Database Users

HTC Snap on VZW Sim Unlock

Ok... here's some information for anyone that would like to be able to use the Sim Slot on the SNAP here in the good ol' U.S.A.
If you call VZW Global Support @ 1-888-844-0395 and tell them you are leaving the country soon and would like to unlock the GSM Sim Slot on the phone to be able to use pre-paid sim cards while you travel they will give you the instructions and lock code to do it.
This accomplishes two things -
(1) If you do travel internationally you can buy and use pre-paid sims where ever you are and do not need to pay VZW rates.
(2) Allows you to use At&t and T-Mobile Sim Cards in the Snap and make and recieve phone calls on their Network while here in the U.S.
In order for them to unlock the phone you must be a VZW Customer for 90 days and have an account in good standing (it doesn't hurt to have the phone on a business account - seemed to work faster for me).
Yesterday I called VZW, had the phone unlocked and had made a test call using both a T-Mobile and At&t sim card within 5 minutes.
Good LUCK!!!!!!!

thank u sir..worked like a charm!
i just finished using an friends at&t sim..and no issues.
might also want to note all feature abilities still work as well..mms, txt and yadda

Thats great that the Ozone has dual mode CDMA and GSM. But unfortunately no HSDPA or 3G. I want to get my hands on one to do some R&D... What are they going for??

ookba said:
Thats great that the Ozone has dual mode CDMA and GSM. But unfortunately no HSDPA or 3G. I want to get my hands on one to do some R&D... What are they going for??
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new 2 yr contract comes out to $87.61 when ordering ONLINE ( its what i paid ) and only applies online instore ur gonna pay $140 something plus all those ridiculous taxes
but that $87.61 includes Fedex standard overnight which they throw in for free..thats right i said it, FO FREE

i got mine for free with upgrade

HTC Ozone from Verizon Online $50 with 2 year contract
My wife and I switched from AT&T to Verizon because Verizon coverage is far better in our area. For example we can use our cell phones inside our house now.
I got the HTC Ozone for $49.99 with a 2 year commitment. I opted for the unlimited data only plan (Nationwide messaging for smartphone at $54.99 and $0.25/minute for voice but with a 10% discount from work). My actual charges for my phone are as follows:
Monthly access charges $49.49 ($54.99 minus 10% discount from work)
Surcharges - $3.05 which includes:
Fed Universal Service Charge $1.01
Regulatory Charge $0.14
Administrative Charge $1.84
VA Gross Receipts Surchg $0.06
Taxes - $4.27 which includes:
VA State E911 Fee $1.50
VA Communication Sales Tax $2.77
For a total monthly bill of $56.81 a month plus $0.25 a minute voice charges to non Verizon numbers.
Given what I've seen in the past for data plans that's not terrible. I'd planned on getting a pay as you go plan and giving up on the idea of data since the cheapest option I'd found was $70 a month plus surcharges and tax for just the data plan. The pay as you go data plans seem to have become extinct.
However I can say I'm reasonably satisfied with what I've got and what I'm paying right now since I've got unlimited data and texting with voice, albeit at a somewhat steep price. I don't think its a great bargain but it seems to be a tolerable expense since I can now get all my email on the go on a device that works well as a PDA, navigation system (using the built in GPS and Google Maps mobile application) and portable entertainment medium for little if any cost beyond the $56.81 plus voice charges. Sure it would be great if it cost $40 a month or less but I've not seen a plan anywhere close to that cheap that met my data desires and minimal voice needs.
Now if I unlock in 90 days and buy a SIM from T-mobile I could theoretically bypass the expensive voice charges on my plan but it isn't clear if that would entail swapping SIM cards whenever I want to make a voice call? My impression is no but I guess I'll have to try it out to see how it works.
Max L.

