Mobile Phone in the US vs. Europe

Digital Nightfall on 18/2/2011 at 20:25

Eventually (or soon, next month or two, or maybe next week) I am going to replace my antique cell phone with some type of fancy iThing, Android, or Windows phone. (I am leaning towards Windows Phone, if that's relevant.) I was told that since I am moving to France next week and will be there for the next few years, I'd be better off just waiting and buying my phone there. (I'd like to buy the phone outright, now get a contract deal. I can afford to.)

I thought I'd check one more time to see what opinions on the matter were around here. Should I pick something out this week here in the US and then get a service plan once I get to France, or should I just get to France and buy the mobile/package there?

(Also, FWIW, I'm using skype on my PC as my landline.)

Briareos H on 18/2/2011 at 20:40

* For ~30€/month you get a non-capped broadband internet access (30mbps ADSL or 100mbps fibre depending on where you live) with HD TV and a landline (unlimited international calls on landlines incl.);
* For ~40€/month you get a mobile phone plan including 2 to 4 hours to all local phones and unlimited calls to 3 fixed phone numbers (and/or unlimited to all local phones from 10pm to 8am), unlimited SMSes and 500MB-capped mobile internet. If you are lucky, you may find unlimited mobile internet for that price;
* Some operators offer combined mobile+internet packages including the two above with a reduced rate;
* For 150€/month you get a mobile phone service with unlimited local and international calls.

Those mobile plans require a 1 year commitment. Also you get most phones rather cheap when it's your first contract, so if your choice is really between buying a phone brand new in the US and then a plan here or a mobile+plan here, the answer is obvious. I hear that thing they call an "I Phone 4" is between 250 and 330€ when you get it with a plan.

Al_B on 18/2/2011 at 21:01

I shudder at the thought of paying 150€ per month for any mobile contract.

I'm afraid that I don't know much about France so this may not be much use but in the UK you'd be looking at around £25 - £30 per month for a contract including a cell phone (mobile) with a decent internet allowance and free texts / calls. You can get better deals, particularly if a particular manufacturer is trying to compete with the more fashionable modern phones (RIM were doing this with their blackberry phones a little while ago) or if you can get a phone bundled with other services - e.g. cable TV.

My gut feeling is that if you're wanting a modern Windows phone then you may find it more cost effective to get it on a contract deal when you're in France rather than buying it outright in the USA and getting a SIM only deal when you're in Europe. One thing to (possibly) be aware of is that at the mobile frequencies for GSM services in the US are / were different to the ones in Europe. I'm not up to date on the situation, particularly on the phones that you may be considering, but it's worth making sure that a phone that you buy in either continent will work in the other.

Ulukai on 18/2/2011 at 23:26

I have a new Windows Phone 7, which I love, even after previously having ~~a mini fondle slab~~ an iPhone.

However, something to bear in mind if you're not near your PC: There's no skype app for WP7 at the moment.

Digital Nightfall on 19/2/2011 at 23:43

So it looks like the verdict is, wait, buy a Phone + Plan in France.

Another thought... does anyone have a habit of using their phone as their portable music player? I don't like the idea of carrying around two fancy electronic devices, but I shudder to think about how often I'd need to charge the thing in order to keep my phone functioning while using it to play music for several hours a day.

Matthew on 20/2/2011 at 10:59

I use my iPhone as a PMP a lot, mostly for no longer than half an hour at a time though - the battery wear is significant but not crippling.

Briareos H on 20/2/2011 at 12:57

In a world where most smartphones must be charged everyday, I don't want to imagine how it would go if I had to listen to my daily dose of music with one.
You probably won't be able to listen to hours of music without keeping it plugged in. That said, Android phones apparently have nice apps for decoding all formats including lossless.