cheap international phone calls
 

Anybody use Skype or google for international calls - thinking mainly of calling the US from countries abroad. We used to have a callback- elinea- but they went bust. We don't call much but need to call some.
Thanks

Re: cheap international phone calls
 

If you have Apple products, it's much easier to Facetime. I Facetimed with my family when I was in the U.K. and it was much better than paying for international cell service.

Re: cheap international phone calls
 

A friend of mine uses magicjack or something like that

Re: cheap international phone calls
 

This is probably stupid question, but I'm going to the UK soon so I'll put it out there. Does that mean the wi-fi works on the Iphone the same as it does here?

I don't anticipate needing to make calls, but that way I can send emails/facebook messages if I need to.

Re: cheap international phone calls
 

I've used Google+ Hangout... as long as you have a Gmail account you're good to go... same goes for Facetime.

If you just want to text people, use WhatsApp and make sure your friends have it installed, too. I text my friend in Germany all the time using it, its fantastic.

Re: cheap international phone calls
 

I can't say for sure regarding the UK; however, having traveled to both China and Germany this past year... the wi-fi worked on my apple products (both iPhone and iPad mini) exactly the same as in the U.S. I'm pretty certain you shouldn't have any difficulties with that in U.K.

Re: cheap international phone calls
 

Contact your cell phone provider and add the UK to your bill for the month you will be there, it is fairly cheap, don't forget to ask about texting as well. You have to be careful about pushed information that will be downloaded to your phone when you arrive in the UK. This typically uses data and not Wifi. Foreign cost for using data is very expensive unless you have a plan prior to going. You will need to turn off most all applications to avoid this. Even things like map apps use wifi to connect, but they use data to locate your current location.

Wifi is everywhere but many places make you register to get it for free.

Re: cheap international phone calls
 

It's not a stupid question. To answer your question, yes. I stayed at the London Marriott Hotel County Hall. They had wi-fi and it worked just fine on my iPhone. I used my iPad to Facetime my husband and the kids and it worked perfectly, just like it does here.

I did not use my phone since it would have cost more through Verizon. But with Facetime on my iPad, I didn't have to. The few times my husband did call, he called the hotel phone from our landline at home.