I'm leaving Friday to spend several months in Paris and I'm trying to figure out the best way to go about getting a cell phone and which kind to get. I'm from the US and I know my parents will want me to keep in touch with them somehow but neither of them have smart phones. I have an iPhone that I can leave with them (I have Sprint and I'd rather not deal with their international rates) so they could use whatsapp and viber and I could get a smartphone in Paris (I know of Free, Orange SFR and B&You).
I'm considering getting a quad band dual sim phone but I'm not sure if this is the best type of phone to get or which brand is good. I was also looking into Telestial but I've read on here that it's overpriced and it's better to just get a local phone. I'll definitely need some kind of phone for when I first arrive to reach my host family and probably my family in the US (I know this sounds kind of high maintenance, but it's my first time going overseas and my parents are naturally worried).
Also as I've said before, I have Sprint so the whole idea of sim cards is pretty new to me since I've never had to deal with them before.
If anybody has any recommendations, suggestions or other ideas, I'd really appreciate it. I've spend hours (literally hours...) searching on here and Google and I still can't figure out what would be the best way to go.
Thanks :D