cell phone question

[Wist]

I was wondering what other people do concerning cell phones. If you buy one over there then the next time you travel, you can't have it charged and ready until you have reached your final destination due to voltage and Hz differences, right?

[Turboguy]

I have a feeling you could buy an adapter and charge it first.  There are also phones you can buy here, use here and then just get a sim card there to have a local number.  Many people just rent one there.  I think the going rate is about $ 20.00 per week +/-   

The cell phone I use here will work anywhere but to try to line up too many dates with it there would cost me a fortune.  Of course what about this process does not cost a fortune.

[BC]

Most of the phone power adapters I have seen are 110 - 240 volts.. 50/60 Hz.

[Jet]

Most of the major manufactures have either tri-band or quad-band GSM phones available which will work just about anywhere on the planet (provided there's a tower in range).
The down side is that GSM technology in the US is lagging about 5 yrs behind the rest of the world, and if you don't purchase an "unlocked" phone, you'll be stuck with $6/min+ global roaming charges, as you'll need to route calls through your US provider. E-Bay usually has decent deals on these type unlocked phones, you just buy a prepaid SIM card upon arrival abroad. Cell phones and accessory store for them are big business around FSU. My wife had a bit of difficulty locating a charger for her Audiovox 8910, but Motorola, Nokia, Sony-Erricson are plentiful everywhere (as far as we could see). If you buy over there, just pick a brand that is common here as well, input voltage is different on the adapter/chargers, but output voltage is the same (they all use the same batteries). If all else fails, buy a car charger from over there, as it will work in your power adapter in your car here.

If you're only gonna make one or two trips a year, just rent one there - less expense, less headache. A lot of agencies and flat rental folks provide this service inexpensively.

Also beware that all GSM phones use SIM cards, but not all phones with SIM cards are GSM!

[aikorob]

Many electronic power adapters are autoranging in voltage as BC stated--just the actual plug configuration is different. I simply bought plug adapters from Ebay; and they have worked fine on my old Nokia as well as my current Palm. Same goes for Sony camera chargers.
If you really want to eliminate all worries, there are charging adapters that you plug a normal 9V battery into, and it charges your phone battery.