Cars & Motorbikes Car phone charger in California, USA

@Jeah_ I assume the sim card bought in California can also be used in Hawaii? It will be 5 weeks all up so probably get enough data for the period of stay.

 

shameless plug/protip - one of our products is ideal for roadtrips, basically combines a car charger with the flexibility of a powerbank that you can take with you when you get out of the car. we got a CES innovation award for it earlier this year. either way though id recommend getting powerbanks, especially if youre gonna be using your phone for GPS.

Plox Freedom® | Technology Innovation Awarded

 

@larrylarry - I was in Hawaii last year and rented a car.

To answer some of you questions:

1. I used my cigarette USB charger that I use in my car in Australia, in the US. They are all 12v so its fine. This is the one used in the US (and still use in AU) 3.1A Dual USB Car Adaptor | 12VDC Power Supplies | Power Conversion & Transformation | Power Products Electrical | PRODUCTS | MP3664 | Jaycar Electronics

2. I used an app called "Ulmon Pro" - it was for free when i got it. It allows me download maps and use it offline. It isn't as good as google maps, but it was enough to get me to the nearest T-Mobile store in Hawaii, at which point i bought a prepaid t-mobile and used it in my phone. (It looks like the T-Mobile plans have changed... have a look and see which one suits you).

3. iPhones from Telstra are unlocked. So hopefully your Samsung is the same. To test it this out, i would go to optus/vodafone and buy the cheapest sim you can find ($2 usually) and plug it in. If it allows a sim card from a different network in Australia, it will allow a different network in the US.

4. Americans pronounce mobile as "mol-bo". I got numerous confused looks when i said "Mo-Bi-il"

 

Thanks @sanj and @neK I still have a couple more days to sort this out. Google maps good but mine has a strange accent and pronunciation. I would use "cell" instead of "mobile". Good thing we have friends there to call if we are in some sort of trouble.

 

Not sure @larrylarry , I've never used one in Hawaii. Have a look around the T-mobile website or shoot them an email. I've found them very easy to deal with

 

Cool. Is this one of your companies that you invested in?

 

yup, i have been taking more of an active role lately but not involved day to day.

 

Awesome. At which stage did you start investing in the business? Looks like it's readily available in Dick Smith and other stores in Sydney.

Thanks all. I had a look at t Mobile the plans look fine to me. I just need to be contactable via email (business mainly). The coverage seems good.

 

i'd rather not get into the nitty gritty on a public forum but i have been aware of the excellent work the founder and team has done for quite a while

 

no worries. wishing you every success!

 

Haha even more given they call it a cell phone and not a mobile phone in the first place... so pronunciation and meaning differences to cause confusion

 

It's certainly weird, because they pronounce a mobile phone Mo-Bill, the same way an Aussie would say Mobil Oil, but the say Mobil 1 as Mo-Bile 1. Then they say the city of Mobile, AL as Mo-Beel, like automobile.

English seems hard everywhere.

 

check out the maps.me app - free and you can download offline maps.

Cheers,
Inertia.

 

Thanks! I heard about it but haven't tried. Cheers!

 

Just note that the maps can be pretty big - so download them via wifi in advance

Cheers,
Grant.

 

And remember IF you need a ride (say you car breaks down) take a cab and not that ride share company. Smart lads take cabs!

 

California Map is 454MB. Woah. I'm downloading via wifi now.

 

LOL! Yes, I read that uber thread.