Author Topic: Mobile phone solution for temporary stay in the USA  (Read 3347 times)

lemanfan

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Mobile phone solution for temporary stay in the USA
« on: June 04, 2016, 02:02:58 AM »
This summer, I'm visiting the USA again, and just want to double check what the best phone/mobile internet solution might be this year?

I'll probably talk very few minutes on the phone, but some of my apps are very convenient to have when travelling, including Google Maps.  :)

Previous recent trips have been solved it by bringing a spare GSM Android phone and purchased a T-Mobile SIM card.  Are there better solutions today, or should I just head back to the T-Mobile store when I reach NYC?

I'll be stateside about 2 weeks.
« Last Edit: June 04, 2016, 02:09:43 AM by lemanfan »

expatartist

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Re: Mobile phone solution for temporary stay in the USA
« Reply #1 on: June 04, 2016, 06:08:09 AM »
I'm interested too, will be doing a 6 week cross-country trip starting in San Francisco, what's the best temp card to have for a one-off visit?

Syonyk

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Re: Mobile phone solution for temporary stay in the USA
« Reply #2 on: June 04, 2016, 07:55:07 AM »
GSM, prepaid SIM, and T-Mobile is great if you're going to be in cities or suburbs most of the time. They don't bother with rural coverage.

Brokenreign

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Re: Mobile phone solution for temporary stay in the USA
« Reply #3 on: June 04, 2016, 08:13:13 AM »
I use Roam mobile when I visit the states. You prepay for the length of your trip and can choose your package (data only, text etc.). Coverage is great in major centers and on the interstate but poor (for data anyway) in rural areas.

It will be quite cheap if you only want data. You have to buy a sim card once for $10. They sell them at 711 in Canada or you can order it online.

lemanfan

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Re: Mobile phone solution for temporary stay in the USA
« Reply #4 on: June 04, 2016, 10:54:13 AM »
GSM, prepaid SIM, and T-Mobile is great if you're going to be in cities or suburbs most of the time. They don't bother with rural coverage.

What would be better for more coverage?

Syonyk

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Re: Mobile phone solution for temporary stay in the USA
« Reply #5 on: June 04, 2016, 03:18:14 PM »
Where are you going to be?

AT&T has pretty good coverage most places, including many rural areas.

Verizon has the best coverage, but you're stuck with their phones - they're CDMA, and generally won't activate anything they didn't sell you.

Choices

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Re: Mobile phone solution for temporary stay in the USA
« Reply #6 on: June 04, 2016, 04:11:17 PM »
Pure TalkUSA uses AT&T towers for a fraction of the price. We've used them for a year and a half and have been very pleased. We live in a big city but take a 3-week road trip (and several shorter ones) every year.

lemanfan

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Re: Mobile phone solution for temporary stay in the USA
« Reply #7 on: June 05, 2016, 02:52:18 AM »
Where are you going to be?

Outside New York City it will be Tennessee and North Carolina - some cities, some rural spots.

Rubic

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Re: Mobile phone solution for temporary stay in the USA
« Reply #8 on: June 06, 2016, 03:31:26 PM »
Where are you going to be?

Outside New York City it will be Tennessee and North Carolina - some cities, some rural spots.

I live in middle Tennessee and didn't have problems with T-mobile, even while out riding my bike in rural areas.

StockBeard

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Re: Mobile phone solution for temporary stay in the USA
« Reply #9 on: June 06, 2016, 07:10:52 PM »
I use a T-mobile prepaid plan for $30 a month with unlimited data. Would recommend it, but it's hard to find (not available in stores, requires online activation). I wrote an article on my blog but I think it's frowned upon to post directly a link to one's blog here, so I can send the link in PM.

I got the activation kit + phone (I didn't  have one at the time ) shipped to an Amazon locker, and it was there when I landed in the US, ready for me to activate and use. You would then need to do the activation through a public wifi in a starbucks or something.

alsoknownasDean

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Re: Mobile phone solution for temporary stay in the USA
« Reply #10 on: June 06, 2016, 09:43:27 PM »
How much data do you expect to use?  What's your current phone?

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lemanfan

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Re: Mobile phone solution for temporary stay in the USA
« Reply #11 on: June 08, 2016, 12:28:33 PM »
How much data do you expect to use?  What's your current phone?

Not too much data, but I haven't measured.

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