I happened to be at Macworld in San Francisco and saw an amazing new app that FTers will love. Know what a pain it is keeping track of all those SIM cards for the various countries you visit? One entrepreneur has come up with a solution to that problem with a system called gigsky (www.gigsky.com) Its not fully operational yet (expected in june) but basically you buy a SIM card from this outfit for $10 which you can put in an unlocked iphone, gsm ipad or wifi device. Then, rather than having to switch SIM cards in each country you visit, you simply search their iPhone app for the country you are visiting. It then presents a list of carriers offering data plans in that country and you buy a prepaid plan direct from the carrier through the app. According to the firm, the plans on offer at the moment are not all that attractive price wise because they are based on "roaming charges" But in June they will announce deals with carriers providing more or less the same plan available locally in each country. SO if you are going to France for a week, you can buy a plan from France Telecom or their local competition using the gigsky app. The beauty of this system is that you can set up skype to show your mobile number. Using these data plans you can phone anywhere using Skype (gigsky won't offer voice plans because of regulatory issues like who is responsbile for 911 calls). I hope it works out because I'm tired of queueing up in a wireless office to buy a SIm card for a week. Gig sky is basically a software version of many different SIM cards, without havingto have the actual card. Ingnious!

Interesting concept, but really carrying 2 sim cards isn't that big a deal. Even carrying 2 phones isn't that bad. I wonder what there price will be on say 500 mb of data?

I don't understand why they would even consider rolling it out without voice.

On their site: "Unlock you Mobile Life"

"One person likes this. Be the first of your friends."

Yeah, that looks really trustworthy

I guess it depends what device you are talking about (e.g. a tablet or a phone) and whether VOIP Over 3G is viable where you are visiting. Truphone is playing with a similar concept. It also depends on the local bureacracy associated with buying a prepaid SIM.

Because every new enterprise starts out with millions of followers. And, of course, the 'really trustworthy' companies never ever have typos, incorrect grammar, cultural guffaws or mistakes [fares] in their publicly accessible material/systems.

This particular enterprise might not be trustworthy but I'd need more evidence than what was presented to reach that conclusion.

Particularly at the early stage where the CEO is also the engineer and is also the web designer.

When a company with no history presents something that nobody else has ever managed (software based SIM/IMSI management and global data roaming on a local carrier level), and does so on a site riddled with errors and stock photos, I will remain skeptical until an actual product is delivered.

The domain is registered to a UPS Store in Palo Alto (but pretends the box is a "suite").

I think I mentioned this won'tbe functional completely until June. Can't really comprehend the rush to dump on this idea and company. It seems malicious. If it doesn't appeal to you, turn the page. I saw a demo and was impressed. I think it would be handy to get a data plan in a strange country just by selecting from a drop down list on an app rather than having to buy a SIM (last month i spent two hours at TIM Brazil getting a local SIM) i have tried other solutions and they also have shortcomings. Tep wireless, for example, appears as if it is a UK company but is really based somewhere in the Czech hinterland.

I too would be skeptical until an actual product is delivered. But my skepticism is not just limited to companies with no history. How many times have 'the big boys & girls' promised the next big thing since sliced bread that would revolutionize the way one thinks and acts only to have their promised application/device be yawn inspiring or vapor-ware??

WRT the PO Box as Suite issue: Like it or not that is the way business is done even by legitimate small companies and start-ups. Not everyone can get enough venture capital together to rent office space even at one of the shared space type places. Maybe they work from home and don't want to use their home address for privacy reasons. Or maybe they see it as a waste of money to pay for shared-services when all they will use it for is as a mail drop. But the other side of that coin is exactly the attitude you displayed. IF they listed the address as PO Box XXX some would dismiss them simply because of that. I work for a Government agency and get to evaluate current and potential contract holders. I get to see a lot of things. I can tell you for a fact that just because an enterprise uses the PO Box as a Suite for mail delivery/contact information does not automatically mean that the enterprise is untrustworthy. By the same token it does not automatically mean that the enterprise is trustworthy.

Finally, wrt the enterprise specifically mentioned in this thread. I, personally, would not use the existing offering. I don't need to pay an extra fee to get roaming rates. I can get those sans extra fee. However, IF ... IF, the enterprise were to be able to demonstrate that the proposed product [multiple local rates through a single SIM] works, I would be much more inclined to try out the product even though the enterprise doesn't have a history. Afterall, isn't that part of the American dream? Work hard, be ingenious, come up with something new or a new [better] way of doing something old and getting rich from one's efforts.

See the link.
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed...l-data-roaming

They are a start-up company and also they have an office in Mountain View. (Look at their home page, mentioned the address.)
I visited their booth at Macworld and took a look its product. It's awesome~!! It impressed me, though not support Voice call features. But we can use it via messenger application like Skype or Gtalk or etc.

Here is the CEO's interview.

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed...l-data-roaming

They are just a start-up company and have office in Mountain View, CA. (take a look at their home page, mentioned the address.)
Though they don't provide voice features, we can use it via messenger application like Skype, Gtalk or etc.

Their product now is not yet ready into commercial but I was impressed when I took a look at their product at Macworld. It's really awesome..!! It's very painful managing multi SIM cards in my pocket whenever have travel internationally. They do have a solution for it!!!
Hopefully see their product in a commerical market soon.

I keep my SIMs inside a small case that also holds my ear buds with mic. I use a spreadsheet to track the details of each and calendar reminders to tell me when I need to apply a top up to keep them active.

Sure it was about a 15 minute process the first time I got each SIM activated, but it's great to know what your number is ahead of time, and to have service immediately when you arrive.

Some of us in a situation not too different than yours still have hassles with refilling prepaid SIM accounts or even have issues with keeping the accounts active for good or bad reasons. Sometimes, it can take one person more than an hour to refill accounts or even sign-up for a prepaid account.

I certainly would welcome more alternatives for consideration that reduce such inconveniences at a reasonable expense.

Check out togglemobile.co.uk. Limited to several major European countries and Australia, but a very convenient solution which is already in the marketplace. I use it and it's excellent.