Cell phone for year in Europe

I'm going to be living in Amsterdam for 10 months starting in August. I know that I am going to want a cell phone to call people locally as well as my family back in the States. But I have no idea where to start? What kind of phone do I need? Should I wait to purchase a phone and plan when I arrive in Amsterdam? What kind of plan do I need? I know that when I was in Haiti people purchased pre-paid phone cards that they entered into their mobile phones to call the States, but I didn't know if this system worked in Europe. Please advise!
Thanks!

I've cross posted on Long Haul.

My two cents, buy your cell/plan/prepaid in A'dam. Phones/prepaid deals start at Euro 30. Depending on your budget, consider using Yahoo Messenger/voice for international calls. Free puter to puter calls. Just need to set-up the calling time/date. Hassle free.

Agree with #1. You need a GSM phone operating on the 900/1800 band. You'll get those much cheaper in the Netherlands, with a prepaid SIM card. For calls to the US from your cellphone try Jajah.

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<hr>Phones/prepaid deals start at Euro 30.<hr></blockquote>
I have a UPC Prepaid startpakket (with 10 euro credit) sitting here on my desk that cost me 5 euro in Amsterdam earlier this year. Haven't used it yet as it turns out I still had more validity on my old Vodafone card.

Vodafone prepaid is 0,09/minute to USA.

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<hr>Vodafone prepaid is 0,09/minute to USA.<hr></blockquote>
Sorry, I just checked their web site and I don't see this tariff listed. Maybe I had some special deal, or maybe they changed the rates.

Also, set up a free account on Skype.com and put a few dollars in it. Depending on where you are and whether you have broadband internet connection, it may come in handy to save some money for certain calls. It is widely used, and widely available in internet cafes.

I was just in the Netherlands for 6months and so had the same problem. I dont think you'll be able to set up a monthly contract if you're there for less than a year, so your best bet would be to get a pay-as-you-go SIM card (if you have mobile in america it should be compatible and you can just take your old SIM out and put the new one in). The best one to go for, for calling abroad cheaply and in NL is Lyca Mobile (I think) but there are quite a few to choose from if you go to an independent phone shop (not the branded ones like 'Carphone warehouse' and 'Hi' you get on the highstreet) they will be able to tell you the best deals. the SIM will cost about 10e and have 5e on it already ~ plus when I was there Lyca mobile was always having deals when you buy10e credit and get 5e extra free!

Lyca Mobile

Of course not all US phones run on the GSM system and not all of those will work on European GSM frequencies. If you are bringing a phone from the US make sure it's GSM 900/1800 and not SIM-locked. If you go to small independent phone shops (especially those which cater to immigrants) you can get good deals on used phones.

Thanks for your help. You've all been much more direct about answeres than the bunch over on Long Haul branch. I inadvertently started a fight about skype over there.