luptonma said:
My wife and I switched from AT&T to Verizon because Verizon coverage is far better in our area. For example we can use our cell phones inside our house now.
I got the HTC Ozone for $49.99 with a 2 year commitment. I opted for the unlimited data only plan (Nationwide messaging for smartphone at $54.99 and $0.25/minute for voice but with a 10% discount from work). My actual charges for my phone are as follows:
Monthly access charges $49.49 ($54.99 minus 10% discount from work)
Surcharges - $3.05 which includes:
Fed Universal Service Charge $1.01
Regulatory Charge $0.14
Administrative Charge $1.84
VA Gross Receipts Surchg $0.06
Taxes - $4.27 which includes:
VA State E911 Fee $1.50
VA Communication Sales Tax $2.77
For a total monthly bill of $56.81 a month plus $0.25 a minute voice charges to non Verizon numbers.
Given what I've seen in the past for data plans that's not terrible. I'd planned on getting a pay as you go plan and giving up on the idea of data since the cheapest option I'd found was $70 a month plus surcharges and tax for just the data plan. The pay as you go data plans seem to have become extinct.
However I can say I'm reasonably satisfied with what I've got and what I'm paying right now since I've got unlimited data and texting with voice, albeit at a somewhat steep price. I don't think its a great bargain but it seems to be a tolerable expense since I can now get all my email on the go on a device that works well as a PDA, navigation system (using the built in GPS and Google Maps mobile application) and portable entertainment medium for little if any cost beyond the $56.81 plus voice charges. Sure it would be great if it cost $40 a month or less but I've not seen a plan anywhere close to that cheap that met my data desires and minimal voice needs.
Now if I unlock in 90 days and buy a SIM from T-mobile I could theoretically bypass the expensive voice charges on my plan but it isn't clear if that would entail swapping SIM cards whenever I want to make a voice call? My impression is no but I guess I'll have to try it out to see how it works.
Max L.
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The VZW Sim Card already installed in the phone is only for when travelling outside of the U.S. Inside the U.S. the Verizon Service is CDMA. So, you could have a Data Package from VZW and a Voice Plan from T-Mobile on this device at the same time. However you would have to change Networks each time you wanted to use the other... seems like it would be a big Pain in the Butt though!!!!!

HTC-OH_SNAP said:
Ok... here's some information for anyone that would like to be able to use the Sim Slot on the SNAP here in the good ol' U.S.A.
If you call VZW Global Support @ 1-888-844-0395 and tell them you are leaving the country soon and would like to unlock the GSM Sim Slot on the phone to be able to use pre-paid sim cards while you travel they will give you the instructions and lock code to do it.
This accomplishes two things -
(1) If you do travel internationally you can buy and use pre-paid sims where ever you are and do not need to pay VZW rates.
(2) Allows you to use At&t and T-Mobile Sim Cards in the Snap and make and recieve phone calls on their Network while here in the U.S.
In order for them to unlock the phone you must be a VZW Customer for 90 days and have an account in good standing (it doesn't hurt to have the phone on a business account - seemed to work faster for me).
Yesterday I called VZW, had the phone unlocked and had made a test call using both a T-Mobile and At&t sim card within 5 minutes.
Good LUCK!!!!!!!
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Can you tell me how to enter unlock code on this phone?

HoangHP said:
Can you tell me how to enter unlock code on this phone?
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settings - security - sim management - Sim unlock my phone

I unlocked my SIM card last night through Verizon Global Services. I'm going to try my brother's AT&T Sim card later today, hopefully.
Does anyone know if it's possible to keep the phone in global mode in order to receive calls from Verizon's CDMA network and AT&T GSM networks at the same time? Or will I have to switch the phone to GSM only mode to receive calls made to the SIM card number?
Thanks,
Rick

