cell phone rental in Rio?

[CT Dick]

Is it worth renting a cell phone for a week in Rio?

 

If so, where do I do it?

 

(Forgive me if this has been discussed but I could not find it on Search.)

 

Dick

[trilingual]

If I recall correctly there's a place in the airport. Probably not the cheapest, but easiest pick-up and return. If you're renting an apartment, the owner sometimes has a cell phone to rent. Some local travel agents do, too. The other day I saw a sign in a cybercafe where I'd gone to fax something advertising rental phones.

 

If you travel frequently, I'd recommend buying an "unlocked" GSM cell phone (i.e., one that will work with any provider) that's tri- or quad-band. Tri-band will get you around Europe and the Americas. You may need a quad-band if you travel to Asian countries. A chart showing which country uses which band should be available on-line if you Google for it. You won't need to worry about anything else, as the newer phones can select the correct band automatically, as long as they have the capability in the first place. With some older phones you had to change the band manually when you went from country to country.

 

GSM phones are the ones that work with a removable memory chip that contains your account information, phone book listings (if you chose to save them on the chip instead of the phone), etc. With a GSM phone you can just take out the chip from your home country (and stash it in a very safe place because if you lose it you've lost your phone back home!) and put in a local one for a pre-paid plan you buy at any local GSM provider. GSM providers in the U.S. include T-Mobile and Cingular. In Brazil TIM seems to have the widest coverage, but there's also Oi and Claro. In Argentina try Personal. Using a chip from a local provider in the country you're visiting is infinitely cheaper than paying the international roaming fees and call rates your home country provider will charge you!

 

The GSM providers in the U.S. don't sell unlocked phones, as far as I know, but you can buy an unlocked GSM "world" phone on the Internet (it's not illegal) or at some stores. All you need to do then is just buy a chip and a calling plan from the U.S. provider of your choice.

[+ newatthis]

>The GSM providers in the U.S. don't sell unlocked phones, as

>far as I know, ...

 

A friend told me he had no trouble getting his US provider (T-Mobile, I think) to unlock his phone so he could use chips from other countries when traveling. All he had to do was ask.

[dannyrossmoore]

Different strokes I suppose.... I travel and vacation to get away from the damn phone... lol

[trilingual]

Still, a local cell phone number is useful if you expect to receive a lot of local calls in-country from hot studs you've met. If you have family responsibilities back home, you can call them or e-mail the number to them, and have the reassurance that they can reach you in case of any emergency. (In Brazil, you won't be able to phone them directly from your cell-phone if you're on a pre-paid plan. You'd have to buy an international calling card at a newsstand, and go through the long-distance company's 800 number, or use your home country calling card through the "country direct" 800 number in Brazil. However, calls to 800 numbers aren't charged against your pre-paid minutes.) The cheapest way to call back home is from the booths at the cyber-cafes. You can also send and receive faxes through most of them.

[imrthr]

RE: Cell phone rental/purchase - Rio

 

If you click on this link -

 

http://www.cellularabroad.com/sbrazilsg.html

 

you will find most of the information you need concerning cell phone use in Brazil.

 

The above link directs you to a company located in Santa Monica, California. The company sells "unlocked" GSM phones, as discussed above by Trilingual. The website will display the various types of unlocked phones available from that company, either for rent or purchase.

 

Another way to have a cell phone in Rio is to go to a store such as Casa Video in Rio or any other large Rio department store and purchase an inexpensive cell phone which will cost you only about $75.00. You never receive a telephone bill and all incoming calls are free. However, you must purchase "credits" for the telephone at least every 90 days for you to be able to keep the telephone number and for you to be able to dial out.

 

Although it is stated above (in a previous post) that you cannot call directly to the United States from these prepaid phones, that information is not correct. I, as well as other friends, frequently call the United States from the cell phones that we purchased from Casa Video. We all use the services of "TIM", the largest mobile phone carrier in Brazil. The rates for calling the United States are roughly R$1.85 per minute using the prepaid cards that you can buy at news/magazine stands or at lottery stores and other places that have signs posted indicating the sale of "TIM" credits.

 

Since the telephone is so cheap to buy, rather than rent a cell phone, you can use the telephone while you are in Rio (to call out or receive calls) then, after your vacations is concluded, you can give the telephone to some special person you might meet while in Rio.

[IamI2002]

DITTO !! AND KUDOS.