocked phone, and get a either a local sim
in eachc country or get a global sim card that will give you free
incoming calls in all those countries. Some of these sim cards will
also give you a US number, such as Yackie, Celtrek, and Maxroam.

You can check prepaidgsm.net for more info.



Michael Feldman;753428 Wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> In June I'll be in Europe for about 4 weeks - a week in France, then 10
>
> days in Italy, then 10 days in the Netherlands. My sons and their wives
>
> will be with us for much of the trip, but we may go separate ways for a
>
> time while we're there.
>
> I'm looking for a convenient and inexpensive way to stay in touch with
>
> my sons while we're all in Europe. One kid has Cingular GSM already;
> the
> other has Verizon service here in the States.
>
> Currently my wife and I have Verizon service here in Portland; we're
> happy enough with the program and service to stay with it, so no need
> for a quad-band phone. Also, we can make the odd call back to the
> States
> using European prepaid phone cards. My last trip to Europe was in 1999
>
> before I got turned on to cellphones.:-)
>
> Some have recommended buying an unlocked phone before leaving, then
> acquiring SIM cards in each country, or else a single European SIM
> card.
> Others have suggested just buying a cheap prepaid phone when we
> arrive.
>
> RailEurope has a lnk from their website to callineurope.com. They seem
>
> to have the best deal I've seen: $19. for an unlocked Motorola C123
> (though the phone model seems to change from week to week), plus $29.
> for a Europe-wide SIM card, plus airtime at $.39 or $.69 per minute
> (depending on country). Incoming is $.39/min in W. Europe. You order it
>
> over the web and receive it here before you go. We do texting rarely if
>
> ever, just brief voice calls.
>
> How does this deal compare with others you've seen? Any experience with
>
> the company? I suppose the RailEurope endorsement means it's not
> completely fly-by-night.
>
> Any advice will be much appreciated!
>
> Mike




--
mrcamp

mrcamp wrote:
> Looks like no one here has experience with this deal. Personally, my
> advice would be to get an unlocked phone, and get a either a local sim
> in eachc country or get a global sim card that will give you free
> incoming calls in all those countries. Some of these sim cards will
> also give you a US number, such as Yackie, Celtrek, and Maxroam.
>
> You can check prepaidgsm.net for more info.
>
Thanks for the suggestion.

The basic deal for callineurope.com is $19.00 for their Motorola C123
unlocked dual-band, plus $29.00 for their global sim card. That is, $48.
Given that the typical phones I've seen on the net are at least $48.,
without a card, it looks like I could make out well by buying their
basic setup before I leave, then buying another sim card once I get to
Europe, if I run into a better deal there. I still come out ahead - or
at least not behind.

The callineurope rates look a little steep, but there seem to be no
hidden charges (like setup fees), which the other cards in prepaidgsm
seem to have. So for short calls (which is all I expect to be making),
it looks like a wash. Did I miss something?

Oh - I couldn't find any reviews of that C123.

Mike

Sounds like an ok deal. As long as it works for you.

The C123 is a dual band phone with the 900/1800 bands used outside
North America. Some reviews here:

http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_c123-2101.php

Michael Feldman;753863 Wrote:
>
> Oh - I couldn't find any reviews of that C123.
>
> Mike




--
mrcamp

OK, I decided to go with it. I'll put a report out in this group when I
get back, in mid-July sometime.

Mike

mrcamp wrote:
> Sounds like an ok deal. As long as it works for you.
>
> The C123 is a dual band phone with the 900/1800 bands used outside
> North America. Some reviews here:
>
> http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_c123-2101.php
>
> Michael Feldman;753863 Wrote:
>> Oh - I couldn't find any reviews of that C123.
>>
>> Mike
>
>
>
>