11-10-2009, 01:16 PM
Motorola RAZR V3 (International) seems to be a good deal in unlocked phones these days ($60-$70), although you may find even cheaper phones with fewer features. Search Amazon for "unlocked phones."
Also, make sure that the phone you are buying works on the bands you will be using abroad - quad-band is the best. Despite the universal GSM standard, the bands used in US and Europe are different (850 and 1900 MHZ for North America, 900 and 1800 for most other continents).
Finally, take into consideration what your pattern of calls will be. I usually just take my T-Mobile phone with its SIM card for anything shorter than 2 weeks - most of calls and text messages are to the US anyway, T-Mobile's roaming charge ($0.99/min for Western Europe) are frequently less than the other country's charges for international call. If, on the other hand, you are going to be making most of the calls within the other country, their SIM is the way to go. Of course, if you do not have a GSM-capable account in the US, this point is moot.
Also, make sure that the phone you are buying works on the bands you will be using abroad - quad-band is the best. Despite the universal GSM standard, the bands used in US and Europe are different (850 and 1900 MHZ for North America, 900 and 1800 for most other continents).
Finally, take into consideration what your pattern of calls will be. I usually just take my T-Mobile phone with its SIM card for anything shorter than 2 weeks - most of calls and text messages are to the US anyway, T-Mobile's roaming charge ($0.99/min for Western Europe) are frequently less than the other country's charges for international call. If, on the other hand, you are going to be making most of the calls within the other country, their SIM is the way to go. Of course, if you do not have a GSM-capable account in the US, this point is moot.