TMO + N1 = Crappy International Phone

I am going to be headed over to Taiwan and China for the next couple of weeks so I called TMO to get an international plan to receive data. Well turns it out THERE IS NO SUCH PLAN and that each 1mb of data equals $15. Yeah I could put in a local SIM card but that won't give email and internet. And why should I, the N1 is touted as an international phone. This news was thoroughly disappointing because I will now have to rely on my crappy Blackberry for email (which is the reason I switched to Android in the first place). If there any international travelers here please let me know if there are any tricks that I should be aware of. Otherwise this is disappointing that a GSM phone can be used outside the US only if you willing to be bent over the table without any... you get the point.

i went to australia earlier this year and encountered the same problem.their international plans suck major ass.only thing i could do was pull sim card and run off wifi using any hotspots that i could find.

yea blame T-Mobile...I'm curious what other carrier in the US has a international roaming plan?

ram130 said:
yea blame T-Mobile...I'm curious what other carrier in the US has a international roaming plan?
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One of the reasons I have TMO is because of their fantastic international roaming coverage. That is why I was surprised to see that they have none for the Nexus.
As far as international roaming plans, every carrier does, just not for the Android. So yeah I'm putting that blame on TMO and Google.

I'm pretty sure every carrier has insane pricing for international roaming.
The benefit of gsm phones is that you pop a sim card for wherever you're going, not that you're carrier will support you in east bumblefuck.

All carriers are like that. That is why when the iphone first came out people were returning home with $3K phone bills. http://boingboing.net/2007/07/31/att-iphone-intl-roam.html
http://gizmodo.com/297999/idiots-keep-incurring-iphones-roaming-data-charges
The phone is an international phone but the plans aren't. Get a SIM with a data plan. When I go overseas that is what I do. Typically $100 will give you unlimited data and enough minutes and texts to last your whole trip. At the end of a trip overseas I usually have minutes left over.

Yeah, I don't see why you think you won't get internet over there from a local phone company, since they would be the one providing internet to you anyways with your T-Mobile card (They just charge T-Mobile a small amount, and T-Mobile jacks up the price to make money off you).
Just get a pre-paid sim card with internet access.

JCopernicus said:
bumblefuck.
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LoL gotta save this one to my "cursing without getting banned " stack

I'd recommend you to buy a new prepaid sim card with a data plan.
Here in India, we get a new sim card for Rs.20 (every street has ~5 shops) and 2GB data for Rs.90 and there are no stupid contracts (even if there were, we'd buy it on fake identities)... Thats the benefit of living in a developing nation
1 American Dollar = 45 Indian Rupees...

superg81 said:
i went to australia earlier this year and encountered the same problem.their international plans suck major ass.only thing i could do was pull sim card and run off wifi using any hotspots that i could find.
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faraz1992 said:
I'd recommend you to buy a new prepaid sim card with a data plan.
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+1 Same thing here if you were visiting Australia. You can buy a Telstra prepaid sim for $2 which when charged with some credit gives you exceptional coverage and good data speed. Works best on the 900mhz AT&T phone although will still work well on the 850mhz T-Mobile model.

Thanks everyone for your feedback, much appreciated.

logger said:
+1 Same thing here if you were visiting Australia. You can buy a Telstra prepaid sim for $2 which when charged with some credit gives you exceptional coverage and good data speed. Works best on the 900mhz AT&T phone although will still work well on the 850mhz T-Mobile model.
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T-Mobile = 900/AWS(which is 1700)/2100
AT&T = 850/1900/2100

Ah yes sorry. Had that rrrrrs about. Should have said "Works best on the 850mhz AT&T phone although will still work well on the 900mhz T-Mobile model."

