bmeekorelse

I am going to Europe this summer and would like to take my Droid and get service there. How is this done? Thanks in advance for any help.

karimarie

You can't--Europe uses GSM (cell phone bands) and Droids are CDMA.

You can get a SIP client (check out the app SipDroid) and use that to make phone calls when you're connected to a wifi network.

I travel a fair amount both nationally and internationally, and honestly, my Droid is one of my favorite travel tools. I use MapDroyd and iTravel Lite to download maps and the WikiTravel travel guides for an area, and I use Google Voice for texting (even better now that there's push texting!) And if I'm in someplace where I have to pay per device for wifi, I sign my Droid up, which is good enough for quick/covert use (if I don't feel comfortable taking my laptop out) and then if I want to use my laptop, I tether using PDANet to make use of the wifi connection I already paid for.

But yeah, if you want to use it as a cell phone, you're pretty much SOL. I think a few countries have *small* CDMA networks--check Verizon's website to confirm this--but you're going to pay out the @ss for roaming.

My suggestion is to get a cheap unlocked quad-band GSM cell phone on eBay, and just buy a SIM card (the actual phone card itself that you put in the phone to have a number, minutes, etc) to pop in once you get where you're going. Also, most major cell carriers in Europe have roaming agreements in other European countries, so that the rates are still relatively reasonable.

This is what I do, anyway... it's kind of a pain carrying around two phones, but my "Europe phone" (my cheap GSM one) really never leaves my backpack--I don't keep it turned on unless it's an emergency. I just tell everyone at home to call/text me on my Google Voice number, and I check that when I get to wifi.

Or you could get a Motorola Milestone (the GSM version of the Droid) and a SIM card for the country you're going to, and use that. ;-)

Eurosteve

If you have access to wifi, you can use "fring" to make skype-out calls to any phone number worldwide (including the US). It costs only about 2 cents per minute. But you need to buy minutes at skype so you have a credit balance before you leave.

Sparky61

Does anybody know the latest about using Skype through Fring? I've heard that there's a big dustup between the two of them, and they blame each other for the fact that Skype is now not accessible through Fring. I'm leaving for Europe in a few weeks and would like to be able to make VoIP calls relatively simply through my Droid-X.

Particularly annoying is that Verizon apparently doesn't let the user make calls through their Skype app when they're not on the Verizon network, which of course doesn't (and can't) exist in GMA areas like Europe.

Thanks....

Rob12345

I have a Droid X and just downloaded Fring and connected a SIP number to the account. As long as I can connect to wifi is this all I need to talk for free in Europe if I'm calling the states? Do I need to setup anything else before I leave?

Dubie220

I just got back from there... Verizon sent me a loaner phone that would work there.. it was just a old standard flip phone with a sim card... the guy from verizion told me there is a international droid in the works

droidmaha

So to use wifi in Europe with my U.S. X, is there anything special I have to install or prep my phone for. I'll be over there this spring and other than phone service, it would be great to have my connection services available.