Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Nokia or iPhone for traveling foreign lands?

TSE

TSE

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jun 25, 2007
4,106
3,748
St. Paul, Minnesota
What phone would be better when taken in consideration traveling to europe and asia?

I'm going to be in Rome for 2 months, and Sweden for about 6 months... besides that i will be in the United States. Might make a trip to Japan or China too.

The two phones I'm looking at: Lumia 1020 or iPhone 5S

Taking into account:

-Navigation - OFFLINE navigation needs to be strongly considered... including finding bus routes, where you are, street views, walking, restaurants, attractions, etc.

-Battery life

-Camera
 
i've taken the iPhone 5 to each of those countries without really much of a problem. however, i was traveling on a global corporate plan so data consumption was not too much of a problem :cool: i've tried the Lumia 920 in Taiwan before and did not like it very much

from an iPhone perspective...

- mophie juice pack. this was by far the best traveling investment i've made. foreign countries + constant Google maps searching is a quick way to drain the battery

- invest in a global data plan. in Italy, Wi-Fi hotspots are quite scarce and almost all of them charge for access. i'd take a hard look at T-Mobile's everything + unlimited global plan for $70 a month or find a local pay-as-you-go service. in China and Japan, their large carriers usually have retail shop everywhere so just pop in and get a pre-paid SIM. usually they ask for two IDs (e.g. USA passport and drivers license)

- navigation. offline nav will not work well. if you online, Apple / Google maps was passable in Italy if my memory serves but i'd always confirm directions with the hotel concierge. in Asia, both of those map applications were hit-or-miss in my experience... especially if you have to use the local language as the search input. in Sweden it was pretty decent. given the high fluency in English there, even if the maps don't work asking for directions is fairly straight forward. depending on where you're going in Japan / China, you may be better served by getting a rail map + phone map

i have not touched my Lumia over have a year now so i do not know what's been updated... however i do remember the maps was severely lacking when i was in Asia


TSE said:
What phone would be better when taken in consideration traveling to europe and asia?

I'm going to be in Rome for 2 months, and Sweden for about 6 months... besides that i will be in the United States. Might make a trip to Japan or China too.

The two phones I'm looking at: Lumia 1020 or iPhone 5S

Taking into account:

-Navigation - OFFLINE navigation needs to be strongly considered... including finding bus routes, where you are, street views, walking, restaurants, attractions, etc.

-Battery life

-Camera
Click to expand...
 
TSE said:
What phone would be better when taken in consideration traveling to europe and asia?

I'm going to be in Rome for 2 months, and Sweden for about 6 months... besides that i will be in the United States. Might make a trip to Japan or China too.

The two phones I'm looking at: Lumia 1020 or iPhone 5S

Taking into account:

-Navigation - OFFLINE navigation needs to be strongly considered... including finding bus routes, where you are, street views, walking, restaurants, attractions, etc.

-Battery life

-Camera
Click to expand...

You're considering an iPhone with navigation as a primary consideration for Europe and Asia! :eek: If you are staying in major capitals, like Rome, Tokyo or Beijing you will probably be okay, but I wouldn't get off the beaten path. You like to live dangerously!

Battery life really wouldn't be an issue, regardless of phone if you get something like the Lugulake (link here: http://www.amazon.com/UPGRADED-LuguLake-6000mAh-Qi-Inductive/dp/B00CY4SG10/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385254887&sr=8-1&keywords=lugulake ), especially as it can wirelessly charge a Nexus 4/5 or flagship Lumia phone. (And this really is true wireless charging. It has a 6000mAh battery built into it and can wirelessly charge one phone and usb charge a second at the same time if you want.

Camera - Lumia or iPhone are your best pics. Nexus 5 isn't bad, if you use HDR+ mode. But there is lag in taking the picture. Remember the lag in the iPhone 4? It's that kind of lag.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I would use a Nokia with Here maps if you require offline maps. It's a worldwide license too.
 
TSE said:
What phone would be better when taken in consideration traveling to europe and asia?

I'm going to be in Rome for 2 months, and Sweden for about 6 months... besides that i will be in the United States. Might make a trip to Japan or China too.

