Cell Phones in Germany and Europe ‘Handy’ Basics
1 Rent a GSM cell phone during your trip to Europe. Several firms rent out GSM wireless phones on a short term basis. Using a SIM card in a rental even allows you to use your home mobile phone number in Germany. But renting may be more expensive than buying—especially for long-term rentals. Even though they have come down somewhat, the per-minute charges are usually also higher, because even a local call in Europe is an international call if you’re using a US rental cell phone. Rental phones also tend to be “locked” so that they can not be used with other (German, European) SIM chips. (See more about renting vs buying in the links below and in “Handy” Tips - Part 2.)
When is a cell phone not a cell phone? When it’s a German Handy… and it uses a different frequency and a different standard than its North American cousins.
Beauty & Brains
Book UpdatesExpatsExpat BlogPeoplePhotosTravelWhen in Germany…NEWSLETTERForum Das Handy: Cell Phones in Germany & Europe GW Stores Bookstore DVDs - Videos Travel Store Contents GW Contents American influences Angst Arrival The Autobahn Beer and wine Business | Wirtschaft Cinema Dialects Dining Driving Education | Bildung Famous People Friends and acquaintances
Sie and du Health and fitness House and home The identity card mobile phone cell phone mobile phones ipad case silly bandz iphone cases iphone case bluetooth silly bands china phone
The tangle of incompatible standards for cellular, wireless, or mobile phones in the world is similar to the jumble of conflicting television standards around the globe (NTSC, PAL,usb flash drivers, SECAM)—only worse. At least with TV standards, the entire country is under one system. In the US alone, there are dozens of incompatible mobile phone systems. In Europe the situation is better, but the Europeans and much of the world have gone one way in cell phone technology, while North Americans have largely gone another.
Order When in Germany… and The German Way
directly from Amazon.com Books
NEXT > Cell Phones in Germany - Part 2
Der Euro
Since no single solution is best for everyone, you’ll have to make a decision based on your own requirements. If you will be going back and forth between Europe and North America fairly often, you may want a single phone that is compatible with the various GSM systems. But you can also use a GSM phone in Europe and your regular US wireless phone at home. (Remember that GSM networks on both sides of the Atlantic use differing frequencies. See our Glossary, “Handy” Tips - Part 2 and “Handy” Tips - Part 3 for more. Dual and multi-band GSM phones can help solve this problem.)
For more about this, see the Hedy Lamarr page at the German-Hollywood Connection.
*In Berlin in late 2007 I purchased a basic GSM Samsung cell phone for about 33 euros ($47 US at the exchange rate then) from T-Mobile that included a pay-as-you-go SIM card with a call value of 5 euros preloaded.
The technical and wireless information on the GW cell phone pages has been gathered from a variety of sources as a courtesy to our readers. It does not imply any endorsement of the technology,best spy pen, services, or products mentioned. Although we have made every attempt to be as accurate and complete as possible, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of all of the information found here.
Another Option: Buy an unlocked GSM phone that can be used with any SIM chip. If you buy a European mobile phone that is unlocked, you are free to use any chip (even a SIM card from the US) with it. A good unlocked phone will run about $130-250 in most of Europe. But if it’s not a multi-band model, it can only be used in Europe or other GSM regions. This is a good option for people who will be in Europe frequently.
Region Free DVD Player
Play any region DVD movie from Germany
Code free DVD player
www.regioncodefreedvd.com
wedding dresses dual sim evening dress led watch
(der Ausweis) and
other red tape The kitchen (die Küche) Money, banks,
and credit Movies: the
Hollywood factor Police The post office
die Post Radio and television Sports Switzerland Trains More… Newsletter WebNotes Expat Blog GW Expat Blog Countries Austria Germany Switzerland Classifieds… Classified Ads Germany Classified Ads Austria Classified Ads Switzerland Contents WiG When in Germany…
Book Topics Arts and Culture Business and Economy Celebrations
and Holidays Consumers
and Shopping More… Updates More…
Possible Solutions
“Handy” Cell Phone Tips - Part 2 - First-hand tips on using a wireless phone in North America and Germany / Europe The iPhone in Germany is also available without a contract (unlocked)! “Handy” Cell Phone Tips - Part 3 - More information and options for using a cell phone in North America and Germany / Europe — from Telestial "Expat, Phone Home" - Helpful tips from the GW Expat Blog! GPS Navigation - Rent a GPS system to guide you through Germany and Europe. Internet and Modem Tips - What you need to know before you plug your US modem into a German phone jack. Telephone Tips - Do you know how to use a German coin or credit card phone? Electrical Tips - Some shocking facts about electrical appliances in Austria,minidv camcorders, Germany, and Switzerland. The Germans, Deutsche Telekom, and stocks - Was it a good idea to buy DT shares when they were first offered back in 1996? Expat Page - Advice and links for expats in German Europe. Hedy Lamarr - The Austrian actress was the co-inventor of “frequency hopping”—a technology that later became known as spread spectrum, a technology adapted for cell phones.
WebNotes - If you would like to receive our free newsletter with updates for this site,best card reader, simply click on the link to learn more or to subscribe.
