For those that travel only infrequently or those who are new to traveling outside of the United States, using your cell phone from another country may not seem like a big issue. However, when you get home and see your cell phone bill you may find out that you have hundreds of dollars in phone charges on the bill, even if you thought you were keeping calls short.
Even calls from Canada or Mexico are considered international calls and will result in those extremely high costs. To avoid all this, learning about how to use unlocked international smartphones to your advantage can save you a lot of unexpected expenses.
Choose a GSM Phone
GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communications, and it is used by cell phone carriers around the world. There are four common bands that are used all over the world, so choose unlocked international smartphones that are designated as quad-band so your phone can connect automatically where ever you may be.
While you can unlock your current phone, you may also want to pick up a low-cost unlocked smartphone from a cell phone company that is not associated with a major carrier. These companies offer great quality phones at a fraction of the price, and they are a perfect choice if your current phone is locked or if it doesn’t use GSM standards.
SIM Cards
When you first get a smartphone, you have to install or activate the SIM card in the phone. This is a small card that contains your personal profile, your contacts, information about the phone and other relevant data for the carrier.
To avoid having to pay long distance or roaming charges, you can order a SIM card in advance from a retailer in the country or region you are traveling. This can be sent to you by mail and you can actually activate it at home from your computer, and then
