Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

Hi, I just moved to Indiana and I want to get a mobile so I can call and text people in the UK. My husband has a verizon contract and he cannot text UK and it charges him to recieve calls.

Does anyone have any advice about which is the best mobile or service provider to go for?

I have tried to get friends/family onto skype so we can talk for free but they are not computer savvy enough. Plus you cannot text UK through skype.

We have an AT&T landline but one months bill was $120 and that is way over priced for the amount of calls I make. We even pay $5 a month extra for cheaper international call rates.

There has to be a better way to communicate with ol blighty. Any advice welcome,

Thanks.

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

I text the UK from my Skype account all the time.

Have you considered getting a UK phone number for your Skype account? I have an 0207 number in London that rings on my computer so folks over there can make a local call and chat with me.

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

Thanks for that, I'll have to look a bit further into skype then.

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

Yeah there are lots of ways that you can use your computer as a text "portal", a number of them for free. If you aren't that bothered about texting from your phone and are near the computer a lot of the time, that's the way I'd go with it.

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

Lingo etc as a VOIP service, nice and cheap for calls, sod the mobile...

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

Im using MagicJack to call UK for 2 cents per min with no line rentals at all. For mobile device I use T-Mobile pay as you go. 1 dollar a day access charge this includes free calls to other T mobile users in the usa and also free calls nationally after 7pm.

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

Thanks for the advice. was looking at t mobile etc. can't believe they charge you $1.00 a day to use the pay and go phone, might as well have a monthly contract.

I was analysing the landline bill to find out why it was so expensive. Out of thr $120, only $39 was actually call charges. The rest was service, tax and added charges for god knows what.

You really have to read the small print here.

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

Its okay for PAYG. I'd sooner not be tied into a contract of 2 years than that LOL. Rather pay just 1 bucks for access, with access it dont mean txt msgs so thats cool for me EG if I send or recieve a txt I wont be penalised for the 1 dollar a day access charge.
Im a bit of skin flint, hence I purchases a magic jack, cant justify paying around 40 dollars a month for a landline. MagicJack aint as good as a landline but it does the job for me for nothing, well to be precise for the 46 dollars for 12 months usage all in.

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

Great info, thank you very much. Im looking at magic jack and wondering what the fee is. You make a good point about the PAYGO, as I am not an official resident I prob can't get a contract anyways.

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

The fee of approx 46 dollars for the magicjack includes product, delivery and 12 months line rental. The 12 month line rental includes unlimited calls to usa and canada. You have to purchase "minutes" to call international numbers like UK. I normally buy them at 5 dollar increments. Its 2 cents per min as mentioned. So the 5 bucks goes a long way for making UK landline calls for me.
Just be sure to have a good broadband internet service, as the magicjack relies on your PC and net connection for its reliability. Like I said, it aint perfect but does the job for me. Just google unofficial magic jack forums for more info.

Hope this helps.

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

Yes, thanks a lot.

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

BTW, enjoyed reading your blog. :)

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

For "normal" phone service I use a VOIP service with www.voiptalk.co.uk, you can set up a free account and use either a software VOPIP client or a telephone adapter (I have a Linksys PAP2). No line rental as such, you just buy credit, calls to UK landlines, US landlines and US mobiles are very cheap. If you have people on other VOIP services the calls are free, no call duration limit.

It's about the same cost as Skype calling but with the VOIP adapter you can use a regular dect phone and don't need a computer to be on to make and receive calls (I know that there are Skype products that do this too now).

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

The other option is to get your parents a 'Skype handset' which connects to a broadband internet connection. If they have DSL in their house, they hook up this handset (which really just looks like a phone) and they can call your skype account for free from it (and you vice versa).

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

Thanks so much for all the info guys, it's great to know how other people do it.

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

I have T-Mobile in the US

My US-UK calls I use www.comfi.com (Bizon) they are calling cards you buy online with 1-800 access or local access. I use them with my mobile and landline I pay 2 cents per min for UK calls.

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

Any GSM provider in the USA should allow you to text a UK mobile and vice versa (AT&T does). Verizon wont, because its not GSM and therefore no Verizon service will work outside of the USA.

Personally I use sipgate.co.uk which is a voip provider. They will give you a FREE UK phone number (Have most major towns and cities) and you can either use their software based voip client (with a headset) or use a VOIP adapter which you can pick up at anywhere like staples for around $40, that will allow you to plug any cordless phone in to it and make and recieve calls to the UK.

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

I don't see why what kind of service it is makes any difference to whether you can send texts abroad or not. Surely once the text gets to your own provider's servers it goes from there over the standard IP network to whichever UK provider's servers host the UK mobile account, and it gets texted to the UK user from there.

I don't see how GSM or any other type of service has anything to do with it. Unless I am overlooking something obvious.

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

some services don't allow international text more than not being able to do it unless you stump for money.

Verizon, depends on the phone and plan, if it's a dual phone if can roam abroad

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

Well it makes a difference because the text messages travel over a GSM/CDMA network, and therefore there has to be a CDMA->GSM gateway somewhere to allow text messages from Verizon phones to be recieved by a UK mobile phone which is GSM, text messages are transmitted over the mobile network.

In any case let me clarify, Verizon (AKA VodaPhone) WILL allow you to send text messages destined to a UK mobile, but they use a third party gateway provider to do it. Of course vice versa a verizon phone of any kind is a brick anywhere outside of the USA, so text messaging is not possible.

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

I recall being able to send txt messages to my bird in USA from UK, she was on Alltel. However she could not reply. It said sent but I never received any until she switched to T-mobile USA.

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

I use freecall. All calls to UK landlines are free - well the 0870 numbers are not :( - and you can use it from your mobile/cell phone too to call abroad without paying a penny. I have also found another service provider to call UK mobile phones free. If interested let me know. :)

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

I use nobelcom.com. Cheap and reliable.

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

Thanks Everyone. So many choices :ohmy:

Re: Which mobile phone to get to call/text UK
 

This is what we do. We use MyChitChat, which is also an online calling card. I think it costs about 3cents/min though, so we may have to look into the Bizon.

We are with Verizon (it's the only provider with reception in our rural area) and my hubby and I receive/send TXT to his folks in the UK and his sis in South Africa pretty often.