No One Solution for All
3 Buy a GSM prepaid wireless phone in Germany that includes call time. You can buy a decent cell phone in Germany for under US$50 (in euros) that includes prepaid minutes and a “refillable” SIM chip.* The per-minute rate for a typical Xtra or CallYa prepaid phone is higher than with a cell-phone contract, but you get to choose one number you can call for a much lower rate and you don’t need to have a German address or a German fixed network phone number, a distinct advantage for travelers. For some people, particularly business people who want to use their US cell phone number in Germany,rc helicopter, methods one or two might be better. However, a prepaid Handy is the cheapest, most hassle-free way. On weekends, prepaid wireless calls to any local number are only about 10 cents/min. There are German “Handy” stores on almost every block of any shopping district. You can even buy the prepaid phones in many German department stores and shopping malls. Many German sales people also speak English, if that’s a problem for you.
Web content © 1997-2010 Hyde Flippo
CELL PHONE
TECHNOLOGY
AND THE ACTRESS
What? The Austrian actress Hedy Lamarr helped invent CDMA, the complicated coding system that is used in modern digital telephones? Yes. In 1942, Lamarr and the musician George Antheil were granted a patent for their "frequency hopping" system for radio signals in control devices to make them invulnerable to radio interference or jamming. This technological feat was formally acknowledged by the Electronic Frontier Foundation in 1997. Speaking of the EFF award, the late Lamarr, then a Florida retiree, said: “It was about time.”
4 Satellite Phones | A satellite phone offers service in places where normal cell phones won’t work. The Iridium global satellite phone option almost vanished not long ago when Iridium went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The new Iridium is a much more attractive option than before, but it’s still not something for the average traveler. Iridium now offers smaller, lighter phones, free incoming calls and a more competitive rate of $1.50/min. for outgoing calls. There are currently several global satellite phone options available from Iridium, Globalstar,solar charger blackberry, and others. With any satellite phone, the main drawbacks are the cost of the handset, running up to $1,000, and much slower data rates than a 3G network. For more about satellite phone services, see Wikipedia’s Satellite Phone entry plus our own Cell Phone Glossary pages.
Will a US cell phone work in Europe?
Does ein Handy work in the US?
2 Buy a multi-band GSM cell phone that can function in the several incarnations of the GSM system—in Europe and North America. Such phones are made by all the major cell phone manufacturers. You can buy one before you leave or in Europe, but you must be aware of the difference between US and European GSM phones. A dual-band or multi-band AT&T or T-Mobile cell phone can be used in both the US and European GSM networks.
NEXT > Cell Phones in Germany - Part 2
Get the Books!
Attempts to achieve a world-wide mobile phone standard have been thwarted by competing technology companies and political interests — even resulting in a dispute between the US and Europe over a universal mobile telephone standard. Europe has largely achieved digital wireless standardization already with the GSM system, while the US and Canada continue to have incompatible digital networks run by competing operators using either CDMA (code division) or TDMA (time division) technology. But because it offers several technical and marketing advantages, there is a growing trend towards GSM in the US wireless phone market. GSM phones are provided in the US by T-Mobile and AT&T, but they use a different frequency band than the European GSM systems.
Original Web content © 1997-2010 Hyde Flippo | Graphic design by Erik Flippo Hyde Flippo is solely responsible for the content of this site and, other than permission granted to publish copyrighted material, McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Publishing has no direct involvement, financial or otherwise, with this site. When in Germany, Do As the Germans ©2002 McGraw-Hill; The German Way ©1997 McGraw-Hill/Passport Books. All rights reserved | Site Map | Privacy Policy | Advertise with us!
An online supplement to
the books The German Way and When in Germany…
by Hyde Flippo,
published by
McGraw-Hill/Passport Books
German Immersion Online
Disclaimer
GSM has taken on true worldwide dominance in wireless phone systems, with well over 475 million users in over 130 countries, including the United States. In Europe,micro card sd, Africa,flash card reader, and much of Asia the GSM system is the only technology used for mobile phones. This means that GSM has more users worldwide than all the other digital wireless systems combined. It also means that a normal US, non-GSM mobile phone is useless in most other parts of the world. But see below…
Related Pages
For more about using a cell phone in Europe and North America, see “Some GSM phone tips” by seasoned traveler Sebastian Harrison in Part Two,wedding dress stores, plus our Glossary pages.
For North Americans going to German-speaking Europe or vice versa, there are several possible solutions to the Handy dilemma:
NEW! Buying and using an iPhone in Germany!
A new German phrasebook by
Hyde Flippo,2g micro sd, published by McGraw-Hill
Since January 2002, all prices in Germany and most other European countries have been in euros, not marks, francs, lire, or pesetas. More…
Germany > Updates >
Cell Phones 1 > Cell Phones 2 > Cell Phones 3 > iPhone in Germany >
Cell Phone Glossary
NEW! Buying and using an iPhone in Germany!
Germany > Updates >
Cell Phones 1 > Cell Phones 2 > Cell Phones 3 > iPhone in Germany >
Cell Phone Glossary
The crazy world of “Handys”
Most GSM phones also take advantage of SIM card technology, a tiny smart card that can be inserted in the phone to allow the use of more than one phone number. This makes it possible, for example, to use your home phone number and a European number on the same phone.
In Europe the GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) digital mobile phone system is used for German Handys and digital cell phones across most of the continent. Germany has four main competing digital phone standards: D1, D2, E2,classic mobile phone, and e-plus (all are GSM). In the Americas, the wireless phone situation is much more tangled. There are several different major digital systems. To really understand it all,storm case, you need to know terms like CDMA, TDMA, PCS, and other tech abbreviations. (See our Cell Phone Glossary for help.)
没有评论:
发表评论