Europe travel, what do I need to call back home?

Posted on: Wed, 2008-05-21 15:17
Europe travel, what do I need to call back home?

I'm going on a 6 week training and seminar in U.K. and Germany and I was wondering if I need to buy a sim card to call back home (Philippines) and the U.S.

I'm on a tight budget so anything I can save will surely help to balance my expenses. I was thinking of getting a voip because I'm bringing my notebook with me but a lot of them are yearly plans and not sure which one to get. I am also thinking of phone cards but not sure if that would be too much of a hassle.


Posted on: Thu, 2008-05-22 14:32 #1
Okay drop the sim card, I

Okay drop the sim card, I think thats the most expensive option.

Anyone think Yahoo voice is a good option for calling out of Europe? This is voip so I am not sure how will be the quality of my calls. 

 

Posted on: Fri, 2008-05-23 02:45 #2
Skype

Skype has never let me down so I would really suggest that. As for Yahoo! Voice, well I honestly haven't tried it yet so I can't really give any comments.

Posted on: Fri, 2008-05-23 03:57 #3
jaygmz wrote: Okay drop the

jaygmz wrote:

Okay drop the sim card, I think thats the most expensive option.

Anyone think Yahoo voice is a good option for calling out of Europe? This is voip so I am not sure how will be the quality of my calls.

 

I also use Yahoo but only for PC to PC calls. For PC to landline I use my Onesuite SuiteAdvantage (voip) account. Rates are very good and people can also call me on my Onesuite number. BTW, Onesuite has a phone card service too and I just checked that they got access numbers for most countries in Europe. So you can go either voip or the more traditional phone card dial around service for your long distance calls.

Here's the link for the access numbers in Europe for Onesuite calling card -> http://www.onesuite.com/access_international.asp

HTH.

Posted on: Mon, 2008-05-26 15:39 #4
Skype would be the one I'd

Skype would be the one I'd recommend too!

Posted on: Mon, 2008-06-02 19:02 #5
I remember a friend from

I remember a friend from the Philippines who brought a "roaming" sim or something. I'm not sure what the advantages for that is.

Posted on: Sat, 2008-06-07 05:34 #6
T-Mobile

Actually I am with T-Mobile because of their strong European presence (its a German Company).

T-Mobile sent me an unlock code for my phone for free (no other company does this). I then went to a T-Mobile store in Germany and got myself a prepaid card that worked right away with my cellphone (even without entering the unlock code).

I called the US from Germany, Netherlands and the U.K. all with the same card. It was a 15 Euro prepaid card. 

Limit yourself to saying only the essential stuff and you should be fine. Or just call people and have them call you back.

BTW, after I was back I wondered why I hadn't thought about using Skype which I even have installed on my cellphone (its a Windows Mobile phone).

Since I also made a lot of calls to Germany (from Netherlands, Germany and UK), it was a good choice anyways. I sent everyone my cell number (the one that came with the prepaid card). When I am in Germany (with the German sim card), I could receive calls for free. Otherwise it was like .30 Euro / min.

Andre

Travel Photos 

Posted on: Mon, 2008-06-16 12:28 #7
SKYPE on mobile

Just a quick question - would that actually work? i.e. would skype not be looking for a microphone? It would be great for far away calls, depending on how much you paid for the internet connection - and if the speed was sufficient to maintain the call. I used skype with one of those usb modems once, and it was terrible.