I just returned from another major trip with my iPhone (and iPad in hand). Unfortunately, I didn’t rent a SIM from iPhoneTrip.com.
See my reviews from previous iPhoneTrip reviews:
Flashpacking into Africa with a Rented SIM from iPhoneTrip.com
Flashpacking through Europe with iPhoneTrip.com
My girlfriend and I did a “Noreaster”, traveling through North East America in October/November 2011. We visited Chicago, Niagara Falls, Montreal, Vermont, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Iowa. Since this was mostly in the United States, we didn’t rent a SIM from iPhoneTrip.com.
In Canada, this was very unfortunate. WiFi sucked, and roaming rates were insane. Fortunately we didn’t stay in Canada long enough for this to be much of a problem, and it was during the weekend, so I didn’t have to work much.
So why this review if I didn’t rent a SIM?
Because one can’t pass an opportunity to point out how far behind our wireless carriers in the United States are from elsewhere in the world. This trip was made with my iPad (on Verizon) and my iPhone (on AT&T). Unlike Europe where I had connectivity everywhere with my iPhoneTrip.com SIM, there were HUGE areas around the Northeast with absolutely no coverage on either Verizon or AT&T.
My point here isn’t just to bash the state our our wireless infrastructure in the United States, but also to point out that when traveling abroad, you can rely more on your mobile technology than you can in the US, making the thought of renting a SIM that much more compelling.
If you’d like to see the photos from my Northeast trip check out my photo albums on Facebook.