The two phones I'm looking at: Lumia 1020 or iPhone 5S

Taking into account:

-Navigation - OFFLINE navigation needs to be strongly considered... including finding bus routes, where you are, street views, walking, restaurants, attractions, etc.

-Battery life

-Camera
Click to expand...


i backpacked europe last summer, but the only country i went to on yr list there was italy. make sure yr phone is unlocked gsm and you can buy a prepaid sim - data only - from wind for like 15 euro a month.

i had a nexus 4, and it worked like a charm. - battery life was my only problem. a samsung note 3 would be a good choice, but it might be a pain to pocket that. or get one of those battery extenders.
 
I am not sure which one has the most LTE bands now, some Samsung or one of the new Xperia Z's.
 
rillrill said:
i backpacked europe last summer, but the only country i went to on yr list there was italy. make sure yr phone is unlocked gsm and you can buy a prepaid sim - data only - from wind for like 15 euro a month.

i had a nexus 4, and it worked like a charm. - battery life was my only problem. a samsung note 3 would be a good choice, but it might be a pain to pocket that. or get one of those battery extenders.
Click to expand...

If I buy AT&T, will I be able to unlock it or pop in a SIM if I go over this summer? Or does AT&T work overseas?
 
I always prefer an iPhone over any other smartphone.
If you are going to buy it in the US, then go for the T-Mobile with the international unlimited plan so you have no roaming charges anywhere they have coverage.
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/10/0...ational-texting-and-2g-data-in-100-countries/

----------
TSE said:
If I buy AT&T, will I be able to unlock it or pop in a SIM if I go over this summer? Or does AT&T work overseas?
Click to expand...

Unless you buy a unlocked one from the get go, AT&T will love to charge you for roaming anywhere.

As stated above, it might be better to go with the T Mobile one.

_____
Added note:
I missed the duration of your trips. It might be better to get a unlocked iPhone, get the T Mobile deal, and when you are in the long stay just buy a local SIM with the data plan in that country and you will be very happy.
 
thejadedmonkey said:
Why do you suggest that?
Click to expand...

alex2792 said:
So you don't use up all of the data....
Click to expand...

Yeah. Under the Backup part of Settings, you can have it automatically backup your app list and settings, text messages, and photos + videos.

Videos automatically NEED the wifi on to backup to SkyDrive. But if you don't set it up to do so, photos will automatically be backed up to SkyDrive in good quality.

I like it because it means that when I delete it off my phone, it's still hosted somewhere to grab later. Meaning that I never have to worry about losing some shots because I'm low on storage (which is a HUGE problem because I'm limited to 5GB that I already have apps taking up and don't have a nice big SD card).

But that would be a HUGE problem when roaming internationally and having it all backing up without you knowing. Hahaha.
 
alex2792 said:
So you don't use up all of the data....
Click to expand...

Jessica Lares said:
Yeah. Under the Backup part of Settings, you can have it automatically backup your app list and settings, text messages, and photos + videos.

Videos automatically NEED the wifi on to backup to SkyDrive. But if you don't set it up to do so, photos will automatically be backed up to SkyDrive in good quality.

I like it because it means that when I delete it off my phone, it's still hosted somewhere to grab later. Meaning that I never have to worry about losing some shots because I'm low on storage (which is a HUGE problem because I'm limited to 5GB that I already have apps taking up and don't have a nice big SD card).

But that would be a HUGE problem when roaming internationally and having it all backing up without you knowing. Hahaha.
Click to expand...

All you have to do is select "Best quality" and it only uses Wi-Fi.

Edit: Didn't see that you were simply implying turning it off to reduce cell usage, sorry if my response came off as snarky.
 
Last edited:
Yeah. This is why the nexus program is good. The camera is lame though. you can buy an unlocked iPhone from Apple, but it'll cost you 700ish dollars with tax. You'll be able to put it on any gsm carrier.

----------

Also, some people say that WiFi is everywhere. It is, but its a pain to get on. Every thing is locked. You'll have to get a password from someone. Or they want yr Facebook or email. It is much easier to get a 3g card.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back