Cell Phone Rental in the US?

[None of the above]

I will probably be going to the US for a couple of weeks next year and wondered if it is still possible to rent a cell-phone at the gateway airports. I only have a pay-as-you-go mobile (so no international roaming) as I only make occasional use of it. However as I have aged parents, who are not in the best of health, I feel that I ought to be available on the phone at all times. Is short term rental still available, or has this market disappeared with the arrival of tri-band phones?
All help gratefully received.

Ta,

N o t a

[speedbird_heavy]

Get one of the new Nokia PAYG's from Orange. They have Tri Band capability which means they work in the US. Prices start from £45. You can activate International Roaming at any time with Orange.

Try these sites

www.thelink.co.uk
www.phones4u.co.uk

[Torque2]

Another option might be to buy a cheap tri-band on e-bay and get it unlocked then buy a paygo sim card. Certainly works in Canada.

[None of the above]

Thank you , gentleman.
I'm grateful to you for your replies.
I'll investigate both options in a few minutes -
I was under the impression that International Roaming and Tri-band mobiles were restricted to phones on a monthly contract. A trip to an Orange shop will now be in order, but only after Christmas! Alternatively a trawl around Ebay might be a good idea.

Thanks again, both.

N o t a

[Jimlad]

be aware that GSM is slowly rolling out in the US - when I was in DC in May, I had full coverage with O2 in the DC area and saw a lot of TV adverts about it. Not sure how far its gone across the nation though.

[phreegreens]

I've used my O2 contract tri-band, East Coast ME down to FL and all over the mid-West, you lose signal when you are out in the wilds but all towns now seem to be on the GSM net.

My wife's Orange contract has also worked when she has travelled with me.

Just watch those roaming charges for inbound calls, I've found the US can be really brutal, as can mobile call costs US-UK.

If you do fix yourself up with a roaming PAYG phone maybe keep if for emergencies, most news stands, chemists, Wal Marts in the US sell pre-paid international calling cards which will be loads cheaper than your mobile for those quick, check in, is everything OK at home calls.

I just had a quick google and there are also places you can buy cards in the UK for US-UK calls with per minute rates as low as 5p..:ok:

[None of the above]

Thanks phreegreens..........

Yes, I've used phone cards in the past in the US, and having been stung for phone calls via the hotel system, am aware of the cost advantages. You learn by your mistakes.........
I think I would only make calls on a mobile from outside these shores in the event of a dire emergency and just keep it switched on in case of something untoward happening at home. I believe that the various companies have been given until next month to justify their international roaming charges. Not sure who demanded their compliance in this exercise - may have been the Competition Commission or the EU. I think it's a fair bet that if they are compelled to make price reductions they'll pile it on somewhere else.

[slim_slag]

GSM is pretty much anywhere you want to be in the States. It's not often I cannot get a signal on my UK GSM phone somewhere I cannot get a signal on my US PCS phone. If anything roaming on GSM is better because you have the choice of two networks (ATT and T-Mobile).

So. Take what I do is take my UK triband phone with me and set the phone to divert all incoming calls to voicemail. Change your voicemail message and say you will NOT be listening to voicemail so don't bother leaving any and if you need to speak to me send a txt. This costs nothing to receive in the US. You don't want to have voicemails because it costs a fortune to pick them up. Even calling a UK mobile number from a landline in the States costs a minumum of 45c per minute now they have twigged onto the fact all mobiles numbers start with 07xx

Then set up an account with cognicall that you pay with your credit card at the end of the month, should cost 8c per minute to call the UK.