As an American staying in Berlin for a bit over five weeks, I wanted to find a Wi-Fi set-up that would allow me to access the Internet on multiple devices (laptop, iPhone, camera) wherever and whenever. After asking about a Wi-Fi SurfStick at four or so Vodafone shops across the city, I finally found what I was looking for at this shop. Once I found a store with this item in stock, my experience was pretty painless.
The sales assistant was remarkably patient with me in discussing my options, and she did so in good English (and in my broken German!). We spent over a half an hour together, and she even suggested where to find a complimentary device for me to use with the plan I eventually chose.
I decided to go with the following: a CallYa SIM Card (49 Euro for the card and 24 Euro for up to 3 GB data use in one month), which worked well with the Wi-Fi router (99 Euro) that she recommended I purchase across the street at Saturn's store. (4th floor!) This set-up is an investment, but now I can be sure that I will be able to use Skype (with my iPhone) to call out anytime, anywhere. It's the safest international mobile phone I can think of, and I'm glad I chose this route.
The store's assistant was very, very helpful, and quite kind. She asked her manager whenever she was unsure about a tech option, and she also made sure to have her facts straight before she gave me any answers to my questions. My time figuring out this tech stuff in the city center took about two hours, but it was worth it -- she even kept the store open for me past closing time to finish up my purchase.
I set up the Wi-Fi router + Vodafone SIM card this morning, and it's working well. There are multiple parts to the set-up (registering online, filling out passwords, charging the router, etc. etc.), but I was able to figure everything out within a half hour even though some of the directions (though not all!) were in German. This was a bit expensive, but I'm quite satisfied! read more
