# Kindle and smartphone in Greece?



## FEIwannabe (Jan 24, 2011)

Hi everyone! New to the forum. Glad I found this resource.
My husband and I will be moving to Greece in about 3-4 months as a trial run. I've been setting everything up and trying to figure things out as we go.

For now, I have a minor question.
I would like to buy him a Kindle for his birthday before we move, but only if he can use it there and download books while there (in English of course). Does anyone know if this will work?

Also, we would like to get a smart phone from here before we go, because the hardware is so much less $ here than in Greece. We know it will have to have a SIM, be quad band and unlocked.
But will we be able to get a data plan there so we can use all the features, such as GPS and web surfing? If we can't use the features, then we would like to save our money and just bring our regular phones, which we do when we visit there.

Thanks everyone.


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## Espiritu (Jul 10, 2010)

Hello,

If your husband likes to read I would definately recommend getting him a Kindle before you come over. Print books in English here are hard to find and you will have a limited selection.

I got the wi-fi only Kindle a few months ago and love it! I have downloaded many books from both Amazon and other sites with no problems. You just choose the 'transfer via computer' option when ordering books from Amazon'. Log into your Amazon account and transfer files to Kindle via USB cable.

We don't have any smart phones, so I am not able to help out there. Hopefully, someone else can.


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## xenos (Dec 20, 2009)

Smart Phone data plans are widely available here from all of the leading service providers such as Vodafone, Wind, and (dare I say) OTE amongst others. Google them. There is free WIFI available in Syntagma Square and other places, and many people have no idea how to secure their connections and leave them password free.

FYI printed books in English are also very easy to get hold of from major bookshops in Athens such as Elefterodakis, who will also order a specific book for you. All of their staff speak English.


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## Pyper70 (Mar 31, 2011)

Get the kindle.I got one for my mother and she loves it...I got her the regular WiFi version as I figured she wouldnt really need the 3G version. Supposedly free and it does work here though. The problem with bookstores and English books is that although they have selections, its not a wide variety and if you do find them, you will pay in excess than what you would find it for on Amazon

Smartphones..Its not just about quad band anymore. I did extensive research before buying my phone from the States. You need the Quad bands yes, but you also need the WCDMA/GSM of 900MHz/2100MHz. Without that you will not be able to use the internet with 3G. I will run like a snail or perhaps not at all. Be careful because the phones in the States run on 850MHz and 1700MHz. Incompatible with Europe's 3G network. the GPS works great on my phone. I have the HTC Desire Z with 2.2Froyo. the built in maps are available but the navigation software is completely inaccurate. I bought the road map for Greece from the Droid Marketplace called nDrive for $20 and I absolutely love it.

I use CosmOte because its the basic network of Greece. I pay 45€ a month for 1500 sms, 1500 minutes and 500MB of internet


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