GSM-Only Battery Life (UK & France)

[ajGoes]

I'm gathering information for a trip to France and England at the end of August. I have a GSM-only prepaid phone from a previous trip but this time I plan to use my Razr and my wife's Razr Maxx with European SIM cards. I don't know whether it's inherent to GSM technology or just a benefit of a denser tower network, but I've always had incredible battery life on GSM phones in Europe.

So, I'm wondering whether I can expect a miracle. Will my Razr's battery be transformed from not-really-adequate to outstanding when I turn off the CDMA radio? What can I expect if I use (very moderate, €€€€!) data?

Also, if anyone has good or bad experiences with various European and international carriers to share, I'm all ears.

Thanks in advance,

Andy

 

[jhev1]

My wife and I recently returned from a three week tour in Europe. I had my phone in airplane mode almost constantly but my battery would still be dead in about 8 hours.

Of course I took almost 4000 pictures, so my screen was on a lot!!

Not the answer you were looking for, but out of 13 hotels only two charged for wifi. Some made you log in every so many hours, but it was still free. Found lots of open hot spots during the day and would pop on for a quick email check then get off.

I also stored offline maps and transition packages before I left to get me through. It was enough where I didn't miss the data, which surprised me since at home my phone is almost surgically attached.

Don't have your nose pressed to the phone and miss all Europe has to offer, for she is magnificent. Enjoy every moment, it's all you have and it will fly by if you aren't careful!

 

[ajGoes]

My wife and I recently returned from a three week tour in Europe. I had my phone in airplane mode almost constantly but my battery would still be dead in about 8 hours.

Of course I took almost 4000 pictures, so my screen was on a lot!!

Not the answer you were looking for, but out of 13 hotels only two charged for wifi. Some made you log in every so many hours, but it was still free. Found lots of open hot spots during the day and would pop on for a quick email check then get off.

I also stored offline maps and transition packages before I left to get me through. It was enough where I didn't miss the data, which surprised me since at home my phone is almost surgically attached.

Don't have your nose pressed to the phone and miss all Europe has to offer, for she is magnificent. Enjoy every moment, it's all you have and it will fly by if you aren't careful!

Hi,

Thanks for the tips, especially the reminder that the Droid Razr's camera sucks down the battery very fast. On my last trip to Europe (in October 2011) I still had my original Droid which I used in airplane mode as you did, carrying a separate GSM phone for occasional calls. This time I'm happy not to need the extra phone, but I'm hoping to find out what kind of battery life I can expect with the Razr.

I found that wifi was harder to find in Paris than I'd expected, and that thinking about connections was definitely an unwelcome distraction. Hence my desire to get this planned out in advance as much as possible.