Use of phone out of the country

Karen Selwyn <[email protected]> wrote in news:1_VPf.116678
$QW2.75542@dukeread08:

> John Navas wrote:
>>
>> If you want to stay in touch when at sea, consider renting an Iridium
>> satellite phone. Prepaid cards can bring the air time down to about
>> $1/minute, which may well be cheaper than any other option.
>
> My husband rented an Iridium satellite phone for a two-week cruise in
> the Caribbean. To say he was deeply disappointed is an understatement.
> When we were at sea, we would go up on the top deck, point the antenna
> at the sky and get NOTHING. No connection. Nada. Zip. Zilch.
>
> On Antigua, we had marginally better results. We found one spot on the
> dock where we could actually make a phone call, but the sound quality
> was so poor that my husband terminated the call quite rapidly.
>
> One day on that cruise, we happened to eat lunch with two other
couples.
> The husbands were both still working and both had brought satellite
> phones along with them, too. Their experience was identical to ours.
If
> you can't get a clear shot at the satellite in the middle of the
> Caribbean, where can you get a clear shot?
>
> We've had equally disappointing experiences with rented international
> cell phones with the appropriate SIM card. Our best results staying in
> touch by phone have been in Italy because we bought an Italian phone.
> Generally, we stay in touch via the internet either in internet cafes
or
> in the internet room of a cruise ship.
>
> Karen Selwyn
>
>

Sorry you had trouble withthe Iridium, I have not had good luck in the
Caribbean, but in Europe my phone (I have used a Motorola V505 and an
NEC 515 my daughter regularly uses her Motorola V180) has worked without
problems whether with my ATT sim or any of three others that we from
time to time employ. (Italian French and international)
--
Joseph Coulter
Cruises and Vacations
http://www.josephcoulter.com/

---

› See More: Use of phone out of the country

d[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <1_VPf.116678$QW2.75542@dukeread08> on Thu, 09 Mar 2006 08:24:44 -0500,
Karen Selwyn <[email protected]> wrote:

>John Navas wrote:
>>
>> If you want to stay in touch when at sea, consider renting an Iridium
>> satellite phone. Prepaid cards can bring the air time down to about
>> $1/minute, which may well be cheaper than any other option.
>
>My husband rented an Iridium satellite phone for a two-week cruise in
>the Caribbean. To say he was deeply disappointed is an understatement.
>When we were at sea, we would go up on the top deck, point the antenna
>at the sky and get NOTHING. No connection. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

You may have gotten a bad phone. My own experience with Iridium at sea (e.g.,
between California and Hawaii) has been very good.

>We've had equally disappointing experiences with rented international
>cell phones with the appropriate SIM card. Our best results staying in
>touch by phone have been in Italy because we bought an Italian phone.

You need a quad band phone for best results. Again, my own experience with
quad band international phones has been very good.

>Generally, we stay in touch via the internet either in internet cafes or
>in the internet room of a cruise ship.

That certainly has its place, but isn't always practical.

--
Best regards, SEE THE FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS AT
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

John Navas wrote:
>
>
>
> You may have gotten a bad phone. My own experience with Iridium at sea (e.g.,
> between California and Hawaii) has been very good.

Clearly that's a possibility. However, you snipped the part in the
original message that explained that two strangers who had brought
satellite phones had equally disappointing results. When the number
jumps to three, I think pattern rather than bad phone.

> You need a quad band phone for best results. Again, my own experience with
> quad band international phones has been very good.

I can't remember the litany of problems we've had with quad band
international phones. Things were going just splendidly with the quad
band phone we took to China until the power on/off button got stuck in
the down position.

Karen Selwyn

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <ng0Qf.116697$QW2.7397@dukeread08> on Thu, 09 Mar 2006 15:33:54 -0500,
Karen Selwyn <[email protected]> wrote:

>John Navas wrote:
>>
>> You may have gotten a bad phone. My own experience with Iridium at sea (e.g.,
>> between California and Hawaii) has been very good.
>
>Clearly that's a possibility. However, you snipped the part in the
>original message that explained that two strangers who had brought
>satellite phones had equally disappointing results. When the number
>jumps to three, I think pattern rather than bad phone.

Depends on which phones. Old Iridium phones, many of which are still being
rented, aren't as good as newer models.

>> You need a quad band phone for best results. Again, my own experience with
>> quad band international phones has been very good.
>
>I can't remember the litany of problems we've had with quad band
>international phones. Things were going just splendidly with the quad
>band phone we took to China until the power on/off button got stuck in
>the down position.

That's hardly a valid indictment of quad band phones. The better ones are
very good indeed, including the V551/V557 and V3.

--
Best regards, SEE THE FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS AT
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

I've had good success with my v3 throughout China and other parts of
Asia as well as throughout Europe. I just don't use my US SIM. I bought
a prepaid SIM in Manila and used it for 2 weeks as I traveled all over
Asia. I had a stock of pre-paid reloads with me that I added to the
account as needed and then gave the balance to my friend in Manila on
the way home. My cost per minute for calling back to the US was about 40
cents.


> [POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]
>
> In <ng0Qf.116697$QW2.7397@dukeread08> on Thu, 09 Mar 2006 15:33:54
> -0500, Karen Selwyn <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> John Navas wrote:
>>>
>>> You may have gotten a bad phone. My own experience with Iridium at
>>> sea (e.g., between California and Hawaii) has been very good.
>>
>> Clearly that's a possibility. However, you snipped the part in the
>> original message that explained that two strangers who had brought
>> satellite phones had equally disappointing results. When the number
>> jumps to three, I think pattern rather than bad phone.
>
> Depends on which phones. Old Iridium phones, many of which are still
> being rented, aren't as good as newer models.
>
>>> You need a quad band phone for best results. Again, my own
>>> experience with quad band international phones has been very good.
>>
>> I can't remember the litany of problems we've had with quad band
>> international phones. Things were going just splendidly with the quad
>> band phone we took to China until the power on/off button got stuck
>> in the down position.
>
> That's hardly a valid indictment of quad band phones. The better
> ones are very good indeed, including the V551/V557 and V3.