cell phones in France

I%26#39;ll be in Paris and Cannes for two weeks in May. What should I do regarding cell phones. Sprint offers a rental for $107 and $1.50 a minute. But are there better ways to do this? I will need a cell phone while out there.

Thanks.

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If you have tri-band phone, just go to any phone store and buy a SIM for around $45. Slip it into your phone, and voila! you have a French cell phone with your very own French number. You can top up the minutes as needed in 10 euro increments. You won%26#39;t be able to use it to call the States, however.

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If you will allow, Trauffaut, a small clarification to your post,

%26quot;You won%26#39;t be able to use it to call the States, however . . . at a price you%26#39;ll be willing to pay.%26quot;

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Since the poster is with Sprint, his own phone will never work in Europe anyway.

Gosh, you can buy a NEW phone in Paris for $107 and have enough change for a nice lunch.

If you don%26#39;t plan to make/receive a lot of calls, consider www.mobal.com , and you%26#39;ll own the phone for $49. You pay for incoming and outgoing calls in France at ~ $1.5/min. The phone works virtually worldwide.

The cheapest per min. rate is only possible with a French SIM card and a French or other unlocked(bought from eBay or select stores) GSM phone. Incoming calls are free, outgoing to USA, on SFR for instance, is ~$1/min.

Again checking SFR website, you can buy a phone with SIM card for only 39 Euro (granted this Siemens CF62 phone will probably only work on the SFR network, i.e. locked to SFR), but still way cheaper than $107, and you%26#39;ll own the phone.

espacesfr.com/webapp/…

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Truffaut,I will be in Paris in two weeks from today. I just had my quad band from Cingular Wireless %26quot;unlocked%26quot;. I will be purchasing sim card when I get there. For the $45.00 sim card, how many minutes of airtime will I get ( for calls in France only)?

Thanks.

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%26gt;%26gt; buy a SIM for around $45.

Now half price @ 15 Euro ($23) at SFR and Orange.

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SIM card comes with 0 credit. You have to buy recharge vouchers on top.

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The are many different plans even for prepaid.

Simplest plan on the Orange network: .55 Euro/min 7/24 (and many other weekend options. At one time, if you listen to a 10 second commercial before every call, you get 50% off.

Incoming calls are always free.

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MovieBiff,

I know your pain for I have been researching this topic for about a week stright now. The best deal I have found is from this website: www.Telestial.com. Not only do they sell the products you need, they are very informitive about how and what you need. They offer a wide variety in phones and options. Check it out. I don%26#39;t think you%26#39;ll be disappointed.

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Bob,

Actually you do get about 10 minutes of time with the SIM card. You can buy recharge cards (%26quot;Mobicarte%26quot; for Orange) in various denominations. A 20 euro card is generally enough for me during a two-week stay, but I don%26#39;t use it a lot.

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I have a Blackberry, and I was told that I would be able to use it abroad with no problems. Does anyone have a BB too that knows for certain if my phone will work in Paris for both calls within France and to the U.S.? I%26#39;ve traveled other places out of the U.S. before, but I did not have this phone at the time. When I was in Mexico, my Motorola did not work; however, when I traveled to St. Lucia, Jamaica, Martinique and had my Nokia, it worked in those places. Go figure.