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[schoolmarm]

I actually go without my cell phone for a month at a time when in Europe every summer.  I leave a message on it saying that "it is a paperweight while I'm traveling, and please send me an email."

I DID have to teach Dad how to send email after Mom (the e-mailer in the family) went into the hospital.  Since I always travel with my laptop, communications are not a problem.

[dolljepopp]

I Skype to call my wife back here when I am in the States. For in-the-US calls, I have a cheap Virgin prepay phone that I top up once a year -- have to buy top-up cards in the US now, as they will no longer accept charges from non-US credit cards.

We will bump up to iPhones but for the moment having two cheap phones works.

[spork]

Another international phone dilemma -- the wifey and I now have T-mobile phones on the same plan. We are  traveling to the Middle East soon; wifey is leaving a few weeks before me. It would be nice for us to be in phone contact while I'm still in the USA, and for one of us to be able to call the USA when both of us are there.

It looks like T-mobile charges either $.99, $1.99, or more per minute (the website is confusing) to call the USA from our destination, which I think is ridiculously high. I assume that if I try to call her phone from the USA while she's traveling, my call will just go to her voicemail and she'll be charged that rate whenever she checks her messages.

I'm thinking I can maybe use Skype to call her family's home for $.219 per minute. But what's the best option for when both of us are there, in case we need to call the USA? Should we go into a phone shop there (or here) and ask for a rental capable of calling the USA with 30 or 60 minutes of prepaid service?

[daniel_von_flanagan]

Spork, your T-mobile phones are GSM, which means that all you have to do is get a local prepaid sim when you are in the middle east.  (You might have to stop by a T-mobile shop first and have your handset "unlocked" - if you've been a customer for a few months they will do this for you for free and without hesitation.)  Go to http://www.prepaidgsm.net/ to get information on what sim to  buy and how to buy it when you get to where you are going.  If you need help on interpreting their website, PM me. - DvF

[aandsdean]

Spork, your T-mobile phones are GSM, which means that all you have to do is get a local prepaid sim when you are in the middle east.  (You might have to stop by a T-mobile shop first and have your handset "unlocked" - if you've been a customer for a few months they will do this for you for free and without hesitation.)  Go to http://www.prepaidgsm.net/ to get information on what sim to  buy and how to buy it when you get to where you are going.  If you need help on interpreting their website, PM me. - DvF

Awesome link, DvF, thanks!

[lurkingfear]

My Verizon Blackberry worked in Japan for e-mail, but not the phone. Strange.

[aandsdean]

My Verizon Blackberry worked in Japan for e-mail, but not the phone. Strange.

You were almost certainly getting it via wi-fi rather than over the cell network.  Japan uses a completely different standard from everywhere else in the world.

[dellaroux]

<Channeling 3CPO>
    I do...not recognize .... meme...."wifey"...

     What is this carbon unit of which you speak?

On other matters:

In Rome, France, etc, I'm using Skype and local phones; I might bother with all the cell phone business if I needed it as mentioned above but so far it's never been necessary (and people on the right side of the small puddle use the even more than US folk do, but somehow seem to moderate themselves in social settings better...ie, they shut up when in public company with others and take calls outside, not in restaurants.

One reason I will give for using one's own telephone in other places is that the very wiiiiiiddddeee variety of "do you put the coin in first or dial first" stuff from border to border when traveling is worth avoiding when you're trying to a) meet a colleague; b) meet a friend whose connections are iffy; c) trying to meet a friend whose a bit unstable and can disappear on you if you miss a contact; d) impress a new important person with your ability to be prompt and considerate (at least the first time); etc.

I hate and abhor cell phones otherwise, but I've ended up in tears trying to find a friend in front of the Opera, or a building for a meeting when the phone, the need for coins, or a local telephone card, and the order and type of numbers to be dialed ("0" for the city code or not?--who knows which is which?*) all came together at a point when I wasn't ready to have to deal with it all!

Anyway, I probably still won't go out to buy one tomorrow, but there are understandable reasons for using them elsewhere.

And I like the image of "cell phone as paperweight"--maybe Claes Oldenberg could get on a big one of those...
_____
(*bonus if you get it right without having to Google it!)

[aristotelian]

Another international phone dilemma -- the wifey and I now have T-mobile phones on the same plan. We are  traveling to the Middle East soon; wifey is leaving a few weeks before me. It would be nice for us to be in phone contact while I'm still in the USA, and for one of us to be able to call the USA when both of us are there.

It looks like T-mobile charges either $.99, $1.99, or more per minute (the website is confusing) to call the USA from our destination, which I think is ridiculously high. I assume that if I try to call her phone from the USA while she's traveling, my call will just go to her voicemail and she'll be charged that rate whenever she checks her messages.

I'm thinking I can maybe use Skype to call her family's home for $.219 per minute. But what's the best option for when both of us are there, in case we need to call the USA? Should we go into a phone shop there (or here) and ask for a rental capable of calling the USA with 30 or 60 minutes of prepaid service?

You might look into a calling card.  You can get one at a brick and mortar shop that caters to local immigrants, or online.  Sometimes you can get incredibly cheap rates, just a few cents a minute. 

[spork]

Regarding discount prepaid calling cards, I just discovered that Yahoo Voice is more expensive but much more reliable. I compared fees for a bunch of different cards, and purchased a $10 minimum order of Asian Union cards via a reseller, TCTalk/Alosmart. Couldn't hear the person on the other end when I called using two different cards, and the Asian Union customer service in north Waziristan said I had to contact TCTalk for a refund. TCTalk did send me an email saying a full refund was being applied to my credit card, but the whole experience wasted a lot of time.

(Yahoo Voice and Skype are equivalent in price for the country I am calling computer to phone, and both are about 45% cheaper than prepaid cards from my wireless provider and AT&T.)

[untenured]

The above is not a substantive post.  Greekmark is rapid-fire spamming threads, posting information that is at best marginally relevant to the topic.  And of course as always there is a link to a website at the bottom.