Question to Canadian Cavoeiro Fans re cell phones

[heini]

Hi, we don't own a cell phone therefore we are total newbies. However for safety and security reasons we plan to buy a simple cell phone - pay as you go -. We would like to be able to use the same phone here in Canada/USA and in Portugal, Spain or Germany. Any advice on how to go about and what to buy would be very appreciated. Thanks, Heini

[roy4eyes]

Hi Heini

If you go down to Algarve Shopping at Guia there are 3 mobile phone shops there so you can compare the various deals.

We got a Vodaphone Nokia phone for € 25 with €15 of calls.

One thing to remember is that if you don't use a phone for a long period, I think 6 months, it is cancelled and you have to buy a new sim card next visit with a new number. To avoid this leave your phone here with a local friend when you return to Canada and if they make the occasional local call it keeps the sim card active and you keep the same number year on year.

When do the Canadian Geese flock arrive ?

[e-richard]

The magic words to ask for when selecting a handset is "tri-band". You need this for the physical handset to work in EU as well as N America.

I cannot comment on which calling package to get, cos I just don't know enough, but Roy's suggestion that you walk into 2 or 3 shops and ask is a good one.

[Burki]

Hi Heini,

maybe that for use in Europe and (!) Canada you need a "quad-band" cell phone. In Europe, two frequency bands (900 and 1800 MHz) are used. In North America the bands are 1900 (mainly in urban areas) and 850 (in rural areas, especially Canada), respectively. So I think you probably need a "four (or quad) band cell phone.

You also need a provider that allows prepaid cell phone calls in other countries which a few years ago was not possible with every provider... So I think you have to visit a shop or two to ask for any special assistance as I do not know the Canadian "pay as you go" regulations.

Cheers, Burkhard.

[Hoser]

Great Move Heini.

Yes I agree with a quad band phone. This way you are able to use your phone anywhere.

Secondly get an unlocked phone. Rogers sells only locked phones (that is locked to their service only). Same in Europe, companies such as Vodaphone sell locked phones. Shops will sell you unlocked phones but at a higher price. They will however unlock it for a price. It is cheaper to buy a locked used phone and have it unlocked by buying the service off the web. Usually you just send in the phone's imei number and they will send you the unlock code to input within 24 hours. It is simple and cheap about $5.00 CAN. Check Bell as they announced yesterday they are going on the GSM system (mainly so they can sell I-phones). Bell and Telus are currently on CDMA protocol and their phones do not work in Europe. Only Rogers and FIdo work on GSM and same for T-mobile and AT&T in the U.S.

I have used the Portugal Post Office cell service called phone-ix this year and like it the best of all the service providers in Portugal. Their prices are the lowest and coverage is the same as the others. You can check them out at http://www.phone-ix.pt . You can buy the service from any post office in Portugal. I usually went to the one on the in-road in Carvoeiro. The long distance rates to call back to Canada are best on weekends. If you go with TMN, Vodaphone or Optimus, watch the different plans you can choose for pay-as-you-go. They can differ as to the rates available.

You say you do not want frills, Check them out any ways. You may find that texting is cheaper than voice calling and phones differ in ease of use and features available.

Also think about getting two phones. My wife and I have one each and it is simpler to call to find each other in large shopping centres than go looking (especially at Continente in Guia). Usually service providers do not charge you for calls made to others on the same system. That goes for Rogers and AT&T in North America.

In Canada if you want to save money, buy the Rogers sim card on EBay for about $10.00 versus $40.00 from Rogers. Register with Rogers, then you just buy the pay-as-you-go time from any large food store or online and fill up your account. Usually the $100.00 for one year is sufficient and cheapest of all the choices. Any dollar amounts will carry over when you renew within the period payed for. Same for the states. I get an AT&T sim card off EBay cheap and only pay for the time. AT&T is great as it has free long distance calling in the U.S. and very low to call to Canada.

Hope this helps a lttle. If you have more questions just ask.

[Hoser]

Forgot one item. If you are looking at buying a phone in Portugal, phone-ix sells unlocked phones. They have different phones at different prices. Checkout their web site. They have it shown there. They usually include the sim card and 10 euros of time. If you just buy the sim card it is 10 euros with 10 euros of time included. Most of the other providers are similar.

[Canada]

Hi Heini! Like you I do not choose to have a cell phone in Canada! We purchased a Portuguese cell phone many years ago at TMN in Algarve Shopping Mall. We keep a balance on the card when we leave each year and it is good for a year (when we get back again) It is a pay as you go card so you can keep the same #. Think originally the phone cost approx. $50 CDN. and TMN upgraded my phone to a newer one last year for only 10 Euro. Any tech problems they are good with and there is an English language option on the phone. Many rentals don't include a phone now so it is essential to have your own. We remove the battery pack until we use it again. My husband can use his Blackberry also. Good luck!
When do you leave and where do you stay?
Fellow Canadian
Jan

[heini]

Thank you very much everyone for your advice, I now have a much clearer picture of what to look for, it will make the final decision a lot easier.
We will arrive middle of January and stay till early April, we always stay at Monte Dourado.
Many thanks,