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If you're going to Canada first then the US, you're in luck because there's a really easy SIM to get for Canadians heading South.

It's called Roam Mobility and they're a US MVNO that sells their SIMs in Canada (if you're on the west coast, head into a London Drugs store, go to the cell department and ask to buy a Roam Mobility SIM.

If not, they do sell the SIMs online. It's a fairly nice option for Canadians heading to the US for days, weeks or a month. And it's pretty much no-questions-asked - you just buy the SIM and activate it online for however long you need.

In Canada, well, prepaid generally is a bigger bother - while you can buy SIMs by heading to a store, they aren't too happy about selling them (less money for them). As an earlier poster said, you probably want to use Wind or Mobilicity if you can (if you do Wind, pay for the US package and you can roam in the US as well, which isn't too bad a deal)., but you will need a phone that can do AWS (e.g., the iPhone 5/5s can, last I checked, as well as the other regular bands). They can sell you one, but beware that unlocked ones like Nexus phones are WILDLY overpriced (I've seen a Nexus 4 be almost $600 - yes, you could walk into an Apple Store and get the iPhone 5. The Nexus 4 sold for around $250 or so off Google Play). But that's only if your current phone doesn't do AWS (I mention the iPhone 5 because it does, as well as regular bands from other carriers. I do know that there often are special AWS models of popular Android flagships like the SGS3 (a friend tried to activate one and couldn't because it didn't do AWS), and I think the Nexus 4 couldn't either unless you got the special one.)

Oh, and no carrier, despite having the "no contract price" on the phone will ever sell you a handset for that price unless you actually were in a contract and wanted an out-of-sync upgrade. Other than Wind or Mobilicity, who are prepaid services, that is. (As I'm no longer in a contract, well, it means my phone options in Canada are limited to Apple if I wanted in-store service, or Google if I wanted to put up with Google Play (bleh - I got burned badly with the Nexus 7 when I could buy it retail for cheaper, and have it sooner than when Google finally fulfilled my order! I mean, I could walk into a store and buy one, or order it online for free shipping and have it in my hand a couple of weeks sooner (stupid UPS)).

The year was 1945: the soldiers were coming home...this little store on Main Street, Vancouver, was given a big name. The store was named after London, England, the home of Canada's King, George VI. In the months after World War II, London Drugs carried the promise of peace and prosperity.

From the corporate site. There isn't even a store in London, Ontario.

I haven't bought blank CD's for a while (why bother, they're a terrible backup medium, and I have two flash based music players),
but last time I bought some at london drugs, they still itemized the blank cd fine separately on my receipt.

Checking: yep, they still do it:

http://www.londondrugs.com/Cultures/en-US/Content/Library/Computers/cd_levy.htm

These propaganda releases from the RIAA and other IP terrorists are designed to frighten the Canadian politicians into their extremist point of view,
and unfortunately it works - the average Canadian politician seems to be entirely clueless about.. well just about everything really..

When the "Industry Minister Jim Prentice" was faced with many protesters in his Calgary office (can't find the reference, sorry!) he apparently was surprised that anyone was paying any attention at all to the copyright reform bill he was about to launch.

The politicians seem to think that the issue is all about music pirates whining that they won't be able to steal music.
What bothers me most about us cloning the US DMCA is the instances where the DMCA is used to silence free speech on the internet, nothing at all to do with actual copyright violations.

Thats it, someone copyright the US DMCA act, then we can't copy it in Canada!

Now what's also absurd is that the money collected is distributed only to Canadian artists, so, sorry Britney, this tax is not for you eh?

How did this get passed? Ask Sheila Copps why on earth she passed this assinine "guilty so pay up" levy.

Here's an update from London Drugs in Canada on the Levy:

http://www.londondrugs.com/Cultures/en-US/Content/ Library/Computers/cd_levy.htm

When I heard that name I couldn't shake the image of Hugo Weaving's, (Agent Smith in the Matrix), voice saying that to Neo all the time.

