Mary, Here in Turkey, I find wireless spots and internet cafes, that allow me to pull their ethernet cable from their machine to plug into my laptop to be easy enough to find. Between starbucks, mcdonalds, nice hotels with free wireless in their lobbies, some libraries, laundromats open networks along the way etc, you may not need to purchase anything. Maybe you should try, and if you get uncomfortable, them purchase.... You may also find that fellow boaters along the way may just let you borrow what you need. And, prepaid GSM phone chips do handle GPRS connections, so you could have a backup just in case.... Lee Ankara On Jun 30, 2006, at 03:54, Mary Macdonald wrote: Thanks for the quick response. It's a PDA that we'd like to have for easy email access. We've got the cell phone side covered with our NA package with Rogers but don't want to pay $8 per MB plus roaming charges on top of the fixed monthly fee for the data package. Do you guys just use wireless networks and Internet cafes for your Internet access? On 6/29/06, ghechtman@aol.com < ghechtman@aol.com> wrote: Actually, you walk into any convenience store, such as 7-11, and buy a prepaid phone if all you want to do is talk and send SMS text messages. Best Buy has an excellent selection too. Now if it is PDA and full data functionality you are looking for, that is more problematic in the prepaid arena. Tracking megabytes in real time and decrementing your account accordingly is still tricky on most systems. None of the major carriers are offering that yet. Marie, if you could let me know what exactly you want to be able to do, I might be able to come closer to answering your query. -----Original Message----- From: Lee Licata <lazilicata@gmail.com> To: Mary Macdonald < macdomary@gmail.com> Cc: trawlers-and-trawlering@lists.samurai.com Sent: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 20:00:27 +0300 Subject: Re: T&T: Canadians buying cell phones and PDAs in US Mary, if you have an unlocked GSM phone, T mobile will sell you a prepaid wireless GSM chip with a US phone #. Need ID, (passport) and should be good to go.. Lee Ankara On Jun 29, 2006, at 12:48, Mary Macdonald wrote: My husband and I are leaving from Georgian Bay in late July to do the Loop. We have a cell phone now with fixed monthly charges and no roaming for North America but we can't purchase a NA data plan that doesn't have roaming charges. We had planned to buy a PDA in Chicago and sign up for a package there but friends who have recently returned from 8 months cruising tell us you can't buy a cell in the US if you are not a US resident. Any suggestions as to how we can get a fixed price data package? Mary Macdonald Christine Marie _______________________________________________ http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/listinfo/trawlers-and-trawlering To unsubscribe send email to trawlers-and-trawlering-request@lists.samurai.com with the word UNSUBSCRIBE and nothing else in the subject or body of the message. Trawlers & Trawlering and T&T are trademarks of Water World Productions. Unauthorized use is prohibited. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out AOL.com today. Breaking news, video search, pictures, email and IM. All on demand. Always Free.

Thanks to you both. I'm just 3 weeks into my "retirement" after being a classic blackberry addict for years so jsut getting used to the idea that I may not see a message for a day or two. Your suggestion is a good one .... think we'll leave it for now and see how we go. Being less immediate with email and surfing is probably a good thing:) On 6/30/06, Lee Licata <lazilicata@gmail.com> wrote: > > Mary, > > Here in Turkey, I find wireless spots and internet cafes, that allow me to > pull their ethernet cable from their machine to plug into my laptop to be > easy enough to find. > > > Between starbucks, mcdonalds, nice hotels with free wireless in their > lobbies, some libraries, laundromats open networks along the way etc, you > may not need to purchase anything. > > > Maybe you should try, and if you get uncomfortable, them purchase.... > > > You may also find that fellow boaters along the way may just let you > borrow what you need. > > > And, prepaid GSM phone chips do handle GPRS connections, so you could have > a backup just in case.... > > > Lee > Ankara > > On Jun 30, 2006, at 03:54, Mary Macdonald wrote: > > Thanks for the quick response. It's a PDA that we'd like to have for easy > email access. We've got the cell phone side covered with our NA package > with Rogers but don't want to pay $8 per MB plus roaming charges on top of > the fixed monthly fee for the data package. Do you guys just use wireless > networks and Internet cafes for your Internet access? > > > > On 6/29/06, ghechtman@aol.com < ghechtman@aol.com> wrote: > > > > Actually, you walk into any convenience store, such as 7-11, and buy a > > prepaid phone if all you want to do is talk and send SMS text messages. > > Best Buy has an excellent selection too. > > > > Now if it is PDA and full data functionality you are looking for, that > > is more problematic in the prepaid arena. Tracking megabytes in real > > time and decrementing your account accordingly is still tricky on most > > systems. > > > > None of the major carriers are offering that yet. Marie, if you could > > let me know what exactly you want to be able to do, I might be able to > > come closer to answering your query. > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Lee Licata <lazilicata@gmail.com> > > To: Mary Macdonald < macdomary@gmail.com> > > Cc: trawlers-and-trawlering@lists.samurai.com > > Sent: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 20:00:27 +0300 > > Subject: Re: T&T: Canadians buying cell phones and PDAs in US > > > > Mary, if you have an unlocked GSM phone, T mobile will sell you a > > prepaid wireless GSM chip with a US phone #. > > > > Need ID, (passport) and should be good to go.. > > > > Lee Ankara > > > > > > On Jun 29, 2006, at 12:48, Mary Macdonald wrote: > > > > My husband and I are leaving from Georgian Bay in late July to do the > > Loop. We have a cell phone now with fixed monthly charges and no > > roaming for North America but we can't purchase a NA data plan that > > doesn't have roaming charges. We had planned to buy a PDA in Chicago > > and sign up for a package there but friends who have recently > > returned from 8 months cruising tell us you can't buy a cell in the > > US if you are not a US resident. Any suggestions as to how we can > > get a fixed price data package? > > > > Mary Macdonald > > Christine Marie > > _______________________________________________ > > http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/listinfo/trawlers-and-trawlering > > > > To unsubscribe send email to > > trawlers-and-trawlering-request@lists.samurai.com with the word > > UNSUBSCRIBE and nothing else in the subject or body of the message. > > > > Trawlers & Trawlering and T&T are trademarks of Water World > > Productions. Unauthorized use is prohibited. > > > > ________________________________________________________________________ > > Check out AOL.com today. Breaking news, video search, pictures, email > > and IM. All on demand. Always Free.

