<p>DD is going to Salamanca for a semester abroad. She told us that she won’t bring her iphone, but instead will buy a phone in Spain with the other people on her program so that she is able to communicate within Spain. She will have an older larger computer with her, that I imagine she will use in class and for homework. It is unclear if she will have internet service in the homestay for four months. I was thinking of letting her take an IPAD hoping that she could get 3G service in the home/city and not have to carry a larger computer around. Does anyone have any experience with this? Does this make sense? Thanks</p>
<p>My son and his wife travelled on vacations in Japan and through Europe with an Ipad and no phone…it worked just fine. We were able to email and skype…they found the Ipad very convenient to travel with, easy to carry around and there are always cafes around with internet and 3G is everywhere anyway.</p>
<p>I carry an Ipad while traveling, but that’s just to get email, skype, news, store photos etc. Some people are able to use the Ipad for all their computer needs, but I prefer a laptop still. If your D will be gone for a whole semester and may need a computer for taking notes, writing papers, I suggest a laptop instead.
Buying a local phone with a prepaid SIM card is a good idea.
Salamanca is a beautiful city, especially the university. We were there last October and there were many cafes with internet access including our hotel.</p>
<p>cbreeze-- I think she will need her Macbook Pro 15 inch computer for schoolwork, but it doesn’t get 3G only wifi. My concern is that the home she is living in won’t have wifi and either will her phone. I am thinking that she will use a local phone, and take the ipad with her for traveling and for daily use. It sounds silly, but she is so used to being able to connect with the outside world and the internet that I think the 3g is the only option at her home stay. My understanding is that the iphone would be too expensive to use in Salamanca. Do you think that the 3g will work in the home she is staying?</p>
<p>Also, is there a hotel that you might recommend. Thank you so much for your help.</p>
<p>Rather than leave her iPhone at home, she should consider buying a microSIM in Spain that will give her a local Spain number and internet access.</p>
<p>There’s a ton of choices, some come with very inexpensive calling to the US.</p>
<p>notrichenough–I am sorry that I am so ignorant, but what is a MicroSim? I am concerned that the iphone will rack up charges from texting and calls from her friends in the US. Thank you for explaining. I appreciate the help</p>
<p>The microSim is a little chip inside the iPhone that tells it what phone company it works with. To get on the network of a different phone company, you pop out the microSim and pop in a new one. So with a new microSim from a Spanish phone company, all the calls in Spain would be local.</p>
<p>We did this when we were in Spain recently, and it worked pretty well, although we were never able to get text messages to work. There are apps you can use instead, but we didn’t bother.</p>
<p>The one we got came with 1 Gb of data and very cheap calls to the US (1.2 cents per minute or something like that), and it came with a US number that you could either forward your original number to or give out to your friends, so when people in the US called us they didn’t get charged for an international call.</p>
<p>All the plans seemed to be pay per call/pay per minute, when you run out of money you go into any phone store and add more money to it. Text messages were ridiculously expensive on the plan we had, so maybe it was good they didn’t work. The support people said “yeah text messages often don’t work to/from the US, sorry” but they neglected to tell us that when we got it. There are programs you can use instead, but they use internet data.</p>
<p>For a 4 month trip I might look for something with cheaper local calls and cheaper test messages. For a 10 day trip what we had worked very well.</p>
<p>Another option for the computer would be to get a tethering program that would allow the computer to use the phone for internet. This can chew a lot of data though…</p>
<p>Edited to add: for this to work, you will have to call your current cell phone company and have them unlock the phone. They will do this for no charge.</p>
<p>Wow-- Thank you so much!</p>
<p>Yes, Salamanca supports 3G. I also carry my iphone, put it on airplane mode with wifi on so if I happen to be in a cafe with free internet, I can make calls to the US using skype and surf the internet. Usually, I leave the Ipad at the hotel.
