Sim card in Italy w/web & IM?
 

Hi everyone, hope I'm posting in the correct place. I've received conflicting responses, but it seems this forum will be able to set me straight. I'll be leaving for Italy in less than 3 weeks and am looking for a sim card whether on ebay? or when I arrive in Italy that'll give me access to IM (ICQ) and surfing the web. Sorry, if this is available in FAQ, but to be honest with you, some of the things said on here is simply greek to me.

My carrier is Tmoblie and I wanted to upgrade (have no clue which one) to a phone that has WiFi, ICQ, internet. According to another site it seems like I', going to have to go through alotta red tape to set up a phone from the states to make it compatible for Italy even if it's unlocked and I get the correct sim card, and supposedly then it's not guarnteed I'll be able to use the features I NEED? Then a suggestion of buying a phone on ebay, but from what I saw, those are just standard phones without any IM, ICQ, or web access. So, is there such a sim card available? if so, does that mean I'm going to have to pay quit a bit? do a contract? I'm really at a lose :(

Thank you everyone! P.S. I'm from the states, the icon displays a flag other than that?

Well, first of all take a look in this room :)

The. Well, i'ts better and cheaper to buy a simcard directly in Italy. You need a phone that allows data connections and some program. The best choice maybe is a Symbian handset with a data connection (Tim, Wind and 3 area charging by data transmission, the best thing for IM connections)

Ciao AndreA! (I'll be in Florence on 9/2) I looked on the forum but didn't find a "symbian" for sale, unless it's also called something else? You got one I can buy? approxiametly what am I looking to spend for this phone? Since this is going to be a European phone I assume the rates will be ridiculous for incoming and outgoing calls to the US?

Grazie,

Jan

"Symbian" is an operating system used primarily by Nokia N-series and E-series phones, as well as Sony Ericsson P-series phones and some other handset makers like Samsung. They tend to be high-end handsets.

If you just need basic internet, then just about any quad-band GSM phone you find over there will do. Consider downloading Opera Mini from www.operamini.com (directly from your phone's browser) for an upgrade to your browsing experience if your phone has a lousy browser. However, since Italy is well-covered by 3G networks, if you get a phone there, get one with 3G coverage, preferably with HSDPA. It can be much faster than EDGE.

You can buy a SIM in Italy from a TIM, WIND or Vodafone One store, but you'll need your passport so they can register the card. Be advised that voice may work for about a day before SMS and data activate (separately). That's what happened to me. Make a call (anywhere) as soon as you insert the SIM into your phone. That will activate the card and start the process of "registering" the SIM for SMS and data. Until then, expect network error messages if you try to access data.

As for calls to/from the US, it will be comparable to the cost of using your existing US plan overseas (i.e. about $1 minute). However, some phone companies have promotions with their prepaid plans offering discounted minutes. TIM had one, but I think it expired.

This page on the TIM web site explains about a data plan they offer:
http://www.tim.it/consumer/o688/tariffa.do

The cost is 25 euro for 30 days of data use, pretty much unlimited on weekends, holidays, and from 5 pm to 9 am.

It is in Italian, but you may want to print it out and take it to the TIM store to help explain what you want. Just go into the store and tell them you want a SIM card for your phone, along with a data plan.

You can't buy an Italian SIM card except in Italy, because the anti-terrorist laws require you to register your passport there.

Here is a page with a list of TIM stores:
http://www.privati.tim.it/centro_tim...ta/0,,,00.html

If you don't understand Italian I think it's easier to look directly on THIS website... ;)
http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/italy.html