Heading for Eurozone -- What do I need to know for best 928 experience?

[Zigmono]

I'm headed for Europe in a few weeks and am looking for tips on getting maximum utilization from my new 928 at the most economical cost. Data would be the priority but the ability to call Stateside or within in Europe could be necessary. Time will mainly be spent in Copenhagen and Prague. I don't want any surprises. VZW looks pretty weak for what you get. I'm interested in experience others have had with SIMs, reliability and anything I need to know about provisioning the phone.

Zigs

 

[palandri]

You'll need to pickup a local SIM card in each country you visit or else you'll pay extremely high data cost.

 

[Trappiste]

Indeed, the only cost-effective way to go about it is to get pre-paid SIMs with data and voice in each country you visit. You can try and use Skype over WiFi for voice calls as much as possible, if the changing phone number is a problem (since each SIM comes with its own number, of course.)

Note that pre-paid SIMs allow you to buy more credit onto that SIM should you deplete your voice minutes or data too quickly. At the same time, pre-paid voice, and data in particular, are typically more expensive than comparable post-paid contracts, so you want to utilise those WiFi hotspots for data whenever you can.

 

[Zigmono]

In doing searches on the web, I'm picking up mixed signals about just how "unlocked" is the 928 ala VZW's notorious reputation for maintaining control. Does anyone know from firsthand experience with the 928 -- is it as simple as popping in a local SIM to have full voice, messaging and data? (Of course assuming the SIM allows it.)

 

[Mark Everingham]

When I went on holiday recently I took an old android phone I had lying around and then bought a data only pay as you go sim card (basically an ipad sim card) from the local phone supplier of the country I was in and then turned on wifi hotspot and connected my phone to it to check email etc, this meant I was contactable on the number everyone knew, calls where more expensive but text messages were reasonable.

I have also used Travel Abroad without Data Roaming | International Mobile WiFi Internet Connectivity| Tep Wireless , I think a few other companies do the same idea.

 

[atvedge]

Looking at the timeline of your post, this may be too late, but wanted to provide insight anyway.

Right now, I'm in Germany using my 928. It was easy enough to get things working (just pop in a new SIM and reboot - I had to reboot). However, so far I am not getting any data right now on the network. It took me a couple of days to realize this, as I have WiFi almost everywhere I'm at, but that is definitely the case. I'll be talking to the provider today to try resolving the issue. If I can't, it looks like I'll be switching to another phone....since I'll likely be here for a couple of years.

 

[AR2186]

Looking at the timeline of your post, this may be too late, but wanted to provide insight anyway.

Right now, I'm in Germany using my 928. It was easy enough to get things working (just pop in a new SIM and reboot - I had to reboot). However, so far I am not getting any data right now on the network. It took me a couple of days to realize this, as I have WiFi almost everywhere I'm at, but that is definitely the case. I'll be talking to the provider today to try resolving the issue. If I can't, it looks like I'll be switching to another phone....since I'll likely be here for a couple of years.

Do you have the Access Point application installed? They just updated it to work with the 928 and could probably help you. I was able to get T-Mobile and AT&T working in the US (and if they will allow that, it should work with everything so long as the frequencies are correct).

 

[atvedge]

Do you have the Access Point application installed? They just updated it to work with the 928 and could probably help you. I was able to get T-Mobile and AT&T working in the US (and if they will allow that, it should work with everything so long as the frequencies are correct).

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE NOKIA!!!!

Of course, that fixes one headache. The other headache I have is that push notifications just don't seem to get to me in time for most of my chat apps (Viber, Skype, etc.). This has been an issue with every Windows Phone I've had. Being overseas, and not as easy to make a call, however, makes it more bothersome. I don't want to miss a call or text from my daughter because the push notifications didn't work.

I had a loaner android device while I was working on this issue, and it would go off left and right the second a message was sent. Meanwhile, even though the app was the most recent one opened, I'd have to re-open the app in order for it to update. It's making me think I'll need to make a temporary switch to Android or iPhone while I'm overseas.

 

[atvedge]

AWESOME! It worked. Still frustrated with Windows Phone right now, but that's another issue. The store that signed me up with Telekom gave me a "Loaner" android phone (Moto iRAZR) until I figured this issue out or bought a new phone, and it gets better push notifications.

 

[Zigmono]

Thought I'd follow up with my experiences using the 928 in Europe. First, the phone worked with no problems for voice, text or data. I bought a Vodafone prepaid data SIM at the Prague airport. Around $20 for 5/gig of data. I used Skype for my voice calls and the quality was good. I was getting both 3g and 4g (H) speed most of the time. I had forwarded my Stateside mobile to a Skype number, but the voicemail stunk. I ended up just calling my VZW voicemail via Skype. In Denmark I used LeBrara which is available at 7-11's and Petrol stations. Again, around $20 for 5/gig. Good connections with up to (H) and 3g. BTW, both cards allowed hotspot at no extra cost.

One issue that I did run into was the Amber update became available while I was gone. It downloaded but did not install, probably because of a timezone issue. Impatient as I am, I hosed everything and did a reinstall. Upon returning Stateside I could not get data to work on VZW since I used a foreign SIM when I did the install and it must have overwritten something critical. I ended up doing a total reinstall and everything works fine.

Thanks for everyone's input.