[acallie]

Hey everyone - my first post

I just had a question about using the 8830 in Europe. I'm in a fairly unique situation: I'm not a smartphone user, so I don't know much about them, and in Spring I'm going to be spending 5 months in Germany. I spoke to my cell provider (US Cellular), and they told me two things: I could get my account placed on hold while I'm gone and I could buy a 8830 to use abroad.

I'm leaning towards buying the 8830, but I don't want to use it with my US Cellular contract (I don't want to pay ridiculous global fees). I was wondering if it is possible to buy the 8830, put the contract on hold when I leave, buy the card that I need to make it work in Europe and then buy a set number of minutes when I get there. I don't plan on calling the US with my cellphone, just other European numbers.

Would this be worth it, or am I better off getting a pay-as-you-go phone when I get there? If it is worth it, can someone give me a run-down of what I need to do?

Thanks a lot! (Oh, and I did a search and I couldn't find anyone else requesting the same thing)
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Could I just buy the 8830, put my USC account on hold while I'm gone, buy a SIM card and drop it in, then buy a pre-paid plan from T-Mobile in Germany?

[QWKSNKE]

whatever phone you buy has to be unlocked or it will never recognize your SIM card

[acallie]

Okay, and from what I've read it doesn't look like the USCellular 8830 can be unlocked.

Does anyone have suggestions on what I'm better off doing?