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31-05-2006, 16:36
A quad band will resolve the problem and if you're up for an upgrade on cingular, you might just as well get a quad band....you can call them if need be to unlock the phone for later use.
As you have described the problem and your use, you will be fine on the international plan of Cingular....Cingular charges $1.29/minute to make and receive calls in Germany, Switzerland and France....for an additional $6.99/month, you can cut this to 99?/minute and people used to turn this on and off; now I have read you have to turn it on for a minimum of 6 months so in your case it wouldn't pay.
As you noted, for emergency use, it is the easiest solution to the problem. What you have to watch out for is calls to your mobile that go into voicemail...you get charged twice for this...once to complete the call to you and then forward it back to voicemail...seems to be a rip off and it is but that's the way it is. Also, shutting off the phone might not work to avoid this as sometimes it takes a little while for a phone to de-register from a roaming partner.
Despite this my advice is...upgrade to the quad band phone, use your Cingular account while in Europe for the odd call or two, get a local long distance card at tobacco shops or whatever for outgoing calls and without too much fuss you'll be all set.
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