As I’m preparing to leave the country this week on my first trip to Europe, I’ve been working out little details of how I’m going to connect with my family back home. Using my cell phone abroad is an expensive option — I believe the rate is $1.29 per minute, plus data charges. Skype has always been my go-to choice when I’m away to chat with my laptop, but while looking over Skype’s additional calling options, I learned I can use Skype over my mobile phone with Wi-fi. This could be a total game-changer — making my life easier when I’m away.
I downloaded the app on my phone, and as long as I’m in a Wi-fi zone, I can make calls back home for free, using video chat, or for pennies to dial another mobile phone in the U.S. The cool thing is it doesn’t matter where you’re dialing from, it’s where you are dialing to. So even though I will be in Europe, I will be dialing a U.S. number, keeping my cost extremely low… from $2.99/month for unlimited calls! To do this, I plan on turning on (and keeping) my cell phone on airplane mode — when I get to a Wi-fi location, I will make my Skype calls 🙂
This feature of Skype is new to me, and I have only tested it at home (with success!) — it should work exactly the same when I’m away, but I will keep you posted on the results next month when I explore more of the uses of Skype for summer travel.
Technology is very much a part of my everyday life. But I’m not alone … 95% of moms say, “technology makes my life easier”. Here’s an infogrpahic from Mom Central Consulting featuring the results of this poll:
I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Skype. I received Skype credits to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for participating.
