quote:

Originally posted by ravracer16 The simsforspain site has the masmovil internet sim card http://www.simsforspain.com/masmovil.html I really don't remember seeing a MasMovil or any other cell brand store at the Madrid Airport and I walked around it a few times just for future reference turning out to be next summer Ibiza. J&R has a large quanity of the quadband unlock cell phone. It's basically on what you are looking for. Sony Ericcson seem to be more user friendly.

Not trying to tell you to go with them, but:

Orange (above): 10� for the SIM. 3.5�/week. Unlimited internet (throttled after 50MB).
MasMovil (domestically): $54.95 for the SIM. 0.05�/MB (or 2.5�/50MB

And you'll have to refill the SIM every 3 months to keep it alive.


Yes, there are differences between voice calls and SMSs. However, I'd rather have more data than cheaper voice/SMS.

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Originally posted by PaulCky411 My personal recommendation would be to buy a used unlocked iphone (new or old)... they work perfectly and if you have access to wifi, which I'm sure you will at some point, you can make free calls & texts back to the USA with apps for Google Voice + Talkatone or Skype (or anyone with Whatsapp installed - I'm sure there are others too). This is what I did and I couldn't have been more pleased.

I think there are only 2 phones worth currently buying:

iPhone
Nexus S


Don't waste your time on anything else (we're assuming smart phones).

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So I ended up getting a masmovil sim card. It runs off the orange network and orange is bogged down like AT&T is in the US. Its hard to use the internet some of the time, the network just gets too overloaded. The internet is dirt cheap though. I have used 800 megs and spent a max of 13 Eur, i have not held back on what I did with my phone or my laptop (tethered off my phone)

I prepurchased 250MB of international roaming from AT&T and I choose Vodafone ES from the list of carriers and their network has worked great for me everywhere with the exception of when Cream Amnesia got really packed. So if you want reliability then get a prepaid Vodafone sim if you can.

All the phone stores are located within 2 blocks of the final bus stop into Ibiza town coming from any city. The one I bought the Mas Movil sim card at was an internet cafe behind a chruch near the corner of Carrer del Bisbe Abad i Lasierra and Calle de Castella (from what I can tell looking at google maps).

Definitely come with a pre translated printed out paper telling the person to call in to the phone carrier and activate the internet for you and if you plan on getting Mas Movil to had them put you on the flat rate 1GB 15 eur plan. Bring your passport with you as well. The SIM card cost 15 EUR and came with 15 EUR of credit on it. The APN was 'internetmas' and the username and password were left blank. These settings are apparently available on most smartphones (not just iphones) that have the internet. I hope this helps, it took about 4 hours of my day to figure everything out and use a translating app on my phone.

Update on Orange network:

I've been using it for the past few days on an unlocked iPhone 4 and it works fine for 3.50euro per week... I had to have the person at the Orange store figure out how to get the internet to work on my phone though. Basically, I had to change the language from English to Spanish in the settings (so they could read my phone) and then they had to mess with the network settings where they entered a generic Orange username / password. When it works, do not expect it to be fast though. It's great for basic email and things like that, but doing something like watching videos on youtube takes a long time.

Tethering to a laptop, what I'm doing right now, is the way to go. It's extremely simple to setup and seems to work faster than the internet on my phone (surprising).

Also, just figure I'd tell this to all the AT&T / other locked-to-a-network iphone users (in case you're not aware): It's extremely simple to have your phone "unlocked" so you can use it on most networks in Spain (or anywhere else)... just buy a "Gevey" sim card and follow the instructions that it comes with. It takes about 2 minutes or less and is extremely reliable.

Last edited by PaulCky411 on Aug-06-2011 at 14:14

Global roaming costs are expensive. Global roaming costs are so expensive that many people chose to leave their mobile phone at home whilst they travel. Some people leave themselves without being contactable via any form of mobile communication. SIM Card for Spain

lol, spam...............

used to use a BlackBerry all the time but the telcos always charge extra for BlackBerry usage. The only benefit that I saw was using BlackBerry messenger. Now with Whatsapp, blackberries and iPhones can communicate. Whatsapp for iPhone is 0.99 cents and free for blackberries. You can download Whatsapp for iPhone from the App store and on the BlackBerry go to AppWorld. For Android phones it should be available on the store as well, just search for it. I am not sure about Symbian and Windows phones. SIM Card for Germany

The Jazzcard seems like the best way to go for myself. Do you guys remember seeing refill cards on the island? Or the airport?

http://www.simsforspain.com/Jazzcard.html