Experience with onesimcard.com in Turkey, UK
Just got back from a trip to Turkey, with layovers in the UK.
I've followed this thread with great interest from the beginning, and thought I would report on my experience.
I had gotten an unlock code from Verizon, and already unlocked the phone with a T-Mobile Sim (but since I was in the US it would not connect to the network).
My experience with onesimcard was very good. I turned all the data off at first, and just used the phone, following instructions. I paid for an "800" number here in the US, so people in the US called for free, and I received calls for $.20/minute, and outgoing calls were $.55 in Turkey and $.39 (I think) in the UK. I could check my balance and successfully recharge it using the simcard menu (had to hunt for it in my app drawer).
I could not get texting to work with the onesimcard sim, but didn't troubleshoot it, since the phone worked great on wifi (skype calling & google talk). When I first landed, and then headed home and just wanted to send short texts, I used the Verizon Sim, which works well ($.50 to send, and $.05 to receive). Sometimes I had to recycle the phone to recognize a new sim, and in the UK I had to manually select O2 while putting in the onesimcard, but it was not a big deal.
I set my phone to "gsm/umts" mode, with all data off, and it worked fine as a phone. On a long bus trip, I followed the instructions in the instruction booklet to manually set up an APN, and it worked! It showed a large "E" which I assume means Edge? In Turkey, data costs about $1/mb, so I would just turn it on in spurts, use it, and then turn it off. No problems with gmail and internet. Didn't use maps/gps at all. In the rest of Europe data is more than $3/mb, which would start to get pricey.
In short, it worked for what I needed, at a reasonable cost, connecting to gsm networks in two different countries. Combined with wifi, skype and google talk, the Droid 2 Global is a great global workhorse. I didn't have to mess with buying and registering a local sim (which would have been cheaper) and the price is reasonable. When I could use skype, I did (either free or .02/minute). When I was away from wifi, or the wifi was unreliable, I used onesimcard.
Steps I followed:
1. Call verizon and get the verizon sim activated, and international dialing enabled. Also get the SIM unlock code.
2. Just before leaving US, set phone to forward calls to Google Voice so you don't inadvertently pay $2.89/minute to receive a call. Instead you receive an email if they leave a message.
3. Turn off all the data.
4. Insert onesimcard and unlock (or unlock here in the US - the unlock will work, but the phone still only works outside of US gsm bands).
5. Give others your 800 number so they don't have to call Estonia.
6. Dial the number you wish to call per the directions. The call immediately terminates, and a little message pops up advising you to answer the phone when it rings...which it does in 2 - 4 seconds. Then the call is placed and you ask the person to call back on your 800 number. First minute (outgoing) = $.55, then it is $.20/minute (incoming). Sure beats Verizon at$2.89.
Hope this helps someone else.
Gary