The phone is a fine international phone. The carrier sucks. How is the phone to blame if TMO doesn't offer an international plan?
I travel from Romania to Netherlands and every time i'm in Netherlands i insert my prepaid Vodafone NL card and i activate the internet for 10 euros. 500mb - 1GB of data per month.
If i'm using more than that i buy again for another 10 euros. Is that simple. That's what you should do. A local prepaid sim with an internet service is ALWAYS going to be cheaper than an international plan from TMO.

too bad you guys in US have very bad telcos, here in malaysia we can roam data for less than USD10 unlimited data per day.
but of course not in all countries in the world.

faizalmzain said:
too bad you guys in US have very bad telcos, here in malaysia we can roam data for less than USD10 unlimited data per day.
but of course not in all countries in the world.
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$10 x 365 days = $3,650 per year. Geez you must have deep pockets. You can buy a car for that in Australia.
Do you perhaps mean $10 per month or $1 per day?

logger said:
$10 x 365 days = $3,650 per year. Geez you must have deep pockets. You can buy a car for that in Australia.
Do you perhaps mean $10 per month or $1 per day?
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He's talking about roaming... If you do that without a dataplan a couple of hundred megs would probably set you back several thousand $.

Yeah, ditto re: getting a prepaid SIM card on arrival. I haven't tried it in Asia, but in the UK, £5 will buy you 1GB of data to be used in 30 days, on Vodafone. I didn't even have to pay for the SIM card itself. Very pleased.

If you speak the language in China, just go to a China Mobile store, pick up a SIM card and put some yuan in it and you'll be good to go. I go to China every summer and have taken my G1 and my N1. You'll be stuck on edge but its enough to get you places. China Mobile stores are everywhere too, some have employees that speak english for just this purpose.

I pick up pre-paid SIM cards when I land at the airport in the airport store... Or if it's an area I'm familiar with, i.e. Australia, I just head to a local carrier's B&M once I'm in the city...
Then anyone who is half-way important... I send them an e-mail with my pre-paid SIM card's number. If it's important to text or call me, the caller can pay the Int'l charges.
Cheers,
Kermee

International Travel with my Vibrant?

Hello,
I just booked a gig for two weeks in Rome (Italy not Georgia) and I was looking for suggestions on the best way to use my Vibrant while outside of the US. My phone is sock, not rooted.
Should I try to unlock it with the process detailed on this forum last week and buy an Italian SIM card? If so, will data work over there (email is important)?
Should I call TMobile and let them know I'm traveling abroad and see if they have a temporary Intl plan?
Sorry for such a basic question, I've just read so many stories of people coming back from trips with their smartphones and getting a $4,000 bill from their wireless company.
Any information/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
NSR

I travel outside the US quite a lot, and unfortunately that's about to increase significantly for me (though most of my trepidation is related to the god-awful airlines and hours of dealing with the bad joke that passes for airport security).
Bottom line: unlock it and get a SIM card that works at your destination (probably pre-paid).
It can be difficult to find these with a data plan that is any good. Plan to spend a lot of time doing a lot of research. It probably won't be cheap. Also, spend some time to understand exactly how much data you actually use, and decide whether that is likely to increase or decrease while you're traveling, and be realistic about it. In some places I've found it's cheaper and easier to rent an entire phone that has a data plan, then just yank the SIM while I'm traveling. Be sure you understand the different types of networks and bands, not all countries are playing by the same rules. (Some parts of Eastern Europe can be downright dismal.)
Under no circumstances do you want to use your phone with your US carrier's international roaming. I bought my G1 shortly before a two week trip to Tokyo, and after a great deal of time on the phone with T-Mobile and a lot of thinking about how I use my device -- and I'm probably just a mid-level data consumer -- I calculated data roaming would cost me about $550 per week. Add my wife to the mix and we were looking at a roughly $2200 bill just for frigging data. I could almost double the length of my trip for that much.
Europe isn't quite that rough, but it's still indefensibly expensive. (Not relevant to you, but worst of all, Japan flat out sucks for mobile phone use by foreign visitors and even visa holders. Which seems pretty ironic.)
International data roaming plans are one of the biggest scams the carriers have going today. "Gouging" is too polite a word for the crap they pull to shoot you a simple wireless signal. Though I gather most of the blame lies with the foreign carriers (and maybe the reverse is true when traveling in the US, I wouldn't know). In any case: Tread carefully.

