VoIP
 

Any other suggestions for VoIP services when traveling internationally. I will be heading to Tokyo this time so broadband won't be an issue.

I just signed up for a Skype account. Packing one of those Cisco iPhones so I don't have to talk into the computer. I just noticed however that Vonage (which I have at home) seems to have a new beta service Anyone tried this?

http://alpha.vonage.com/vtalk

Here are a couple of additional subscriptions:

I carry a Nokia E65 which is a quadband plus WCDMA for Japan and Korea. I use Truphone (www.truphone.com) which integrates with the phone nicely. Calls to the US are six cents flat. Talk for three hours if you want. I purchase a PAYG roaming account with Boingo.com which gives me unlimited PDA access throughout Europe for $8 a month. Their Japanese coverage is just as good and includes Narita.

The cool thing about Truphone is that you can get a free US phone number with PAYG number forwarding when you are off line. When you are online, incoming calls are free. Plop a rented Japanese SIM card (you can't buy Japenese prepaids) into phone and it will automatically set call forwarding to that SIM when you are out of VOIP range.

Yackie mobile offers a hybrid VOIP/roaming SIM combination which can effectuate similar roaming between your prepaid SIM and their voip service depending on your status.

Magic Jack is popular with many people. Plugs into your USB jack and gives you a voip connection. You can usually borrow a hotel phone and plug it into the RJ11, but a pair of ear buds into your computer will work in a pinch. $100 gets you five years of unlimited calls to the US and US phone number with call forwarding ability.

If you've got TMobile as your carrier, purchase a Hotspot at Home compatible handset. When you are on wifi, calls come out of your bucket of minutes or for $9 a month you have unlimited calls while on wifi.

Since you are already familiar with Vonage, have you thought about this?

http://www.vonage.com/device.php?typ...t_title_VPHONE

The highest rated VOIP that I found was http://www.voipyourlife.com/. I have not gone any further, but you may want to check it out.

The magicjack looks like it might be perfect for the next trip. Stuck with Skype this time. Good calls (pun intended!)

The (alpha release) Vonage Talk the OP mentioned in his post does the same thing, for free.

If it's like the Belkin phone for Skype, don't expect the battery to last very long.

I've always liked Skype. I've got a friend in Tokyo who uses it to call friends and family. Skype also makes video calling easy, if that's something you want.

I find this amusing. The V-Phone just comes with Vonage Talk on it, but I don't recall it being in alpha. So I'm not sure what the difference is. For the $9.99 additional monthly cost you get an additional phone number. Don't really need that and Vonage Talk alpha works for me.

I use skype often when travelling internationally (i have the 14.99$ unlimited annual plan) and when on location, just use a bluetooth headset to my tablet or MBP and makes calls that way. when mobile, I use a pocketpc phone with the FRING software for ppc, that leverages my SKYPE out account, again for free calls. Either on a data network, but usually with a wifi connection. I'm going to try out the united-mobile international data product next month, on my new HTC diamond while in Europe.

used it yet?
 

anyone have any feed back on the magic jack yet? I would like something that I can use while traveling in mexico. Cell calls are EXpensive there. A friend just bought a magic jack but really hasn't used it much and he will be using it in the US only.
thanks

I reviewed it a few months ago and was quite impressed.

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/travel...for-travelers/

Be sure to read the comments as it seems like not everyone is as happy as I was.

Wirelessly posted (bb: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.0) BlackBerry8310/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

I think I'd just use the vonage. All you need to do is take your little black box and plug into broadband at your destination, I believe.

thanks everyone, will give it a try and see what happens