Unlocked Cell Phone

It’s the first day of your vacation and you’re pumped, excited and ready to get out there and experience a new world … then you get a text from your phone service saying you owe them $300 because you forgot to turn your roaming off. Phone companies can and will use any excuse to charge you extra, and “not being in the United States” is as good a reason as any.

An unlocked iphone — a phone with no contract that uses prepaid SIMs — is essential for long-term and frequent travelers. You can buy a new SIM card in every country (including the United States), and for a lot less than a monthly plan. Most SIM cards go for about $30–50 a month and cover international calls, texts and 3G; so if you’re paying $99 a month with your iPhone contract, an unlocked phone will pay for itself within the year.

Then there’s the convenience of not having to use Facebook or email to make plans with the locals. Taking advantage of an unlocked phone lets you call and text your new friends without worry, as you would at home. But perhaps more importantly, you have Internet access anywhere. You may only use it to look at cat videos in the States, but abroad, you’ll need to look at maps, use language translators or even Google suggestions for things to do. Let’s just say you’d be glad your Internet is unrestricted if you’re lost somewhere late at night.

You can buy unlocked phones on Amazon anywhere from $100–600, depending on the style and age of the phone. More than just a travel item, unlocked phones might appeal to anyone tired of phone contracts — even if you’re just traveling from bed to the couch.