which card to buy now?
 

i had a cherry mobile sim which served me well enough, but it currently isn't working and they haven't provided any clue as to when the 'replacement' will surface.

i'm off to italy on the 19th of october and so need a simcard with free incoming - basically i use my mobile for work, and when abroad i set it to forward on to my roaming sim.

so, which card is currently the best buy? i've noticed a few i look at charge to the minute and also charge a connection fee which seems a bit steep (and might explain my cherry credit lasted next to no time at all!)

thanks

im a cherry customer and I was told i will be given a replacement SIM card for FREE by the end of next week.

your questions are answered in their FAQ document

http://www.mycherrymobile.com/faq.php

they're also giving free SIM cards to non-cherry customers as well

ca-uk...

If worst comes to worst, don't fret. Italian sim cards are among the cheapest in the world.....you can purchase, as I understand it, a TIM card for €10 with €5 worth of credit upon arrival and that will be that...and the nice thing about Italian sim cards is they don't expire until a year has passed since the last recharge and they probably subscribe to the new euro tariffs so if you go to other countries, at most you will paying €0,24 to receive calls and the people calling you will not pay all that large an amount as they might to call Iceland, Estonia, Liechtenstein.

Or you can opt for the new UM+ card which has the free roaming and is using Jersey as its base so those calling you will pay the same as they would have with the Isle of Man cards but it will be more expensive than the Italian sim card which is a pretty good deal.

So like I said, see if Cherry can provide the free upgrade before you leave and if not, opt for the Italian sim upon arrival.

Yeah, buying an Italian card (I suggest Wind or TIM) is not expensive, just 10 euros including 5 of credit and 11/12 months without refilling it in order to keep it alive. The Eurotariff is € 0.588 to call and € 0.288 to receive in EU, of course.

I suggest a 3 company Uk sim card. You are from UK and 3 Mobile Company offer you a free roaming in any country where 3 is present.

If you call with your 3 card from Italy to UK you'll pay as you are in UK. If you receive calling you won't pay.

Tim, Wind and Vodafone are not good for you!

If you want ot buy an italian sim card, they don't expire and you'll find for 5 euro with 5 euro credit. In my opinio 3 sim is the best. When you are in UK, Austria, Hong Kong, Spain (with orange) and other coutries you won't pay any fee to receive callings. And where 3 company is present you'll pay the same amount you are in Italy.

Ciao

I was in Rome yesterday and used CallBlue SIM which i got right after cherry mobile went down specifically for this this trip...it worked good.....incoming was free..outbound was $.49 to anywhere in the world.....no setup or connection fee...i just hope they get data soon

Pippo What is this 3 company UK SIM cards?

both things you wrote are wrong.
All Italian simcards expire after 11/12 months (depending on the operator) and they cost 10€ including 5€ with TIM, Voda and Wind and 30€ including 20€ with 3 (if they have not changed recently). Sometimes there can be the 5/5 offer, but not always.

You keep on writing wrong information.
With 3 ITA simcards you have a special roaming rate when using other 3 networks in UK, Sweden, Austria, Denmark, Australia, HK and Ireland. That doesn't mean you don't pay incoming calls since there's always a set-up fee to be payed (8.8 cents by now, before it was 50 cent). Also for outgoing calls there's the set-up fee plus the Italian rates.
Anyway 3's coverage is quite crappy anywhere, AndreA is in London these days and most of the time it's impossible to hear him when he calls with 3 UK network (with 3 IT card) and he said it's also very difficult to start a call, he must try several times before getting connected. In Austria 3 has a ridiculous coverage, as well as in Denmark and Australia. Ireland is a bit better while only Sweden has a good network (shared with Vodafone).

Anyway I'd really not suggest 3 as an operator, they are also in quite financial troubles...