We stayed at the Catalonia Plaza Mayor Salamanca. It’s clean, free internet and walking distance to the Plaza and the University.Not a luxury hotel though.
My D’s former college room mate spent a year at the University and loved it. I am sure your D will have a great time.</p>
<p>First of all, there is quite a bit of misinformation here. The iPhone will NOT be unblocked by the US company. The older versions of the IPhone might have safeguarded the right settings to be jail broken and unlocked. The chances that this will happen on a newer model such as 3GS and 4 are slim to none. </p>
<p>In so many words, you cannot expect to purchase the SIM card in Spain that will work on a newer IPhone. That is why it is better to purchase a local throwaway phone. </p>
<p>On the other hand, the IPad is unlocked by default. This means that the Microsim that does NOT work in the IPhone will work in the IPad without a hitch. </p>
<p>The next question will be to purchase a contracted Sim or a prepaid one. A four month stay might be cheaper with a contract, if a local can help secure a contract. Data on a prepaid tends to be expensive in Spain.</p>
<p>One last option is to purchase a MIFI modem that works with the 3G network. This will make both the IPad and the IPhone work for Skype calls - not cellular. Also, it is possible to buy a USB dongle to connect the Mac. </p>
<p>Search for the older threads on CC. This issue has been discussed at length.</p>
<p>The above is for an iPhone with a contract with AT&T. Verizon will unlock under certain conditions.</p>
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<p>Please check your facts.
In June 2011, Apple started selling an unlocked iPhone 4 in the U.S</p>
<p>[Unlocked</a> iPhone 4 Frequently Asked Questions](<a href=“http://ipod.about.com/od/introductiontotheiphone/a/Unlocked-Iphone-FAQ.htm]Unlocked”>Everything You Need to Know About Unlocked iPhones)</p>
<p>Yes, ATT will unlock iphone 4 if you are a current customer. Since Verizon uses CDMA technology, you cannot use it in Europe or Asia.</p>
<p>I know Apple sells unlocked iPhones. Different animals altogether. Obviously, an unlocked phone does not need to be … Unlocked after purchasing it. But there is no SIM installed. </p>
<p>Most people have a contract and the ATT IPhone will not be unlocked as long as it is under contract. In April, AT&T relented and started to unlock phones that are non longer under contract. They do, however, need a working SIM card to unlock via iTunes.</p>
<p>As far as Verizon’s iPhone 4S, you can install a SIM card that recognizes a GSM network in Europe. You are mistaken as far as the 4S.</p>
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<p>We did this as well and we are current ATT customers with a contract.</p>
<p>Were you able to unlock an iPhone 4 that was still under its initial 2 years contract? That phone was released in June 2010. </p>
<p>For the record, in March 2012, I tried to convince AT&T to unlock an extra iPhone 4 that had been replaced with a full cost one, and they would not do it. Same thing with a 3GS. I could unlock a very old 3G. They did change the rules while I was in Europe in April. </p>
<p>We have a substantial number of iPhones on our account and deal with the international CS on a regular basis for uploads of specific software and unreleased menus.</p>
<p><a href=“AT&T Customer Support”>AT&T Customer Support;
<p>General Eligibility Requirements for Unlocking iPhone
AT&T will unlock an iPhone under the following circumstances:
The person requesting the unlock is:
a current AT&T customer or
a former AT&T customer who can provide the phone number or account number for the account
The iPhone was designed for use on AT&T’s network;</p>
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<p>In May, I got a microSIM for my Verizon iPhone to use in Spain. It worked fine. My phone was new last Christmas.</p>
<p>^^ see post 11</p>
<p>DD has a Verizon iPhone 4S, she got it about 6 months ago. A call to customer support saying we are going to Europe was all it took for them to unlock it for Europe (it is still locked in the US). The 4S is the only Verizon iPhone that will work in Europe.</p>
<p>I assumed At&t would be similar, if not, my apologies, I am not an At&t customer.</p>
<p>No idea what Sprint will do.</p>