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Cell Phone for a Year in France

Discussion in 'International Wireless Forum (Including Canada and' started by airwalkery2k, Jul 15, 2011.

  1. airwalkery2k

    airwalkery2k New Member

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    Hello,

    I am an American student and I will be traveling to France and studying for a year at a university there. I am very unfamiliar with the services in France despite looking through Orange's website with my minimal knowledge of French. I hope one of you will be more well versed in the art of French bureaucracy and cell phone industry. :biggrin:

    I am looking for a cell phone and a plan with the following capabilities:
    A GPS or mapping function
    An English-French Dictionary app
    Cheap calls to the USA
    (optional) Internet capabilities

    If I am getting a nice phone, I would like to be able to bring it back and use on some American carrier. Now, I suppose my initial guess is that I should get an unlocked Droid phone while still in the United States and put a French SIM card in it when I arrive. I hope this is possible.

    So, would it be possible to get a HTC myTouch 3G GSM, a Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570, or something similar and just put a French SIM into it? If that shouldn't be a problem, then I must admit, I am still clueless on the plans.

    My other option would be to get a phone while in France. Are the phones sold in France unlocked, if I happen to bring it back to the US with me? Also, wouldn't it default to French language?

    :browani: Thanks for reading!
     
    #1 airwalkery2k, Jul 15, 2011
  2. Telekom

    Telekom Bronze Senior Member
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    Location:
    Seattle, Washington USA
    My Phone:
    Nokia 5310, iPhone 3G[S]
    Wireless Provider(s):
    T-Mobile US, Fido CA, T-Mobile NL, Orange IL
    First some stuff you will be dealing with as far as getting mobile service in France. You will likely be relegated to picking a prepaid "pay as you go" plan if you don't have a French credit history. Most all the French carriers offer data. As far as I'm able to figure out the rates are not cheap and are in fact kind of spendy. Go to this link for information on what's available for prepaid SIMs in France. Orange, SFR, and Bouyges are the three main carriers in France. There are at least twelve MVNOs that use one of the three main networks. If you get an unlocked phone you will be able to use it anywhere in the world that uses the same mobile frequencies. As far as "defaulting" to French probably it would if you have it set to automatically do it on your phone set to automatically use the default that's probably what it would do. I'm pretty sure (though not 100% positive) that you will be able to choose phone language (voicemail prompts etc.) in English.

    I'm not sure whether phones are sold locked or unlocked in France. Some countries do not allow handset locking. I'm not sure what the law is in France.

    As far as "apps" that really doesn't have anything to do with the carrier and mostly has to do with the platform (Android, iOS, Windows 7, BlackBerry etc.) and what's available in each platforms app store.
     
    #2 Telekom, Jul 15, 2011
  3. airwalkery2k

    airwalkery2k New Member

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    Thanks! The link you provided is extremely helpful for comparing the providers. Although, it'll take me some time to properly compare these plans. I wish I could just pay 40-50 euro a month and not worry about minutes, expiration dates, ads playing before calls, the confusing data plans and so forth.
    :googlyeye

    I am rather unfamiliar with how the GPS works on a phone. Are the maps stored on the phone itself, or will I be charged data for downloading maps, directions and business addresses. I want to use that a lot, so I worry it may end up in a lot of data usage.
    Edit: I think most phones do use data for the "GPS". Ick. I may have to buy a handheld standalone GPS model if the data is so pricey there.
     
    #3 airwalkery2k, Jul 15, 2011
  4. Telekom

    Telekom Bronze Senior Member
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    Location:
    Seattle, Washington USA
    My Phone:
    Nokia 5310, iPhone 3G[S]
    Wireless Provider(s):
    T-Mobile US, Fido CA, T-Mobile NL, Orange IL
    It depends on what app you get. Some apps store the data on the phone, but may require that you download some preliminary data in order to use the maps you need.
     
    #4 Telekom, Jul 15, 2011
  5. airwalkery2k

    airwalkery2k New Member

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    Okay, that's relieving. I just have to find a way to download France into my phone.

    That website is great. I am deciding between Orange and LeFrenchMobile.

    LeFrenchMobile:
    +English support
    +36 eurocents/minute to call US
    -36 eurocents/minute to call anybody in France
    -56 cents per megabyte (I'd run out fast)
    +10 cent texts
    +Good expiration policy. (Charges 1-something a month if no credit is added until it runs out)

    Orange
    +9 euro per month for unlimited data (throttled after 500 megs)
    -80 cents to call US
    +10 cent texts
    -Very French, no English on their site
    +The stores are everywhere, if I remember right. I'll ask very nicely Parlez vous Anglais?


    As I predict i will be a data hog, I may go for Orange with the internet option. But those calls to the US will be pricey and those terms of service I have to sign will take a lot of French dictionary action.
     
    #5 airwalkery2k, Jul 16, 2011
  6. Telekom

    Telekom Bronze Senior Member
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    Location:
    Seattle, Washington USA
    My Phone:
    Nokia 5310, iPhone 3G[S]
    Wireless Provider(s):
    T-Mobile US, Fido CA, T-Mobile NL, Orange IL
    For calling the US use the OneSuite service using their 0800 number in France. It's only 1¢/minute to call the lower 48 in the US. OneSuite is a prepaid service where you can buy blocks of time for $10, $20 etc. Each time you use the service your "expiration" date moves farther away. I've used it to make international calls from the US, Israel and Germany.
     
    #6 Telekom, Jul 16, 2011
  7. airwalkery2k

    airwalkery2k New Member

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    Oh, that may work! Do mobile companies not charge for calling an 0800 number on a cell phone?

    I remember being in Belgium and getting charged for calling the help number. (They put me on hold for 20 minutes at 30 cents a minute and burned through the remaining funds I had.)
     
    #7 airwalkery2k, Jul 16, 2011
  8. Telekom

    Telekom Bronze Senior Member
    Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Seattle, Washington USA
    My Phone:
    Nokia 5310, iPhone 3G[S]
    Wireless Provider(s):
    T-Mobile US, Fido CA, T-Mobile NL, Orange IL
    What I've found is most mobile operators do charge for calls made to "free phone" toll-free numbers, but it's generally the same airtime rate as a call to a regular number.

    As far as "burning through" minutes it's the same way in the Netherlands. Either you call an 0900 number and pay 30 Eurocents per minute or dial their internal number and still pay but not as much. Probably to discourage people from calling customer service.
     
    #8 Telekom, Jul 16, 2011
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