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Getting a cell phone sim in Holland
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| RoBDaWG |
Hey, I'm coming to Holland for Trance Energy (#4 for me!) and I would like to buy a sim card that I can use while I'm here.
In the past I was able to use my regular phone, but I have changed phone companies to one that only works in the U.S. now.
I have my old GSM phone, and it's a world phone, and I think I should be able to just buy a pre-paid sim card for it, but I'm not sure.
Does anyone know how this works? Also what is the best place to get them? I remember seeing Vodafone stores all over Amsterdam in the past. Is that the best place to go? |
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| technofriik |
Last March when I went to Holland for TE I got a pre-paid sim card at one of the Vodafone stores. I visited Holland again after Xmas and used the same sim card. I was able to "top up" my account (add credit) at a shop called Airport Telecom Shop located at the AMS airport in the general area outside of Arrivals. You can probably buy sim cards there too. The reception was flawless on both trips so I'm glad I picked Vodafone.
Just remember to bring your old phone with you to Holland! :D |
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| RoBDaWG |
| Ah perfect! Thanks a lot. |
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| in2muzikk |
SIM cards are so easy to buy in NL...just look up almost any street and you'll probably see at least 3 cell phone shops! Here's what worked best for me:
Orange SIM card: This is the only card I know of that never expires, you keep your NL phone number and credit for life (or until Orange decides to change their policy...lol). Rates are not the best, however.
Lebara SIM card: Bought this card for 10,00 EUR, and it included 7,50 EUR of free talk time! Calls within NL were around 30cents/min, text messages were 12cents each. Most amazing was that calls to the USA were 12cents/min, with no minimums or surcharges. I was stunned that the calls were crystal clear too, better than some I've made within the city of LA to numbers just a few miles away! Only downside is that credit expires after 9 months if the card's not topped off, and that can only be done in NL. The calls were so cheap, great quality and I always had a signal, so I really didn't care though!
Lebara is now part of KPN Telecom, and the rates are even cheaper these days: http://www.lebara-mobile.nl/
Whatever you do, don't buy the Telfort and other major brand SIM cards in the US before you go...some of them cost $60 and only include 20 minutes talk time. I have found that they're a colossal waste of money.
If anyone needs an unlocked gsm cellphone, I got mine at www.cellularabroad.com. It's a Siemens A70, not state of the art by a longshot, but it makes and receives great quality calls and has excellent battery life...just what I needed! |
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| RoBDaWG |
| quote: | Originally posted by in2muzikk
SIM cards are so easy to buy in NL...just look up almost any street and you'll probably see at least 3 cell phone shops! Here's what worked best for me:
Orange SIM card: This is the only card I know of that never expires, you keep your NL phone number and credit for life (or until Orange decides to change their policy...lol). Rates are not the best, however.
Lebara SIM card: Bought this card for 10,00 EUR, and it included 7,50 EUR of free talk time! Calls within NL were around 30cents/min, text messages were 12cents each. Most amazing was that calls to the USA were 12cents/min, with no minimums or surcharges. I was stunned that the calls were crystal clear too, better than some I've made within the city of LA to numbers just a few miles away! Only downside is that credit expires after 9 months if the card's not topped off, and that can only be done in NL. The calls were so cheap, great quality and I always had a signal, so I really didn't care though!
Lebara is now part of KPN Telecom, and the rates are even cheaper these days: http://www.lebara-mobile.nl/
Whatever you do, don't buy the Telfort and other major brand SIM cards in the US before you go...some of them cost $60 and only include 20 minutes talk time. I have found that they're a colossal waste of money.
If anyone needs an unlocked gsm cellphone, I got mine at www.cellularabroad.com. It's a Siemens A70, not state of the art by a longshot, but it makes and receives great quality calls and has excellent battery life...just what I needed! |
dude you rock |
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| hiram |
| i bought a new verizon phone that just happens to be a world phone and it came with a Vodafone SIM. so we'll see how that works over there |
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| RoBDaWG |
| quote: | Originally posted by hiram
i bought a new verizon phone that just happens to be a world phone and it came with a Vodafone SIM. so we'll see how that works over there |
verizon has world phone with sims now, i gotta look into that. i always had t-mobile but i switched to verizon recently |
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| in2muzikk |
Check to see if your new phone is UNLOCKED. Some smaller stores will unlock them for free, but the carrier will always claim that this voids your warranty (even though it's often just typing a series of numbers into the keypad). You can also google "unlock + model # of your phone" for some ideas.
If it's not unlocked, then you're limited to the carriers rate plan for international calls from abroad (even with a European SIM card), which can be very high. When I was looking at a new quad-band AT&T phone recently, AT&T also told me that the software is different inside the phones in the US and Europe. They couldn't therefore guarantee that my new phone would work in Europe, or that if it did work, that I'd have all the functions I do here in the States.
As for buying a phone abroad, when I last visited (about a year and a half ago), you couldn't buy a new unlocked phone unless you paid up the contract in full (2 years or whatever). That makes the phone extremely expensive!
I know that my unlocked Siemens A70 will work great there, and I can get SIM cards for cheap, so I'm covered though. :) If you google this model, you should be able to find it for about $99, or CellularAbroad sells them with a rip-off SIM card for about $150. This phone will also work in the USA with prepaid SIM cards, but no internet or advanced features. You can still talk and send/receive text messages.
Oh yeah, and Verizon and Sprint both use CDMA phones. The standard in Europe is GSM, so I don't see how a Verizon or Sprint phone could work in Europe, unless they added SIM cards to the phone and are working on a dual (CDMA/GSM) standard. My Sprint CDMA phone doesn't even have a SIM card (at least not one that I can get to).
More info from CNET about GSM and CDMA here:
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3504_7-6253284-1.html
Info about Verizon World Phones here:
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3504_7...-5.html?tag=nav |
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| Dale Gribble |
| quote: | Originally posted by in2muzikk
As for buying a phone abroad, when I last visited (about a year and a half ago), you couldn't buy a new unlocked phone unless you paid up the contract in full (2 years or whatever). That makes the phone extremely expensive!
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Last feb. we got a Vodafone for 38e for using in Holland, we just need to "top up" every 6 months. No contracts, no names, just a simple phone for using there while on vacation. |
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| in2muzikk |
| quote: | Originally posted by Dale Gribble
Last feb. we got a Vodafone for 38e for using in Holland, we just need to "top up" every 6 months. No contracts, no names, just a simple phone for using there while on vacation. |
That's great! My friends told me it would cost the amount of a full-term contract, and they live there! I'm happy with my phone also, I just think the key is to get a phone that is GSM with the European frequencies (900 and 1800MHz, I believe) and UNLOCKED. Then the SIM cards, etc. are a piece of cake! |
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| Creamfields23 |
Indeed Rob buy the Lebera one. If you call to other countries this one is the cheapest option.
I thought the Lebera sims freezes after six months, but if you add credit to it later than it will become active again. Off course with all the credit. |
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| in2muzikk |
| quote: | Originally posted by Creamfields23
I thought the Lebera sims freezes after six months, but if you add credit to it later than it will become active again. Off course with all the credit. |
Yeah? Then I will do that right away when I get there! :) Would be great to give my existing Lebara number out to others, but guess I should make sure it works again first...
Thanks for the tip! :) |
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