^^^^ I agree.
I am in the same process right now but researching travel to UK. I definitely plan on unlocking and getting a UK sim. Some UK pay as you go plans offer 50MB/day for reasonable rates. Europe providers can say "unlimited data" but check their fair usage policies, unlimited is anything but.

When I traveled to Europe last spring, I bought a pre-paid Vodafone SIM card for like 25 Euros in Germany (with some pre-paid minutes), popped it in my unlocked phone, and went with it through Germany, Belgium, France and Eastern Europe. All incoming calls are free, all calls to Vodafone customers (all my friends in Europe are on Vodafone) are free. The data was included.
When I traveled to my home country in Eastern Europe I used local providers pre-paid SIM's - again all incoming calls are free, in carrier calls are free, I don't think I had data though.

Be careful to set your phone to not run data when roaming! I forgot to with my G1 and when in Taiwan I turned on my phone to get to the data menu and turn it off. That costs me $6 in data in 20 seconds!

I just did this for the Netherlands. Get Tmo to unlock the SIM, and get a SIM card with data. I didn't have data and I wish I did so I could have used it for maps. Calls were easy though.
Also, definitely turn off data roaming as a setting or you will get hosed.

One option for data use I found to be satisfactory was free hotspots. If your out and about frequently, many cafes, malls and pubs have fre hotspots. Make sure you turn data roaming off, however.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

MV10 said:
(Not relevant to you, but worst of all, Japan flat out sucks for mobile phone use by foreign visitors and even visa holders. Which seems pretty ironic.)
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I can't agree there. Not that this is directly related to the topic, but every phone or SIM I've rented in Japan came with %100 free incoming calls from any location (which is all I ever needed) and relatively unlimited data options.

[Q] Usage of G2 overseas

I know this issue is partly addressed in a thread on not being able to connect to a network after unlock but I just want to share my own experience and disappointment with the G2 after going to Guatemala.
I have rooted my G2 using Visionary and am running Enomther's ROM pre-the Dec 24 update. Not using any other kernels or anything, but the phone is unlocked for use overseas with other SIMs.
Before I went to Guate I realized that I would be unable to get 3G given the bands used in Guatemala are different from what the G2 is capable of (I think Band I and IV). Fine.
However, I went down there and wanted to do some data roaming before I had a chance to get a local SIM card and I kept getting the message "SIM card not registered to this network". I tried all three carriers in Guatemala to no avail.
When I went to get a SIM card from a local carrier it took a lot of effort on their part to get my phone connected to the internet but eventually I was able to score Edge service with one of the carriers down there. Being Guatemala I don't know if this process was difficult due to the way data plans work down there (prepaid) or if there was something specific with the G2 that prevented it from connecting to the network.
But my overall question is why I was not able to roam with the G2 overseas. Clearly the phone worked fine once I put a local SIM card in but the fact that I was totally unable to roam with the G2 using my US T-Mobile SIM card was very disappointing and has me thinking of reactivating my iPhone, which has never had any issue using it overseas, including Guatemala.
Is this a G2 issue or T-Mobile?

You have to enable international roaming with T-Mobile, I discovered that during a trip to Ukraine. Once I did that my subsequent trips I was able to roam but not very well. The easiest and cheapest thing to do was to use a foreign sim for my purposes.

You have to call tmobile and they will give you the unlock code most of the time. Tell then you are going for business or something like that.
Most likely your data and calling bands will work on edge. But your 3g and wannabe 4g will not work.
Circledog said:
You have to enable international roaming with T-Mobile, I discovered that during a trip to Ukraine. Once I did that my subsequent trips I was able to roam but not very well. The easiest and cheapest thing to do was to use a foreign sim for my purposes.
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Woah, weird. I lived in ukraine for 3 years. And yes buying a ukrainian sim card will cost you about 5-10 dollars a month for a crap load of text messages. UMC is best for ukraine imo.

