I just got back from a trip with the family to Italy. While there I relied on my iPhone as my iPod and only means of communication. I have grown tired of bringing around a laptop and wanted to put the phone to the test!
First I removed the SIM card. I did this at home before I even left because I didnt want to see expensive data costs while roaming the countryside in Italy. I figured I would just use wifi and not risk the cost of EDGE. We didnt turn on International roaming for our family plan so as it turns out, the treo we had with us never connected to a phone network (or data) anyway.
Obviously, it worked as you would expect it to, I had no access to anything EDGE related while there. I would gain access to everything on the phone while on wifi.
TRYING VODAFONE
So just before I left I got the chance to pop in a sim card from Vodafone. A relative of mine used Vodafone as their cell carrier so we tried it out. I put the SIM in the now empty SIM slot and booted up the phone. I saw "searching..." for a couple seconds on the top left status area. Then it pop-ed up a dialogue box that said it was a locked SIM card, "Do you want to unlock it?" I hesitantly tried unlocking it. It asked for a password which my cousin quickly entered. It searched for a couple seconds and then told me "This is not a recognized SIM card."
The conclusion...
It works great as an iPod and an offline email client. Vodafone did not work for me. There have been several reports claiming it works but it didnt for me. One report I read said they took the AT&T sim card and put it into a different O2 phone, added a Vodafone contract to the SIM, and then put it back into the iPhone. That apparently worked, but I didnt have the resources to try that. I attempted to find a go phone SIM for Vodafone, but all the stores I checked didnt sell them.
I must admit, I was a bit scared walking around with it in europe but in the end, I am glad I did as it was quite useful. On another note, I had several people watching in amazement as I used it in public. While with my family I let someone try it; he had is friend record him as he held it, screaming in excitement as he played with it. It was quite a sight to see. They all are eager to buy it!
First I removed the SIM card. I did this at home before I even left because I didnt want to see expensive data costs while roaming the countryside in Italy. I figured I would just use wifi and not risk the cost of EDGE. We didnt turn on International roaming for our family plan so as it turns out, the treo we had with us never connected to a phone network (or data) anyway.
Obviously, it worked as you would expect it to, I had no access to anything EDGE related while there. I would gain access to everything on the phone while on wifi.
TRYING VODAFONE
So just before I left I got the chance to pop in a sim card from Vodafone. A relative of mine used Vodafone as their cell carrier so we tried it out. I put the SIM in the now empty SIM slot and booted up the phone. I saw "searching..." for a couple seconds on the top left status area. Then it pop-ed up a dialogue box that said it was a locked SIM card, "Do you want to unlock it?" I hesitantly tried unlocking it. It asked for a password which my cousin quickly entered. It searched for a couple seconds and then told me "This is not a recognized SIM card."
The conclusion...
It works great as an iPod and an offline email client. Vodafone did not work for me. There have been several reports claiming it works but it didnt for me. One report I read said they took the AT&T sim card and put it into a different O2 phone, added a Vodafone contract to the SIM, and then put it back into the iPhone. That apparently worked, but I didnt have the resources to try that. I attempted to find a go phone SIM for Vodafone, but all the stores I checked didnt sell them.
I must admit, I was a bit scared walking around with it in europe but in the end, I am glad I did as it was quite useful. On another note, I had several people watching in amazement as I used it in public. While with my family I let someone try it; he had is friend record him as he held it, screaming in excitement as he played with it. It was quite a sight to see. They all are eager to buy it!