Now that's much better thinking! If it's not absolutely critical, why sweat it? The boat is going to be asking for the money involved anyway... and be nicer to you in return.. -----Original Message----- From: Mary Macdonald <macdomary@gmail.com> To: Lee Licata <lazilicata@gmail.com> Cc: trawlers-and-trawlering@lists.samurai.com Sent: Fri, 30 Jun 2006 07:12:00 -0400 Subject: Re: T&T: Canadians buying cell phones and PDAs in US Thanks to you both. I'm just 3 weeks into my "retirement" after being a classic blackberry addict for years so jsut getting used to the idea that I may not see a message for a day or two. Your suggestion is a good one .... think we'll leave it for now and see how we go. Being less immediate with email and surfing is probably a good thing:) On 6/30/06, Lee Licata <lazilicata@gmail.com> wrote: > > Mary, > > Here in Turkey, I find wireless spots and internet cafes, that allow me to > pull their ethernet cable from their machine to plug into my laptop to be > easy enough to find. > > > Between starbucks, mcdonalds, nice hotels with free wireless in their > lobbies, some libraries, laundromats open networks along the way etc, you > may not need to purchase anything. > > > Maybe you should try, and if you get uncomfortable, them purchase.... > > > You may also find that fellow boaters along the way may just let you > borrow what you need. > > > And, prepaid GSM phone chips do handle GPRS connections, so you could have > a backup just in case.... > > > Lee > Ankara > > On Jun 30, 2006, at 03:54, Mary Macdonald wrote: > > Thanks for the quick response. It's a PDA that we'd like to have for easy > email access. We've got the cell phone side covered with our NA package > with Rogers but don't want to pay $8 per MB plus roaming charges on top of > the fixed monthly fee for the data package. Do you guys just use wireless > networks and Internet cafes for your Internet access? > > > > On 6/29/06, ghechtman@aol.com < ghechtman@aol.com> wrote: > > > > Actually, you walk into any convenience store, such as 7-11, and buy a > > prepaid phone if all you want to do is talk and send SMS text messages. > > Best Buy has an excellent selection too. > > > > Now if it is PDA and full data functionality you are looking for, that > > is more problematic in the prepaid arena. Tracking megabytes in real > > time and decrementing your account accordingly is still tricky on most > > systems. > > > > None of the major carriers are offering that yet. Marie, if you could > > let me know what exactly you want to be able to do, I might be able to > > come closer to answering your query. > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Lee Licata <lazilicata@gmail.com> > > To: Mary Macdonald < macdomary@gmail.com> > > Cc: trawlers-and-trawlering@lists.samurai.com > > Sent: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 20:00:27 +0300 > > Subject: Re: T&T: Canadians buying cell phones and PDAs in US > > > > Mary, if you have an unlocked GSM phone, T mobile will sell you a > > prepaid wireless GSM chip with a US phone #. > > > > Need ID, (passport) and should be good to go.. > > > > Lee Ankara > > > > > > On Jun 29, 2006, at 12:48, Mary Macdonald wrote: > > > > My husband and I are leaving from Georgian Bay in late July to do the > > Loop. We have a cell phone now with fixed monthly charges and no > > roaming for North America but we can't purchase a NA data plan that > > doesn't have roaming charges. We had planned to buy a PDA in Chicago > > and sign up for a package there but friends who have recently > > returned from 8 months cruising tell us you can't buy a cell in the > > US if you are not a US resident. Any suggestions as to how we can > > get a fixed price data package? > > > > Mary Macdonald > > Christine Marie > > _______________________________________________ > > http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/listinfo/trawlers-and-trawlering > > > > To unsubscribe send email to > > trawlers-and-trawlering-request@lists.samurai.com with the word > > UNSUBSCRIBE and nothing else in the subject or body of the message. > > > > Trawlers & Trawlering and T&T are trademarks of Water World > > Productions. Unauthorized use is prohibited. > > > > ________________________________________________________________________ > > Check out AOL.com today. Breaking news, video search, pictures, email > > and IM. All on demand. Always Free. _______________________________________________ http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/listinfo/trawlers-and-trawlering To unsubscribe send email to trawlers-and-trawlering-request@lists.samurai.com with the word UNSUBSCRIBE and nothing else in the subject or body of the message. Trawlers & Trawlering and T&T are trademarks of Water World Productions. Unauthorized use is prohibited. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out AOL.com today. Breaking news, video search, pictures, email and IM. All on demand. Always Free.