WiFi Telephones Could Help Travelers Stay In Touch
About a year ago, when I was first researching cellular telephones for travelers, I saw many articles about a new crop of devices that would allow users to place calls anywhere around the world through Voice Over IP (VOIP) networks with or without a computer using services similar to Skype. The way it works is that you find a wireless internet access point or “Hotspot†and the device will connect to the VOIP service and allow you to make a call without international calling fees anywhere in the world.
It is perfectly feasible to do this using a notebook computer and headset through Skype; however, these devices simplify things and the person on the other end doesn’t have to be on Skype (as is bound to be case if you’re calling your grandma from Hong Kong). While these devices are still not commonplace, they are bound become more ubiquitous in hot spots around the world as they offer substantial savings over cell phones with truly world-wide coverage.
The downside is that you need to find high-speed wireless access point to be able to use your phone. During our trip of Europe in 2003, we discovered that finding hotspots could be somewhat of a chore. I guess if we had consulted a global WiFi directory such as wifi411.com, things could have been easier. Nevertheless, the WiFi phone concept sounds extremely attractive since, if traveling for pleasure, you don’t necessarily have to remain accessible by phone 24/7 but you can get your calls knocked out while you check your email or update your Blog. It would be similar to chatting with family back home using IM while you’re on travel but with the benefit of hearing their voice.
Even having an international cell phone does not guarantee that you’ll be within reach all the time. We own an international cell phone that we bought from Telestial.com; however, we found it difficult to recharge minutes since could not understand the voice prompts and could not always find a store nearby where we could do this. In addition this phone only works with GSM networks so we would not have coverage in most of Japan, for example, and international calls ate away at our minutes very rapidly. (We could never really figure out the formula for calculating how much calls to the US would cost us from our prepaid minutes.)
Today, there are a few WiFi phones available, such as the USB-powered Lexphone ($73.00) and the D-link DPH-540 (around $240) that does not need a computer. These devices seem like a great option for international calling on the go despite their drawbacks. Personally, I plan to keep posted on the developments surrounding this technology as a possible means of staying in touch during future trips.
