It's a long time since I've been to the States - is it still impossible to use your mobile there?

[handlemecarefully]

We will have a hire car from Alamo and I don't like to drive around without access to a mobile. When I last went to the States (about 8 years ago) UK mobile phones didn't work there (like they do in Europe and elsewhere f'rinstance)...Is that still the same?

Tri-band ones do, don't they?

[hugely thick emoticon] - dunno what's a tri-band phone

Perhaps mine is one - it's a fairly swanky Sony Ericsson C902

I just got this from the Orange site. (Your swanky one isn't 3G though is it? If so it looks like it won't work...will try & find out for you )

I'm such an aged luddite WendyW

Good news!

"As well as being 3G, it's a quadband GSM phone, so should be usable anywhere in the world."

(From here - lovely useful website!)

(You haven't got teenagers yet though have you, hmc? They will drag you kicking & screaming etc etc when they are old enough )

WendyW you are a genius!!! - thanks

Well I shall look forward to their teenage years (I think...)

(I didn't know all that about my phone - I got it for the camera! )

I've got K800i, the one before the one before yours also for the camera (although it's not a bad phone either!)

Which network are you on? If you go to their website & search for roaming you will find out how it works & charges

hi WW, does your k800i work in the US? I've got one/

I haven't been there to try it, cg, but it's tri-band so it should; not everywhere though, you need quad-band for that.

Vodafone Wendy, thanks I'll take a look

when you get there go to Walmart and buy a TRAC phone for $13 and you just top it up in the usual way you would here.

If you want to use your own phone check check double check the call charges as we were charged £1 each call and for each minute so if the call took 10 seconds it was still charged £1.

Also switch off your voicemail, we racked up a bill because my stupid phone goes to voice mail after three rings so before I had a chance to answer it it had racked up the £1 on my phone and 80 p on DHs.

NO VIRGIN MOBILE YOU DIDN'T TELL ME WHEN I RANG UP, YOU DIDN'T MAKE IT CLEAR, YOU DIDN'T SEND ME A TEXT TO ADVISE ME OR SEND ME A LEAFLET. EVEN WHEN I CALLED FROM US YOU DIDN'T ADVISE ME. YOU ARE RUBBISH.