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How (and how well) do Wireless "Worldphones" Work?
Milo_Mindbender asks: "I've seen a number of new phones (like the Sony T616) advertised as 'worldphones' that handle three or four GSM bands. As someone who travels to Japan and Europe occasionally I'm wondering how (and how well) these actually work. Can you get a temporary or prepaid SIM with a local carrier and just swap it or are the US carriers 'service locking' phones so you have to do international roaming with them even in foreign countries?"
GPRS definitely works in Europe. It is an extension to GSM that uses free time slots to transmit packet data. It has nothing to do with making telephone calls.
One killer app with GSM is that it roams seamlessly between operators that have mutual agreements. Hence, as long as you use a reliable operator, there is no need to swap SIM cards when you travel abroad.
While in Norway last week I discovered that even GPRS roams perfectly, much to my surprise. I was able to use my cell phone for internet service through my Swedish operator, without changing any settings. Talk about mobile internet!
This is why it will take many years before GSM will lose its position as king of cell phone services - it just works, and is _reliable_ as hell. Audio quality is not optimal, but it's good enough. Data throughput is limited, at least without EDGE, but it's good enough for email, and it's _reliable_.