:jeje: I thought I had sent to a picture of one of the courtyards with the bouganvilla, the sun shining and lots of cacti :jeje: Wonder where that one went then!!!!!

If I buy this SIM card through Spainsim do you deliver it personally to my hotel? How far in advance would I need to order it? Is it possible to buy it when I get there?

yeah sue, cat thing was just a joke.

Gringa...

� "do you deliver it personally to my hotel?" - yes hotel delivery in madrid is free.

� "How far in advance would I need to order it?" - just a few days if delivery is in madrid.

� "Is it possible to buy it when I get there?" - yes, you can come to my office and get one.
the advantage to ordering and paying ahead is that i can e-mail you your phone # before you leave.

saludos,
jer...

:jeje: thing is most of the photos I did take were of my cat! :b:

then i played it perfectly, especially since i had no idea you even had a cat (twilight zone theme music kick in here)

saludos,
jer...

Jer, is there any way to activate the chip that came with the phone? If not I will order it a few days in advance and have you deliver it to my hotel. By the way did you ever get your care package?

hey Gringa, yes, i posted about the care package on that "what to bring jer in madrid" thread way back, thought you had seen it but was wondering why ya never answered there, guess you missed it.

well, i would need to know a few things to tell you if the chip that cam with your phone is still "alive".

1) what brand is the SIM (movistar, vodafone or amena)? it says the brand on the chip itself.
2) when was it purchased (month and year if not exact date)?
3) was the chip ever used? if so, when was the last time you put in any new prepaid call credit (month and year if not exact date)?
4) what is the phone number of the SIM (9 digits)?

saludos,
jer...

Hi jer
Well i called my cell company and requested that they unlock my cell phone for my trip and give me international calling. HOwever i have a question, they told me that if i use them whill im out in spain it would be 99cents a min incoming/outgoing calles, do u think if i where to buy one of the sim cards in spain it would be cheaper to call the US? Also if i were to decide to stay with my company and pay the 99cents a min to the US, how would that affect me to call someone in madrid? Pls help thanks
besos
lily

Hi jer and everyone
forgot to ask u that if i buy the Simenes phone u bought would i be able to use it with my carrier here in the states or are they locked and how much would it be?
just curious
lily
hope to hear from all of u soon

hey lily...

quote:

i called my cell company and requested that they unlock my cell phone for my trip and give me international calling.

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR!!!

them giving you international calling and unlocking your phone are 2 very different things.

they can activate the "roaming" on your existing cell phone plan which will allow you to call and receive calls when in spain (or elsewhere) but, as you said, it is very expensive. they will have you "under their thumb" as far as what you pay and how you use the phone.

quote:

do u think if i where to buy one of the sim cards in spain it would be cheaper to call the US?

of course, especially if you use it with the "call and connect" card, see that OTHER THREAD for more.

what you want your current cell company to do is to unlock the phone so you "can use a spanish SIM card in it", not so you can use it on their roaming services. you need to make that very, very, very clear to them!!! YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE ON THEIR CELL NETWORK WHILE HERE!!!

if you do not, they will not unlock the phone and you will be stuck on roaming here with that phone unless you have it unlocked here (another possibility, costs about 20�).

quote:

Also if i were to decide to stay with my company and pay the 99cents a min to the US, how would that affect me to call someone in madrid?

same deal, you would still be on roaming and technically, when you make a call within madrid, you will be paying the 99 cents/min. yes, they will route your call from madrid, to usa and then back to madrid

so, all in al, you need to either...

1) get that phone unlocked so you can use a spanish SIM card in it.

or...

2) get a new phone here with a spanish SIM card.

as for the siemens...

quote:

if i buy the Simenes phone u bought would i be able to use it with my carrier here in the states or are they locked and how much would it be?

i got the phone on special with "amena" (see that OTHER THREAD) and got it on a contract plan (not prepaid) so it was only 149� + a 12 month contract at 6�/month. it was locked into the "amena" network but i unlocked it for 20�.

if you are not going to be here for a year, you would need to buy it "SIM free" (unlocked) and it would cost just under 400�

if you are going to be here for a year, you can get it on special (if you arrive before the offer ends). you would need to open a bank account at a spanish bank (thread on opening a spanish bank account HERE) to get it on a contract instead of prepaid plan.

most temporary visitors to spain normally stick to the prepaid (pay-as-you-go plans) as one does not need to have a bank account here for that.

saludos,
jer...

I know I've got a long time before I will be going to Spain, but I am already wondering what I will do for a cell phone while I am there! Jer, I looked at your Onspanishtime website, but I'm a little confused as to what to do. Currently I have a T-Mobile phone plan, and I know that you can make and receive calls over in Europe with it, but it will cost 99 cents a minute, and I was figuring that I would use my cell phone as my primary phone, so that doesn't sound like a very good deal! So I figure I would stop my plan before I go and then get a phone when I first arrive in Spain, but then I also think, do you have to sign a contract and keep the plan for an entire year? Because I will only be in Spain for 9 months or so I think. So do you offer plans for that amount of time, and would it be free incoming calls and all of that? Basically, I just want to know what you suggest! Thanks.

hey HiramGirl, no comment on T-mobile

yes, end your current plan and tell them you want the "unlock code" (also called the "subsidiary password") to free up your phone so it will take a SPANISH SIM CARD.

no need to waste the phone you have unless it is only on the 1900 frequency, then it will be useless here.

if T-mobile told you that you are eligible for roaming while over here at their horrid 99 cents/min incoming and outgoing , then the phone is valid for use on the spanish cell networks so all you need to do is get the "unlock code" and buy a SPANISH SIM CARD to be on pay as you go here which is what most temp. visitors to spain use.

no need for a contract at all, nor for any 1 year commitment.

what brand and model phone do you currently have?

saludos,
jer...

I take it you don't like T-Mobile too much! I think my plan is good, but my phone really stinks. It is a Motorola T193, and I have never liked it. I actually never spoke to a customer service person about this, I just checked online on their website and found out the rates and stuff. I do not think my phone is tri-band or whatever it is I would need for Spain, so I would have to get a new phone anyway. If that's the case, should I just get one through your company? I really feel pretty airheaded about this! :z:

Hi - I would also love to hear any advice. I have an unlocked T-Mobile phone that I want to use in Spain - and probably the easiest option is to purchase the pre-paid SIM card. Any advice would be really welcome on the best cards and sources!

hey HiramGirl, not sure what T-mobile is like in the u.s. but about 75% of my SIM card clients who buy a SIM hoping to put it into their phones that were supposedly unlocked by T-mobile, end up not being able to use the SIMs since T-mobile never unlocked their phones.

so, they are good at lying in order to keep you on their roaming while you are abroad and make 99 cents/min. off of you

no, the T193 can not be used in europe, see www.t-mobile.com/help/services/tz/fs/Motorola_T193.asp . it says "GSM 1900 MHz technology", no good here, toss it :jeje:

quote:

should I just get one through your company?

you could come in but i specialize in rentals so do not have many sale models to choose from. i would advise you shop around the 1,000,000,000 cell phone stores in madrid and see what they have to offer.

helenhelen, your case is easier as you are from uk and will have no compatibility probs. using your phone here.

you can get a SIM (i recommend vodafone) at www.spainsim.com

saludos,
jer...