Mobile phone to use in the USA?

[d000hg]

I gather taking my mobile to the USA in order to make/receive calls to/from the UK is not a great move. Especially since I'm on TalkTalk and I think they allow free/cheap calls to US mobiles.

I have been recommended the options of buying a PAYG phone on arriving in America, or getting a US SIM for my existing phone. http://www.gosim.com/index.php?page=usa was mentioned but paying to receive calls doesn't sound ideal.

Any advice?

[NickFitz]

I'm not certain, but I believe that all US cellphone operators charge for receiving calls. The operating companies have a different business model over there, and it sucks. But I don't believe it's possible to find a US cellphone with which you don't pay for incoming calls.

You're probably best off working out possible figures for the different options - if you expect to receive a lot of calls while you're there, it might actually work out better to use your UK SIM, even if that means paying an arm and a leg for a small number of outgoing calls. If you'll make calls more than you're called, it might work out better the other way around.

(The Americans - well, the ones in the US - are still stuck with rather primitive business models when it comes to mobiles. Something to do with unbridled capitalism and no regulation to ensure consumers get a half-decent deal, I would imagine.)

[snaw]

Yeah, you get charged to send and recieve calls in the US.

I dunno about payg -when I was there it didn't exist (Took me ages to get myself a phone).