Hello,
I live in the UK, and currently have a Samsung S2 on Tesco's (which I think is O2). It's an initial 12-month contract which is due to expire in August 2012.
In July 2012, I am going travelling for 6 months, to the US, Australia and New Zealand with one friend (2 months in each place).
I was going to cancel my Tesco contract, as it's only 1 month of paying without using it, which I can live with as it's £10 a month. The current contract is unlimited texts, 500 minutes, 500Mb data.
I use WhatsApp on it to text my friends in Australia for free, and it works really well.
When I'm in the US/Aus/NZ, I won't be using a mobile to phone anyone or text anyone, but I would really like internet access, so I could use WhatsApp to text home, and to keep a running travel blog (using Wordpress) which I can update through my phone.
Is it possible to just plug in an American SIM card into my existing phone, and somehow, get a 2-month contract that gives me no texts, no calls, but free (or very cheap) internet? Likewise for Aus/NZ? Or a PAYG SIM that offers cheap internet access? Here in the UK, I can leave the internet (WhatsApp) constantly "on" waiting for messages, so I can respond to people pretty much instantly, but I'm assuming I won't be able to do that abroad?
I did also like the thought of getting two SIMS and giving one to my travelling companion so if we get separated etc, I can phone her, so perhaps I do need a few calls. I don't know the best solution for me.
I'd ideally love to keep my S2 because it's a large screen, with a great camera, easy to type lots to update a blog and I can watch videos etc while I'm bored, but perhaps a solution is to buy a cheap throwaway US/Aus/NZ phone+SIM combo? Again, I'm a bit confused with my options and the best solution?
Also, to throw into the mix, I'm not sure if my S2 is tri-band? How do I find out?
The overwhelming important thing is to keep costs down, and balance that between staying in touch with home, and perhaps being able to stay in touch with my travel companion.
Can people give me a bit more information, and their recommendations?
I'd really appreciate it.
Thank you.
