All Mobile Critic: international roaming phones

As mentioned previously, Sprint Nextel offers two distinct networks despite being part of the same company. Like Verizon, Sprint uses CDMA so its worldwide roaming coverage with the technology phone is limited. Using a CDMA handset, you can roam to many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean along with Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, China and Taiwan, South Korea, India, Israel, Thailand and a few U.S. territories. You'll pay roaming fees, and depending on the phone you use, you'll have to pay both a one-time activation fee and a monthly charge for the service.

Alternately, Sprint sells and leases GSM phones for travel to other countries, and it has a dual-mode GSM/CDMA phone with the Samsung IP-830w. Travelers to Japan, however, are restricted to renting a WCDMA phone. Sprint does some allow some data usage and all text and multimedia messaging are billed as data services.

As for Nextel users, iDEN roaming is limited to Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Brazil, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Israel. Alternatively, Nextel's Motorola i930 is a dual-mode iDEN/GSM for voice calling in about 100 countries. And with either of the above methods, you can use the carrier's Direct Connect push-to-talk service in Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and you'll only be charged for calls you initiate. Keep in mind that the i930 is a smart phone so if you'd rather not buy a new handsets you can to rent a GSM-only phone for the duration of your trip. With all phones you will need to activate international service. Messaging and data services and pricing will depend on the phone you choose so see Nextel for more information.

Service in: 26 countries and four U.S. territories with a CDMA phone; more than 100 countries with a CDMA/GSM phone. With an iDEN phone, service in 9 countries and one U.S. territory.
International roaming activation fee: $36 one-time fee; $6 per month *
Standard roaming rate: 50 cents to $1.50 per minute *
Long-distance charges: None
Internet usage: 2 cents per kilobyte
Text messages: Billed as data service
Multimedia messages: Billed as data service

Green areas indicate where you can use a Sprint world phone abroad (CDMA-only handsets have a much smaller roaming area). For a complete list of rates and coverage, visit Sprint's Web site.

World phones include:

Samsung IP-830w

T-Mobile brings a big ally to the world phone table. As a division of Germany's powerful Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile offers a solid international network with generally the cheapest roaming rates. And since versions of the carrier operate in seven other nations, including Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, you'll not only be using a bona fide T-Mobile network, but you'll also have the convenience of seeing the company's familiar pinkish-gray logo.

In addition to almost all of Europe, the carrier offers international service in Canada, Mexico, the Middle East, Australia, much of South America, a handful of countries in Africa, and virtually all of Asia. T-Mobile also provides coverage on a variety of cruise ships. As with AT&T, however, service in Japan and South Korea requires a special phone. You're liable for roaming but not long-distance costs when abroad, and you'll need to activate international service, though you can move throughout most of Europe for just 99 cents per minute. Phone selection is on a par with AT&T's, and again, if you manage to unlock your mobile, you can use a prepaid SIM card. T-Mobile has no frequent international calling plans, but you can access a variety of international data plans and T-Mobile Wi-Fi hot spots around the world.

Service in: More than 187 countries with a T-Mobile phone
International roaming activation fee: None
Standard roaming rate: 49 cents to $3.99 per minute *
Long-distance charges: For Canada only
Internet usage: 1 cent per kilobyte (or $10.24 per megabyte) in Canada; 2 cents per kilobyte (or $15.36 per megabyte) elsewhere.
Text messages: 35 cents per sent message; 10 cents per received message
Multimedia messages: 25 cents per message to send and receive (standard U.S. rates)