Completely off topic but how did you like living in Ukraine? I would love to live there for awhile. We adopted a little girl from there and then later another from Moscow, I loved Moscow but Russia was so much more expensive than Ukraine was.
Back on topic sort of. I didn't have a smart phone in Ukraine so I didnt use data, but in Moscow I was able to get 3G coverage with my G2. I had Tmobile international roaming enabled on my phone, but my sim would not register on any networks there, I had to pick up a Russian Beeline sim and then was good to go!

From what I understood about mhz bands and services. There are four total most used bands in the entire world 850 900 1800 and 1900. Us in america use two (one under a thousand and one over) and europe uses the opposite ones. So only up until tri and quad band phones started getting much cheaper (probably about 5 years ago) did phone start working in different countrys. Its only smarter honestly, then a company would only need to make on phone for the world. Then they would be losing out on multiple purchases ofc haha.
Google mobile mhz bands. I don't know everything, but I read quite a bit about this maybe 3 years ago when I bought a tri band nokia.
Ukraine, I was there for 2 years for my church. Became fluent in russian. Then went back to date a girl I met while I was there. After that she came twice for 6 month increments on a visitor visa and we got married at the end of the second. Been happily married for almost 2.5 years now.
Bring on the mail order bride jokes, I've heard them all. We r both young, planning on buying a house this year since the economy has really brought those prices down haha. Sorry for the spam! But hopefully your questions are answered.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

Thanks for the responses. I will give T-Mobile a call ahead of my next trip overseas. Just odd that a company with such wide global coverage has no international data roaming plans and makes it a pain the keester to get roaming.

They actually do have international data roaming ($15/MB). The key is that you have to have already added international roaming to your account (it's free to add). Then if you have a data plan in the US, they will allow you to have data while roaming. I think US carriers require you to actively enable international roaming instead of enabling it by default due to the potentially high number of complaints about billing charges (e.g., people using their phones internationally without being aware there will be a higher rate). This way, they can state you were properly warned since you have to contact them first.

[Q] Traveling to Germany and Greece, need advice on SIM/Pay as you go or plan

Hi,
I will be traveling to Greece (Paros, Naxos, Santorini) and Berlin next month.
I already have a SIM unlocked Motorola Milestone. I want to purchase a European SIM.
1) Can I expect to use the same SIM card and plan when both in Germany and Greece? Or am I better off just getting 2 different ones?
2) What are good companies and plans? I don't really need voice... but I expect to use a lot of data for Internet access and hoepfully tethering. I found out about
WIND Paygo in a different thread, but no details on what to expect price-wise.
Anybody (either local to these countries or a fellow traveler) have any experience with this?
Thanks

Caz666 said:
1) Can I expect to use the same SIM card and plan when both in Germany and Greece? Or am I better off just getting 2 different ones?
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You should get a separate SIM card for each of the countries... they are two different countries after all, and carriers will charge you higher roaming fees if you want to use their SIM card in a different country. The EU did regulate a maximum for roaming fees just recently, but you'll still be better off getting a new SIM card there.
2) What are good companies and plans? I don't really need voice... but I expect to use a lot of data for Internet access and hoepfully tethering. I found out about
WIND Paygo in a different thread, but no details on what to expect price-wise.
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Click to collapse
For Germany, I'd go with a prepaid data flatrate plan, e.g. http://www.simyo.de/tarif/flat-internet.html (€15/mo up to 3GB @HSDPA/7.2 Mbit, after that GPRS), or e.g. http://www.klarmobil.de/tarife/datentarife/Internet_Flat_5000/index.html (€20/mo for up to 5GB HSDPA speed, after that GPRS). These are just two examples for pure data flats (since you said you didn't need voice).
I think you can get these types of discount carriers at gas stations and supermarkets. There are a lot to choose from; just make sure it's a prepaid data flat. The major carriers like T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2 (that have their own POS stores) are usually more expensive for prepaid as they focus more on 2y contracts.
No idea about Greece... maybe someone else can help you out there.
Hope this helps.

