Buy phone in USA, activate in UK?

[deadybear]

Hey all,
I'm moving to the UK (from the USA) in June and plan on getting an iPhone. It looks like it's several hundred dollars more expensive to purchase the phone in the UK. If I buy the phone at an apple store in the US, can I wait to activate it on the O2 network in the UK?

I'm moving for grad school, but plan on spending the summer traveling around Europe. Any reccomendations about data usage or roaming rates while in Europe? Thanks.


DB

[scudder]

You would be better buying a phone off contract (Ebay etc) and activating it using ZiPhone (google it) and not being tied to any carrier, that way you can buy SIM cards in each country you are visiting and keep the charges down as your phone would be unlocked to all carriers with ZiPhone

[iphonewarrior]

you need to remember as well that alot of the stock apps use internet! so be careful, because you'll either use all your credit up looking at what the weathers like in botswana or you'll tan it looking on google maps! the contracts designed by o2 give u free. well not free but it all come in with the monthly plan!

"scudder" is totally correct in saying that u should buy a different sim card to each country you go becuase it will keep the charges down, other than that you can purchase a sim card from the uk from a place called "http://www.phones4u.co.uk/?ppc=true" i dont know if you can buy it from this website but you can defo buy it in store!! its called """"" Lebara"""""" you can even see it at http://www.lebara-mobile.co.uk
hopefully this will help, let me know how it goes!!

[ess_bee]

anyone else got info on this subject? Being in New York last week on a holiday, there are plenty of electronic shops that sell 'sim free iPhones'

The iPhones on offer were 2g and the shops wanted approx £220 for iPhone which was new.

Having read some reviews, Iwas scared of buying one and I it will become bricked when connected to Itunes. Any truth in this?

Wish I did buy a couple now