Smart phones and travel----please enlighten me

[Timolgra]

If i wanted to keep in touch from time to time with people in UK whilst travelling in remote areas ie. Siberia, Mongolia, Central Asia etc. could I use a 'smart phone' to operate say windows messenger or similar, which I use with my son.

What sort of reception do I need..phone or internet, what sort of phone????

So many questions, or can/should I make sure my ordinary phone is totally unlocked and buy local PASYG sim cards?
Ta

 

[Schtum]

You could check here for GSM coverage.....

http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/index.shtml

....but you'd need 3G for Windows Messenger.

 

[santrix]

Id be very wary of having anything on a contract and using 3G or internet access abroad, its most likely not covered by your contract 'bundle' and will cost you an arm and a leg. Best bet when abroad with a smart phone is to pick up wireless points and go from there. When i take mine abroad i have to go through quite a few hoops to stop it connecting automatically with various applications email etc... due to the cost of accessing internet services abroad.

 

[Timolgra]

Yes I've done a bit of reading now and not only does it all seem very complicated but could be expensive too, and i was trying to find the cheapest way of staying in touch...guess i'll just send him the odd post card

Mongolia for instance only has GSM coverage around a few towns. One of our group is taking a robust laptop, it could be simpler and cheaper to just use that if and when their's a wi fi or he has a 'thingy' which gives internet access when there's phone coverage then pay him for the time used

It could all be a blessing in disguise

 

[Fanum]

To use BB messenger (Blackberry) or any of the instant messaging type services you need a minimum GPRS signal- for video calls and various other aspects (inc high speed internet) you'd need 3G reception.

I use my Blackberry a lot in Morocco and usually it's great- GPRS data which means I can stay in contact for nothing (the volume of data is tiny and falls well under my limits on my contract) including sending and receiving any number of photos of all sorts which is nice when you've been away for a while

I have no idea what the coverage out in the 'stans is, but I'd be seriously surprised if their coverage is anything like in Maroc, where their coverage is usually excellent.

As above, if you can find a wifi spot, you could use the internet aspect of a smart phone as well as the messaging, even Skype or a video messaging app if the phone supports it.


The key to it Tim is gonna be the coverage

 

[B Murr]

Would a satellite phone be an option, I'm sure they cost a lot but perhaps they can be hired/leased? they should connect wherever you are so long as you are above ground.

 

[Timolgra]

The key to it Tim is gonna be the coverage

I agree, after looking at the coverage maps it doesn't seem to be worthwhile.
I never use a computer when away from home but should I need to then my guess would be if there's a WiFi connection somewhere then there'll be an internet cafe.....keyboards could be a problem though

Using Rick's laptop seems the best and cheapest option so far and just take a basic phone.

btw We had looked at hiring a sat phone for emergencies...not quite sure who we'd call..but haven't ruled that out.

 

[santrix]

(the volume of data is tiny and falls well under my limits on my contract) including sending and receiving any number of photos of all sorts

Wow, which service provider do you have? you mean you get to access internet services (data) in foreign countries as part of your contract? If you do, i want it now.... because just about every UK provider i know of charges extra for transmission of data across a non UK network.

 

[Fanum]

Wow, which service provider do you have? you mean you get to access internet services (data) in foreign countries as part of your contract? If you do, i want it now.... because just about every UK provider i know of charges extra for transmission of data across a non UK network.

Orange....the thing is though how it's used.

We (Her Royal Pinkness and I ) use Blackberry messenger......so each message is a few tens of bytes long at most......a photo might be 5 or 6 KB.

I get a 6mb free allowance abroad IIRC- but that's an awful lot of instant messages and pictures

 

[Decster]

.... my guess would be if there's a WiFi connection somewhere then there'll be an internet cafe.....keyboards could be a problem though

Apart from emergencies this sounds like the best, easiest and most obvious option. Bring your own keyboard

 

[zerocool]

Taking a keyboard with you would be pointless as if they have not installed the english installer files when windows/linux etc was installed then it would still type in gobbledeegook.

Get a smart phone with built in wifi and the ability to install an application such as skype.

I would be interested in knowing what network and package your on Fanum.

My O2 iPhone give me my allowance of text when abroad, but not calls or data.

Allthough thanks to the jailbroken-ness im able to wang another sim in if required.