bobblack said:
You should get a separate SIM card for each of the countries... they are two different countries after all, and carriers will charge you higher roaming fees if you want to use their SIM card in a different country. The EU did regulate a maximum for roaming fees just recently, but you'll still be better off getting a new SIM card there.
For Germany, I'd go with a prepaid data flatrate plan, e.g. http://www.simyo.de/tarif/flat-internet.html (€15/mo up to 3GB @HSDPA/7.2 Mbit, after that GPRS), or e.g. http://www.klarmobil.de/tarife/datentarife/Internet_Flat_5000/index.html (€20/mo for up to 5GB HSDPA speed, after that GPRS). These are just two examples for pure data flats (since you said you didn't need voice).
I think you can get these types of discount carriers at gas stations and supermarkets. There are a lot to choose from; just make sure it's a prepaid data flat. The major carriers like T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2 (that have their own POS stores) are usually more expensive for prepaid as they focus more on 2y contracts.
No idea about Greece... maybe someone else can help you out there.
Hope this helps.
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This REALLY helps, at least for my week in Berlin. Thank you very much.

For Greece, I would advise you to choose COSMOTE Internet On The Go Prepaid. You may find more information on their website:
http://cosmote.gr/cosmoportal/page/...p/section/Internet_E-mailwithLaptop/loc/en_US
You are better off buying two seperate SIM-cards (one for each country), as cheaper data-roaming options typically are only available with contracts.
In regards to tethering, this shouldn't pose a problem - european providers typically don't police a "one-device-policy", especially not with internet-on-the-go-type products.
An alternative to COSMOTE is Vodafone KartoInternet, but their prepaid plans are a bit more expensive and COSMOTE is said to have better coverage in general: http://www.vodafone.gr/portal/client/cms/viewCmsPage.action?pageId=8638&request_locale=en
Both sell SIM-only starter packs which include their sell-value (EUR 20) as prepaid-balance for internet use.

PartyMango said:
For Greece, I would advise you to choose COSMOTE Internet On The Go Prepaid. You may find more information on their website:
http://cosmote.gr/cosmoportal/page/...p/section/Internet_E-mailwithLaptop/loc/en_US
You are better off buying two seperate SIM-cards (one for each country), as cheaper data-roaming options typically are only available with contracts.
In regards to tethering, this shouldn't pose a problem - european providers typically don't police a "one-device-policy", especially not with internet-on-the-go-type products.
An alternative to COSMOTE is Vodafone KartoInternet, but their prepaid plans are a bit more expensive and COSMOTE is said to have better coverage in general: http://www.vodafone.gr/portal/client/cms/viewCmsPage.action?pageId=8638&request_locale=en
Both sell SIM-only starter packs which include their sell-value (EUR 20) as prepaid-balance for internet use.
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Thanks for the tip. I looked both web sites and they are what I am looking for. The prices seem similar enough for my purposes...MUCH better than roaming
I do have a follow-up question:
Both companies have DAY PACKS for 1Euro per day that includes something like "unlimited data" but is throttled after a specific amount of data is consumed. Does anybody know the specific of the the Thottling? I don't mind a bit of a slowdown...but how crippling are we talking about? Are they booting me down to 2G speeds?
I couldn't find any details on either web site about the specifics.

Just an update after my trip. Germany was a problem as a lot of the prepaid carriers don't have English customer service. I bought 2 different SIM cards and could not get them activated. I didn't have much time to mess around, but I was really disappointed.
Greece was good. As suggested in this thread, I went to a Cosmote store and got great service. I got a data only sim and an additional regular sim. They activated them for me with my passport. My only problem is that the data only sim ran out of cash and it is not possible to refill them from most outlets....I used the cash on the other sim, but the price per GB is not the same.
The moral of the storey for me: go to a carrier store directly and get as much as you need right away. Being in remote locations can make it hard to refill prepaid cards.
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