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You can buy a cheap prepaid sim, and save yourself from data roaming tariffs. And it is the moment when smartphones shine - you'll have the same IDs/handles/use

• iforgotpassword 8y ago
  True, unfortunately depending on country it can be quite involved to buy a sim card. Here in Germany a year ago they changed it so it's required the seller validates your identity. Since this is a somewhat involved process pretty much all discount brands chose not to do this in the store but require postal or video ident, the latter being the only viable option if you only stay a week or two, but you need to find some place to make that video call in the first place, have all the documents at hand, hope the call center worker speaks some English which is less likely the cheaper the provider... I observed the same in China. 8 years ago I could walk into some tiny store in an alley, point at a sim card without knowing what I'm doing and after some back and forth with mostly gestures and writing down numbers I was all set. Last year they required my passport and proof that I stay at a hotel that registered me with the local police station. I couldn't possibly manage that without the help from a local. Since this drifted somewhat away from the original topic let me add that I'm quite curious about KaiOS devices as it seems it might offer a suiting compromise for my needs. It got most popular messenger apps so I could take advantage of improved connectivity with people but the experience is still limited enough to prevent information overload and playing around with it too much. The selection of devices is just too limited at the moment.