 

[llotse]

It used to cost my customers horrific amounts of money in certain countries and very little in others when I used my Blackberry. Not all countries are covered in the international packages so check. Take a smartphone with WiFi built in to use in internet cafes etc and make SURE the phone is using WiFi not GSM. My worst bill for £1800 for 20 days offshore indonesia. Blackberry emails using GSM or 3G can be very very expensive even though the data package is small.

 

[Loiq]

Vodafone will work in Mongolia and most of the stan's as said but only in capitals and second cities so it's a waste of time.

Thurya is a sat/ smart phone it uses whatever local network it finds and bills you accordingly if no coverage is found it'll automatically swap to Satilite cover. It's a good system I've used it alot only snag it runs out of steam in Central Asia. (Very Limited Cover)

Iridium phone covers all that region we used it on our trip, rent the phone and pay for the airtime on a pay as you go basis I put a £100 voucher in and had left instructions to top up when I sent a specific text.

RBgan is a satilite to laptop interface as used by the BBC it's a very good solution amazingly expensive, to run you need it on contract, so we just used internet cafes having setup a schedule for calls to say we're okay and to log where we're going next. All message where pre written on our laptop at hotel or side of road then transfered onto memory stick and dumped on webmail all passwords etc. where kept on similar drive and copy past onto local PC so key logger or other spying software could not see what we'd typed in. Paranoid me...depends who's asking....I guess... DOH!

alternativley buy local go to dealer get a phone that's unlocked + sim card from some shady place round the corner and use it as you go along. Also good for dash money at border (bribes) to buy one you'll need a passport and give your hotel address as where you live and get the phone man to set it to english. We bought a couple of Russian PAYG phones about £50 they looked like Fischer Price Toys plus top up cards valued at much the same they worked fine and where cheaper to call back to UK on than any other phones we had.

WIFI
all the places we stopped at the WIFI was locked... so it's not a given that you can get on for certain

hope that helps

 

[Timolgra]

Thanks for all the info so far

I'll speak with some of the others on this trip, pass on what I've learnt here and see what their plans are.

 

[ian6760]

Just a thought, but wouldn't it be easier to go with the older technology rather than looking for Wi-Fi hot spots and mobile coverage. I don’t have any idea of the land line network in the countries you’re going through, but I would guess that it would be worth taking an old dial-up modem and connecting through a land line via your PDA/Smartphone or your mates’ laptop. I’m told that Skype will also work on dial-up for a one to one conversation.

Good luck with it.
Ian.

 

[bhud]

This sim card maybe of assistance when there is a signal.

www.globalsimcard.co.uk

no association with them just saw it a while ago

 

[Timolgra]

This sim card maybe of assistance when there is a signal.

www.globalsimcard.co.uk

no association with them just saw it a while ago

Just had a look at the coverage and probably of no use to us in most of the places we're going although it does cover parts of Russia and Kazahkstan.

 

[darkhorse]

Orange....the thing is though how it's used.

We (Her Royal Pinkness and I ) use Blackberry messenger......so each message is a few tens of bytes long at most......a photo might be 5 or 6 KB.

I get a 6mb free allowance abroad IIRC- but that's an awful lot of instant messages and pictures

Bill, the size of bytes quoted for messages, is this only between the two of you or is the same size receiving emails regardless.

I need to find a cost effective solution to receive email when roaming as my iphone is far too expensive and as a result switch off data roaming

 

[tonedef]

In Saudi a lot of the guys I work with use 3G phones with local SIM and an application called Fring which then allows Skype calls from the phone. It works best with the latest HSDPA rather UMTS 3G system though.

Can't comment too much how well it works mind as I use a 3G modem in the laptop to connect to Skype.

We pay around £20 per month for 1Gb bandwidth......enough to call an hour every day on Skype, you just have to find the local phone shop for a SIM.

 

[nick.ct]

+1 for Thurya, smallish handset, check out the satellite coverage. Beauty is that it will try to find a GSM signal and then resort to satellite if needed. I have one with a Vodafone SIM card, so the number and the billing are easy to manage as Vodafone have a roaming agreement with the Thurya satellite network. You can connect them to a laptop to act as a modem but then the cost starts to escalate, and they are slow. SMS is available both on satellite and GSM, also has a SOS feature where your location is sent by SMS,(its has built in GPS, it's used to work out your billing as you go from one country to another)

RBGAN, great solution for those requiring more bandwidth, approx the same coverage as Thurya, (uses geostationary Inmarsat satellites also). Starting to cost big bucks tho. Laptop sized units, not something that fits your pocket....

Nick