In fact every time I see Hugo, like in the Lord of the Rings, I still hear him saying that...
"Mr. Anderson!"

Anyway, I'm glad to see that Best Buy is finally being recognized more for their money grabbing. Being an independent computer consultant, I'm tired of the Compaq/HP pushers filling the market with crap.
Further, the Geek Squad is now eating into my profits from service.

Irregardless, I for one welcome our new overlords. I've simply switched purchasing from OEM vendors to purchasing from Best Buy, Staples, Future Shop and so forth when rebates and discounts make it profitable.

What I dislike the most is that it's such a GAME.

Here is how you play and what you get:

1. Comb the flyers weekly, (both online and mailbox versions).
CircuitCity.com
FutureShop.ca
Staples.ca
BestBuy.ca
BestBuy.com
LondonDrugs.ca
OfficeDepot.com
RadioShack.com
(Please add more, I'm sure there are many)
2. Compare prices from Ebay, factoring in landed costs like shipping and duty.
3. Compare reviews and comments on items you are thinking of buying.
Tomshardware.com
Zdnet.com
4. Try to take advantage of 150% buyer protection by pitting store against store.
5. Now go and purchase what you can at the lowest possible price.
6. You will now get sales pitches, reams of paper receipts and mumbling twitchy eyed sales people running about checking the validity of your homework.
7. Don't forget to use any Airmiles, Reward Cards etc. to get even more discounts.
8. Before you leave the store, make sure you have everything you'll need to make a proper rebate.
9. Immediately test the product(s) you buy.
10. Do any returns ASAP.
11. If you do a return, make sure you go back to see if it's on the bargain table :->
12. Immediately fill out and make copies of your rebates, receipts and UPC codes.
13. Check everything for accuracy and dates.
14. Call help lines if you are missing any critical items or are unsure of anything in the rebate process before hand.
15. Immediately mail in rebates and keep postal receipts for your records.
16. Goto 1.

What you get is a product for a price you should have gotten right from the #$%king beginning.
Welcome to the rat race of buying and selling.
There are no winners, just lots of wasted time making paper for bureaucrats, lawyers and accountants.

Maybe we are just living in The Matrix.

Oh no it's not....

Try going to buy CDRs at a place that does charge the levy. At London Drugs, for example (who by the way is is actively campaigning to have said levy repealed). You'll see them ring up the CDs, then ring up the levy as a separate item, just like when you buy a bottle of pop and they throw the deposit on after.

Besides, do the math: The current CD levy is 21 cents per disk, or $21 per hundred. There's one place in town I buy 100 CD-Rs for $19.99. You're telling me this place is losing $1.01 in levy cost, plus the cost of the stack of blanks for the sheer joy of supplying me with my blank CDs? No....

What is nice to see are some retailers like London Drugs are supporting the end users in the fight against the levy.

It could be though, that they realize that an increased levy would mean less people buying CD-R's, MP3 players etc....

... and you're charged every time you buy a blank CD, audio cassette or mini-disc.

21 cents per blank cd, 29 cents per audio cassette, and 77 cents per minidisc.

And the Recording industry wants it increased (a 181% increase for CDs), and wants it added to additional media (flash memory cards and DVDs) as well as to MP3 players.

Ironically, none of the money has been paid out to any artists.

1) It's legal to have an mp3 if you've paid for the music
2) CDs are used for things other than music
3) Flash memory cards are used in dozens of things; I have a digital camera that uses them.

The last time the levy was raised (Jan, 2001 I believe) I wrote letters to various Members of Parliment hoping to get it shut down.

This time, even the retailers are getting involved.

The music industry is a dinosaur. I believe artists should be paid for their work, but the cost of a CD is ridiculous; that money is disappearing into music executives pockets; the artist gets next to nothing. I would pay 30 cents per MP3 to download. No shipping, no retail costs, no packaging. That should be fair.