Technical Woes While Traveling Abroad: The New York Times Enumerates the Solutions

Getting a cell phone that works in Japan or the Netherlands. Making sure you don’t fry your computer when you plug it into that ragged looking outlet at your hotel in Frankfurt. Checking your e-mail from China. Those are just a few of the many problems that The New York Times’ J. Alex Tarquino discusses in his recent article about the technical issues surrounding the digital shrinking of the globe.

A few good tips from the article:

• Get a prepaid SIM card in Europe instead of buying a European cell phone. Most American phones will work on Europe’s frequencies.
• Bring an internet connectivity tester (about $20) with you when you travel to make sure that jack in the wall at your hotel won’t completely destroy your laptop’s modem.
• Make sure to get your power adapters for your trip from your computer’s manufacturer, instead of from the electronics store.

But I’ve got a tricky little trick of my own. If you want to get a reliable used cell phone for your destination, look no further than your alma mater. Call up your alumni association and find out whether any students have listed their cell phones from recent semesters abroad for sale on the campus digest. Oftentimes you can find the phones for dirt cheap because college students just want to get rid of them.