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Cell Phones

North America uses a completely different cell phone standard from the GSM used in Portugal and the rest of Europe, so most European cell phones will not work in the US and Canada. Furthermore, although there are GSM networks in N. America, they use a different frequency band. However, some models do work on both continents, and there are two options:

1. Télecel Vodaphone, and perhaps some other other companies, will lend you a phone free of charge for trips to N. America. I borrowed one in early October and it worked fine in both Portugal and the US. They just put in the SIMM card from your regular cell phone and that is it! (I haven't done this for several years though, so I don't know if this is still true.)
2. You can buy the same kind of phone, although it is a bit pricey in Portugal - the Motorola Timeport costs over 60.000$00 (€ 300) in Portugal, but I was able to buy one in New York City for $120, less than half the price. This model is newer than the one that Télecel lent me, and includes WAP. I could have bought one without WAP, which seemed to be the same as the Télecel model, for $80. (This paragraph is old and probably out of date.)
3. There are other models, ranging up to around $500 in NYC, and these are rapidly becoming more available. You want to ask for a tri-band phone, and while these cost more than the basic models they are not too expensive. I even found a tri-band with Bluetooth in Portugal for just € 100.

Keep in mind that if you buy your phone abroad, as I did, you may have trouble with your Portuguese service supplier. Also, buying things in New York is tricky - the asking price for the phone I bought was $300, but I got it for $120. Dealing with the shops in Manhattan, especially around Times Square, can be challenging. I went to one of the better-known discount shops to buy a present for my brother, and their price was well over twice what Staples was charging. As a general rule, if you are not a New Yorker, don't shop there! (At least not for "bargains".)

With prices falling and phone service becoming more competitive, anything I post here is likely to be obsolete. Just be sure to check the market, and remember that if you buy a phone from a service supplier it will probably only work with SIMM cards from that supplier. Unblocked phones cost a bit more but are increasingly available.

Added comment - if you want to buy your telephone abroad, bring your present phone (or at least the SIMM card) and try it out. Many tri-band phones do not actually work with Portuguese cards. The most common problem is that the phones are blocked, meaning that they are configured to use only cards from a certain service supplier in the country of sale. Be sure to buy an unblocked phone.

Another point that has been raised by several friends is that if you regularly visit another country where GSM phones are used, you should consider buying a SIMM card for that country (that is the small card that fits into the guts of the phone with all your information on it). This can be much cheaper than paying roaming fees, and of course it means that you can receive local calls - otherwise if anyone wants to call you they have to call your Portuguese number, so they pay for a long-distance call and you also pay for the call from Portugal to wherever you are. I haven't tried this yet, but will probably do so.

Originally I wrote down the following information, which seems to be the common wisdom on this matter:

"European cell phones are almost all based on the GSM standard and are totally incompatible with most N. American cell phones. Do not bother bringing your cell phone from one continent to the other.

"There are some exceptions, but so far as I know they are expensive, and the coverage is limited. If you can afford one of these, then you have employees who can give you better advice than I can."

I was then corrected by Luisa Eckroade, who wrote as follows:

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