Italy -- Buy Handset and Prepaid Plan there?

[Bossman]

Why can't you just buy a cheap unlocked quadband on ebay or so. They are very cheap these days. Then you know you have the phone already and all you need is the sim card.

[DRNewcomb]

Originally Posted by Bossman

Why can't you just buy a cheap unlocked quadband on ebay or so. They are very cheap these days. Then you know you have the phone already and all you need is the sim card.

The thing about "next week" may be a problem there. He doesn't have time for the shipping. If it's early next week, he may have no other option. If it's later next week he might be able to go to TigerDirect.com and order a tri-band phone (with 900 & 1800), such as the NEC e132 ($39.99) and request express shipping.

There are TIM, Vodafone and "3" shops in the airport. ("3" requires a WCDMA phone)

You can buy a prepaid with a new phone at the shops in the airport. If you want to find a cheap, used phone, we'll have to wait for the Italians to weigh in.