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While traveling to Australia without international AT&T calling or data service, I used these methods to stay in touch with those back home...
 

• Skype app - Free for the iPhone, the Skype app costs approx 2 cents per minute to call anywhere to a regular phone. It works on a PC or Mac as well, you load some credit on the account via credit card prior to or during your trip, then all you need is a wireless hotspot and your calling works very nicely! So I'm using my iPhone as a phone, but the connection is over the Internet, the cost is very inexpensive and my carrier worldwide is Skype. Very good solution to the age old ripoff that is overseas calling.
   
• Text Plus - Another free iPhone app, this allows communication via SMS text messaging over a wireless connection.  You can send and receive texts as usual for free from anywhere.  The recipients may not know who you are unless you take some measures initially to familiarize your friends as to how these text messages appear upon arrival.  I sent test messages to a few of my friends when I was still home, so they saw my name (Dave M) and the number I come in to their text as (mine is 606-something) so they'd know.  With this, they too can send texts to me as they would, and I receive them right on my phone, in the TextPlus program. I set the TextPlus program to "push" the incoming texts my way, so that a notification is made on my iPhone when I have waiting texts.  Neat, efficient, free.  I like that.

What these two steps mean is that although my phone really isn't a phone without paid telcom service when I'm away, when I use it as a computer connected wirelessly to the Internet, I can conduct myself as normal on the other side of the world. Two thumbs up.

Comments

[Nancy Bloomfield]

I like this app, certainly worth trying, I've just ordered an Iphone though, and the wait is 6 weeks! Ergh. Thanks for sharing Dave, interesting information for techie people like me! I'll try it on my Itouch.