I Just Purchased An iPod Touch And Will Be Traveling To Europe - 2 Questions.......

[global1]

1. How do you handle charging the device in Europe? Can you use a converter with the device or will it harm it?

2. How easy is it to find free WiFi sites in Europe (Netherlands/Germany/Poland) as the Touch has WiFi capabilities? Is it easy to use WiFi and what should I know about this?

Any help would be appreciated.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. Ask your nearest Apple Store about charging the iPod overseas

I haven't done so, but they were able to give me advice about using my computer in Europe.

[Lost-in-FL]

2. iphones/itouch are dual voltage just like all laptops.

And you won't need those fancy transformers/converter the apple store will try to sell to you.



These little 220V plastic adapters are enough. For the Netherlands/Belgium/Germany/Luxembourg the ones to use are the double-round ones (top left of the picture).

You can get those 220v plastic adapters ($5 to $8 each) at your nearest travel/luggage store. I have never beed to Poland so i do not know if you can use those too.

Getting free internet is a tad difficult but not impossible. Most train stations charge fees per hour increments. In downtown areas you might get wi-fi access for a fee but seldom free.

Depending on which hotel you stay it is free. Check in advance if your hotel offer it.

I visited Europe last August and the itouch was a big help. Look out for McDonalds franchises as they offer free wifi services but in some instances you have to buy food (even a coffee or soda will suffice) to be allowed to use it (at least in Lille, France I was told I needed to buy food but in Amsterdam it was free for all regardless). I noticed certain sections of downtown Amsterdam near the Red Light district had sporadic clouds of free wifi.

In Brussels the hotel I stayed (Sheraton Airport) offered free wi-fi but only at the lobby and near their business center. In the hotel in Amsterdam I had to pay a fee for wifi but they had computers to access e-mail for free (Park Hoter near the Hard Rock Cafe).

Possible good news in Germany. If your mobile phone carrier in the US is T-mobile, you can get free wi-fi!!! Of course this was on Koln so I don't know if it applies to all Germany. I think it is because the T-mobile HQ are in that city. I didn't had T-mobile so I was screwed.

Enjoy your trip!

[47of74]

3. I went to Italy last summer

I went on a package tour of Italy last summer. I had packed my Touch with me though I didn't use it very much over there. I used it more on the plane ride and I had one of the seats that had a power port so I was able to listen to my own music then for the entire flight.

I didn't take my Touch when I would go out for the day, either left it on the bus or at the hotel room. There was too much other stuff to see and do then. I think I did charge it a couple times over there, and I plugged it into one of those adapter plugs to charge it up. I had also packed a NetBook for my trip as I didn't want to take my MacBook and be worried about it the whole time. Most of the hotels in Italy charged for internet access, as much as 15 Euros a night. The NetBook didn't have a really long battery life, so I kept it plugged in most of the time while using it. That also stayed behind in either the bus or hotel while I was over there.