Our trip is closer and closer, less than 5 weeks of work left and we're off... last minute issue just came up:

Can anyone suggest a budget SIM card / cell phone service provider for zone 1 ( all of europe) with free incoming calls from US? I finally got cingular to unlock my ericsson T637 which is 900/1800 and I would like to use it abroad.

Thanks in advance :)

Well, all European cell companies will have free incoming calls, regardless of the origin. I don't really have a recommendation because I don't know which prepaid companies allow you to roam all over Europe and still have service.

I just found this one: http://www.orate.co.uk/Roaming/countries.html

"09 mobile" which looks extremely cheap and versatile, does anyone have experience with this provider, are they reliable... are they real? :P

Seems decent, though the rates are about twice what you'd pay in each country with local prepaids.
What countries will you be traveling to?

Hrmm.. I'd keep in mind that for each new SIM that you buy, you'll probalby have to pay 15-30€ in startup fees, so the Orate deal probably works out best - however, if you planning on talking a LOT in each country, then getting one for each would work out better. You should also check how much some carriers charge for int'l roaming, or whether it's allowed on a prepaid account (it's often not!)

well, we are hoping to be in as many countries as possible, and we wouldn't be making any calls out, we mostly want it just so that people from back home can call us. (my girlfriends mom is FREAKING out that i'm taking her baby to europe) that's mostly the only reason we're even getting the phone :P

Yeah...I managed well in Finland...the prepaid SIM I bought was "half-price" and only €8,50 (normally €17)...but came with €10 credit, plus another €7 for registering the account with them. It doesn't roam outside of Finland, however.

catfewd, if you're not going to be making a lot of outgoing calls or texts, then the 09 card IS probably best for you.

ok, I found a good one, riiing - www.riiing.com, which i think now is www.united-mobile.com. bought it on ebay for $40, it came with 15euro credit, and its roaming through all of europe with free incoming calls, and outgoing calls even to the US are around .40 cents. inserted the SIM in my phone and was able to receive phone calls, so hopefully no surprises once i get to europe :)