Cell Phone Rental/Purchase in NZ (for vacation)

I'd appreciate comments/suggestions on the best options for acquiring a cell
phone for use while on vacation in NZ (for about a month)

I know some car rental firms rent phones for $3-$5/day. I've heard that
phones can also be rented at Auckland Airport, but have no info on costs.
And/or can phones be purchased for reasonable cost?

The main purpose of the phone would be for use in emergency situations (e.g.
car breakdown).

Thanks
Ron B

(to respond directly, please delete the prot)

RonB wrote:
I'd appreciate comments/suggestions on the best options for acquiring a cell
phone for use while on vacation in NZ (for about a month)

I know some car rental firms rent phones for $3-$5/day. I've heard that
phones can also be rented at Auckland Airport, but have no info on costs.
And/or can phones be purchased for reasonable cost?

The main purpose of the phone would be for use in emergency situations (e.g.
car breakdown).

Thanks
Ron B

(to respond directly, please delete the prot)


For a month it would be cheaper to buy a phone on Trademe for $100 and
get a prepay SIM card for $20. You can sell the phone when you leave or
keep it as a souvineer.

In article ,
says...
I'd appreciate comments/suggestions on the best options for acquiring a cell
phone for use while on vacation in NZ (for about a month)

I know some car rental firms rent phones for $3-$5/day. I've heard that
phones can also be rented at Auckland Airport, but have no info on costs.
And/or can phones be purchased for reasonable cost?

You can bring in a phone on a compatible system from your country of
origin while you are on vacation. It can't be sold in NZ.

--
Full featured open source Win32 newsreader - Gravity 2.70
http://sourceforge.net/projects/mpgravity/

Buy a cell phone (gsm service is Vodafone) from a discount outlet - they're
in every mall, department stores etc - for about $100 - usually it will
include $20 air time also. Remember you do NOT pay for incoming cell phone
calls in NZ (or anywhere much outside North America).
If you already have a gsm phone (triband if you're in North America) - and
it's not sim locked (your phone carrier can tell you) it will just need a
new sim card. Cost $20 - and it will include free air time too. Recharge
cards are available from every supermarket, servo etc in the country.
I'd also check out 'callback' services. Using one will give you access to
very cheap calls to anywhere in the world from your NZ cell phone. There are
several - do a Google!

Good Luck.


"RonB" wrote in message
...
I'd appreciate comments/suggestions on the best options for acquiring a
cell
phone for use while on vacation in NZ (for about a month)

I know some car rental firms rent phones for $3-$5/day. I've heard that
phones can also be rented at Auckland Airport, but have no info on costs.
And/or can phones be purchased for reasonable cost?

The main purpose of the phone would be for use in emergency situations
(e.g.
car breakdown).

Thanks
Ron B

(to respond directly, please delete the prot)

RonB wrote:
I'd appreciate comments/suggestions on the best options for acquiring a cell
phone for use while on vacation in NZ (for about a month)

I know some car rental firms rent phones for $3-$5/day. I've heard that
phones can also be rented at Auckland Airport, but have no info on costs.
And/or can phones be purchased for reasonable cost?

The main purpose of the phone would be for use in emergency situations (e.g.
car breakdown).

AFAICT, you are from Canada (please always mentione your country of
origin for questions like these). Isn't Canada part of The Civilized
World (tm), i.e. uses the GSM system instead of the US-centric system?

If you have a GSM phone, you can just use it in NZ. If you want lower
call costs, you can, as mentioned, buy a pre-paid SIM for some $20
(provided your phone is not SIM-locked).

RonB wrote:
I'd appreciate comments/suggestions on the best options for acquiring a cell
phone for use while on vacation in NZ (for about a month)

I know some car rental firms rent phones for $3-$5/day. I've heard that
phones can also be rented at Auckland Airport, but have no info on costs.
And/or can phones be purchased for reasonable cost?

The main purpose of the phone would be for use in emergency situations (e.g.
car breakdown).

AFAICT, you are from Canada (please always mentione your country of
origin for questions like these). Isn't Canada part of The Civilized
World (tm), i.e. uses the GSM system instead of the US-centric system?

If you have a GSM phone, you can just use it in NZ. If you want lower
call costs, you can, as mentioned, buy a pre-paid SIM for some $20
(provided your phone is not SIM-locked).

If you have an unlocked gsm phone you can rent a sim card at the airport for
$20 which has 20 minutes of talk time, however, you must return the sim card
at the end of your trip. Otherwise it is $35 for your own sim card which
only comes with $5 of talk time. This is not available at the airport. You
must purchase at a vodafone dealer. Also check out www.vodafone.co.nz their
website for more info.

Canada is part of the civilised world - BUT it's phone system is merely an
extension of the US system. There are two GSM carriers (Fido and Rogers
Wireless - with poor coverage indeed) - but they use the 1900 frequency; so
unless you have a triband phone..............



"Frank Slootweg" wrote in message
...
RonB wrote:
I'd appreciate comments/suggestions on the best options for acquiring a
cell
phone for use while on vacation in NZ (for about a month)

I know some car rental firms rent phones for $3-$5/day. I've heard that
phones can also be rented at Auckland Airport, but have no info on
costs.
And/or can phones be purchased for reasonable cost?

The main purpose of the phone would be for use in emergency situations
(e.g.
car breakdown).

AFAICT, you are from Canada (please always mentione your country of
origin for questions like these). Isn't Canada part of The Civilized
World (tm), i.e. uses the GSM system instead of the US-centric system?

If you have a GSM phone, you can just use it in NZ. If you want lower
call costs, you can, as mentioned, buy a pre-paid SIM for some $20
(provided your phone is not SIM-locked).