KrissiK Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 DH is going to Germany and Great Britain next month for a week and a half on business and his cell phone only works in the US. We have the pay-as-you-go plan, we are not techies,. no smart phone here. He's wondering how he should best communicate, so I said I'd ask around the Hive. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I'm not up on the phone choices but my dd is using her i pod and emailing from the hotel and internet cafes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Skype on the laptop using hotel's wifi. If his laptop has an inbuilt webcam, you can video call using Skype. If both of you have iPods or iPads, than FaceTime is an easier choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Yep. Skype or Vonage. Though with the time change you're probably better off using email. Most hotels will have wi-fi and it'll give both of you a chance to sit down and talk about your day without the jetlag taking over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Skype, FaceTime, email. The trifecta of overseas travel and communication. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dahliarw Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 You can also usually rent cell phones in foreign countries. Or at least you can in Japan (and I'd assume elsewhere). But to pay for international calling was extra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I don't think you can rent phones here, but you could buy a cheap one and a pay as you go SIM card. But honestly, it's usually cheaper to buy Skype credits to call a regular phone from your computer. It's not video, but it's communication. All he would need is the Internet connection, which might be free at the hotel or at least covered by his company if he needs it for work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 You can also usually rent cell phones in foreign countries. Or at least you can in Japan (and I'd assume elsewhere). But to pay for international calling was extra. You can rent phones at UK airports. Make sure to ask how much it will cost for the person receiving the calls - we were stung that way when we were living in Hong Kong and I rented a phone on a visit to the UK. The UK costs were low but the Hong Kong receiving costs were high. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I agree with the use internet to Skype or email. I took my Nook with me and used free wifi at a hotel when I had it. Most of the people I know who travel buy a small pay as you go type phone in the country when they get there. Verizon has an international traveller policy and will send you an international phone (if you have a plan with them) to use. The per-minute usage is expensive so I usually get one and send a text daily to family back home (50 cents to send and 5 cents to receive) if I don't have wi-fi...when at a bed and breakfast rather than a hotel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Check his phone handset and see if he can download the skype app. I used the skype app on my phone about 6 years ago pre my smartphone days so it really doesn't need a fancy phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Skype to Skype calls (voice or video) are FREE. I know a Singer (Grammy award winner) and the people who sing with him. They all use Skype, to keep in touch with their families, when they are away from home. They also have iPhones and Blackberries on “Roamingâ€, when they are out of their country, but I suspect the company pays the “Roaming†charges for them. Skype calls to a regular phone number in the USA are very inexpensive from Colombia, and hopefully are also inexpensive, from the UK or Germany. Buying a very inexpensive GSM cell phone (unlocked), if it has the GSM bands used in both the UK and Germany, would be OK. Then, after arrival in each country, he would purchase a Prepaid SIM card and have a local phone number to use to send/receive phone calls. Roaming charges, would probably be very high, assuming he has a GSM phone that works on the GSM bands used in the UK and in Germany, that he uses in the USA Renting a cell phone would probably be expensive. And, when we met a friend and his wife, in Florida, some years ago, he rented a phone and the manual was in Spanish. Possibly he’d taken Spanish in High School, but if your DH doesn’t speak German and rents a phone in Germany and the manual is in German, he will be confused. Best bet for regular phone calls would probably be to go into an Internet place, like one where we live, where I go to get photocopies, send faxes, etc. Very inexpensive from here to the USA, but in the UK and Germany, your DH had better prepare for “sticker shock†for *every* purchase. The U.S. Dollar has been very weak, for many years, and your DH will need to bring plenty of Dollars with him and/or have a high limit on his credit card. CDMA phones that are commonly used in the USA, will not work, in the majority of countries in the world. If you have a GSM phone (those take a “SIM†card), that is: (1) “Unlocked†and can be used with any provider and (2) will work on the GSM band(s) in use in the area he will be in in the UK and in Germany, then he can purchase a “Prepaid†SIM card in the UK and another in Germany and use that to send/receive phone calls. The 2 GSM bands most commonly used in “The Americas" (North and South), 850 and 1900 are not used in Europe. So, if you have a “dual band†GSM phone in the USA, it will be of no use to you in the UK or Europe. However, if you have a so called “World Band†phone (4 GSM bands, DD has one of those, my old Sony Ericcson W300i Walkman) then it will probably work in the UK and Europe. There are some special places, Israel, South Korea, even in the USA, where they are now using other GSM bands, but that is very rare. You will need Power Adapters, or, at the minimum, different cables, to recharge the batteries in Laptops, Cameras, Cell Phones, etc. If he is a U.S. Citizen, have your DH register with the ACS (American Citizen Services unit), in the U.S. Embassies in the UK and Germany, via their web sites, before or after arrival. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.