Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
78
11 STAYING CONNECTED
CELLPHONES
The three letters that define much of the
world's wireless capabilities are GSM
(Global System for Mobile Communica-
tions), a big, seamless network that makes
for easy cross-border cellphone use
throughout Europe and dozens of other
countries worldwide. In the U.S.,
T-Mobile, AT&T Wireless, and Cingular
use this quasi-universal system; in Canada,
Microcell and some Rogers customers are
GSM, and all Europeans and most Austra-
lians use GSM. GSM phones function
with a removable plastic SIM card,
encoded with your phone number and
account information. If your cellphone is
on a GSM system, and you have a world-
capable multiband phone such as many
Sony Ericsson, Motorola, or Samsung
models, you can make and receive calls
across civilized areas around much of the
globe. Just call your wireless operator and
ask for “international roaming” to be acti-
vated on your account. Unfortunately,
per-minute charges can be high—usually
$1 to $1.50 in Western Europe and up to
$5 in places like Russia and Indonesia.
For many, renting a phone is a good
idea. While you can rent a phone from any
number of overseas sites, including kiosks
at airports and at car-rental agencies, I sug-
gest renting the phone before you leave
home. North Americans can rent one
before leaving home from InTouch USA
( & 800/872-7626; www.intouchglobal.
com) or RoadPost ( & 888/290-1606
or 905/272-5665; www.roadpost.com).
InTouch will also, for free, advise you on
whether your existing phone will work
overseas; simply call & 703/222-7161
between 9am and 4pm EST, or go to
www.intouchglobal.com/travel.htm .
Russia's major cellphone companies
(both in Moscow) are MTS ( & 495/766-
0177; www.mts.ru) and Bee-Line ( & 495/
974-8888; www.beeline.ru).
For trips of more than a few weeks
spent in one country, buying a phone
becomes economically attractive, as Russia
and many other countries have cheap, no-
questions-asked prepaid phone systems.
Once you arrive at your destination, stop
by a local cellphone shop and get the
cheapest package; you'll probably pay less
than $100 for a phone and a starter calling
card. Local calls may be as low as 10¢ per
minute, and with some Russian providers
incoming calls are free.
3
Hey, Google, did you get my text message?
It's bound to happen: The day you leave this guidebook back at the hotel for an
unencumbered stroll through Red Square, you'll forget the address of the lunch
spot you had earmarked. If you're traveling with a mobile device, send a text
message to & 46645 (GOOGL) for a lightning-fast response. For instance, type
“carnegie deli new york” and within 10 seconds you'll receive a text message with
the address and phone number. This nifty trick works in a range of search catego-
ries: Look up weather (“weather St. Petersburg”), language translations (“translate
goodbye in russian”), currency conversions (“10 usd in rubles”), movie times
(“harry potter 60605”), and more. If your search results are off, be more specific
(“the abbey gay bar west hollywood”). For more tips and search options, see
www.google.com/intl/en_us/mobile/sms/. Regular text message charges apply.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search