<p>I will be going to London for 5 days in about two weeks.</p>
<p>Is it possible to purchase a mobile phone upon arrival with x amount of minutes to use for a short period of time, without spending a fortune?</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.adamphones.com/[/url]”>http://www.adamphones.com/</a>
This is a reliable service. They have pickup in both Gatwick and Heathrow at The Link or they will mail it to you before you leave. They charged my credit card exactly what they said. No surprises.</p>
<p>Check if your phone accepts interchangeable SIM cards. If it does, all you’d have to do is purchase a local SIM card. Most come with a fair number of minutes that represent the cost of the SIM card. Pay 20 Euros and get 20 Euros of phone calls! </p>
<p>If it does not, you may better off buying such a phone in the US, especially a closeout model. For instance, I purchased a brand new Blackberry that was a recently discontinued T-Mobile model for $100.00. It is extremely simple to switch the little SIM card and keep them organized by country visited. Simpler phones are even cheaper, and it is a one-time investment. If you do not plan to use it again, it is quite easy to resell it online. </p>
<p>There are no real good reason to purchase “pre-packaged” phones, except to pay a lot more for a very simple item.</p>
<p>PS The service recommended by Bandit is a LOT better (and better priced) than similar services sold in the US to travelers who plan to travel overseas. The worst are your “trustworthy” US phone companies. Also, being tempted to use a US phone abroad is not a great idea and could be very costly.</p>
<p>To get an idea on the cost of a SIM card or a cheap SIM free phone:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.mphone.co.uk/acatalog/uk_sim_card.html[/url]”>http://www.mphone.co.uk/acatalog/uk_sim_card.html</a></p>
<p>Remember to consider [url=<a href=“http://www.skype.com/helloagain.html]Skype[/url”>http://www.skype.com/helloagain.html]Skype[/url</a>] as a great alternative, if you do not need to be making the calls from the street/car/restaurant. If you can call from your laptop/desktop in your hotel room or office, it is free Skype to Skype and cheap/pay as you go Skype to land line for calling your family/office back home:</p>
<p>Most US cell phones, even GSM models, do not come unlocked to accept SIMS. Many can be unlocked for a fee.</p>
<p>You can probably pick up a cheap phone in London at Virgin. <a href=“Virgin Mobile | Phone & SIM Deals - See What You Can Do”>Virgin Mobile | Phone & SIM Deals - See What You Can Do; and put $$$ on it as you need. You might check to see if Virgin USA has a phone which takes a different sim card.</p>
<p>Don’t let us old tech-foggies down, UM. My 18 year old bought a cheap phone on the streets of Nairobi–and put in a new SIM card in London two months later–at Virgin which he tells me is the least expensive.</p>
<p>In theory, all GSM are supposed to allow for exchanges of SIM. As usual, the United States shows the extent of its archaic and dishonest system by allowing practices that would offend totalitarian regimes. It’s amazing how long the US cell phone companies have been permitted to act like plain gouging thieves and allow an underground economy of equally dishonest people to flourish. Buying a phone should be a pleasant experience. Unfortunately, it seems that a used car saleman mentality is deeply ingrained in the US. </p>
<p>Buying a prepaid or open GSM phone is a cinch abroad. No hidden fees, the price is on the box, no contracts. And it only takes a few minutes. </p>
<p>And, for what it is worth, it is not very hard to purchase an unlocked or a GSM that has never been locked. T-Mobile is not half as bad as the thieving ATT in this regard.</p>