I am planning a trip to Europe, which I would like to Blog. I would be visiting Spain and France. I would like to Blog my trip. Since I will be backpacking, I do not want to bring a computer. Last time I did something like this I made up an email list for family and friends, and emailed when I had a chance to use a cybercafe, generally every three days or so.

I already have an unlocked GSM quad band phone, a Motorola V188, but it is not something that I can use to compose journals/blogs. It will of course send SMS messages, but I can't really write a thousand words, 150 characters at a time, especially with a 0-9 keyboard rather than an alphanumeric keyboard.

My goal would be to pick up a cell phone that I could use in Europe, with the following features.
1. Camera, so I could email or post images
2. Full keyboard, and a big enough screen to read my journal before I send it.
3. Internet access or email. It might be simpler to email my journal, and then let a friend convert it into a blog. Not sure if the blogging software/sites are compatible with cell phone internet access, so perhaps email is the safer way to go.
4. Limited budget, so I would like to buy a used phone off of eBay, rather than pay $200 for a phone that I would use for one trip. I would probably look for an unlocked quad band GSM phone, for maximum versatility on future trips.

I have found lots of sites that talk about getting an unlocked GSM phone, preferably quad band, and then buying a local SIM when I arrive in the country. That is what I have done with the Motorola V188 that I have; that phone worked very well in Mexico, and I have no doubt that it would work in Europe as well. But the V188 is not adequate for blogging.

One way around the problem would be to write my blog down, and then dictate it to a voice mail system, asking a friend to transcribe it, but that is a lot of work, and not really a good solution.

Ideas? Which phones would work for this application in Europe?

Thanks,
Richard


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