Hi all, has anyone had any experiences with Blackberry or hand-held rentals for managing email accounts, etc. while in Europe? If so, any suggestions for rentals? We will only be there for about 10 days but I have a home based business and feel the need to keep in touch with my email, etc. and I don't want to take my laptop. We will be in Switzerland & France. Do they all work off of satellites or do some work off of wifi and if so is one better then the other?

I'm only marginally literate in this techy stuff so I appreciate any help. Thanks!

I can't see it making sense to rent [do they rent blackberries?] sign up for an account and pay all the fees for just 10 days.

Go to your current cellphone provider and see who has the best deal for travelling.

The little Asus laptop sounds interesting and isn't that much more then a mid range phone. But if you need phone service too look at one of the smart phones.

http://eeepc.asus.com/us/product.htm

I googled and it looks like you can rent one. My biggest concern would be the cost. The airtime for phone and connect time for data looks like it could add up quickly.

Blackberry and other smart phones do work well in Europe. Here is a thread on blackberry usage posted by Pauline when she got her blackberry last year. I know several people have used other smart phones like Treos and Ipod touch. Does anyone have some experience with the cost of using these units in Europe?

Yup, they do rent Blackberry's. Verizon has a plan for a month rental for $65. I haven't had time to check out all their info., so I don't know what the other charges are for international & email usage.

My cell phone provider is a smaller regional provider and does not offer international service.

http://www.vzwrentinternational.com/international_cover...nd_rates.aspx?cid=70

Business class charges. If you are even a medium user it looks like you'll end up paying more then paying a new phone and getting a European SIM.

I'm also concerned about the cost of sending data. I think at .29 per 10kb that it can add up fast. A normal email might be fine. I took a look at the size of messages in Outlook and they are mostly under 25kb. So that would be about 30-90 cents per email. Hopefully you wouldn't need any attachments or no one would send you a picture. If those are included in the data sent totals, it might add up fast.

Another option would be to use an internet cafe. That is how I've stayed in contact. If you are in one location, then it won't be too hard to drop in one and check. You won't be as connected but still reachable.

The emails that I receive for my business are pretty simple and don't include any attachments, etc. Do they only charge me if I open them or do the charges apply for downloading them?

Also, I will need internet access to update some of my business info. and to manage my reservation software. Again, these are quick, simple transactions so I would only be on for short times.

I have been leery of using internet cafes, afraid of someone getting access to my private info., etc. Maybe it's not something to be that concerned about? We'll be in fairly small villages in the Luberon in Provence and I'm not sure how they are set for internet cafes?

Thanks!

You've gone beyond my knowledge of a blackberry. I'm hoping someone with more experience with these devices can answer your question.

Since you will be updating your business, I would probably also be somewhat leery of using an internet cafe. Typically, I don't have any problems using an internet cafe for accessing my web mail or updating my blog. I usually will not use it to access financial sites (bank, etc).

Thanks, I suspect that it is going to be too costly too. I've been wanting to convert here in the states and just haven't been able to figure out a way to justify it based on the monthly use charges for internet, phone, etc. I keep hoping that the cost will go down in time. Thanks again.