mobile phone charges
March 2nd, 2009 |I am going to run a test this month and see how much I can reduce the use of my mobile phone minutes. I’m not going to get rid of my iPhone (heaven forbid!) but if I can use less minutes, downgrade my mobile rate plan and save money then I can spend more money on pumpkin loaf and old fashion glazed donuts.
Step One: Unlimited World Subscription from Skype. $9.95 per month: Unlimited calls to any phone in 36 countries world wide. If I was only going to use it for US based calling I could drop that rate down to $2.95 per month for the subscription. Depending upon how much international calling I do I may downgrade at some point.
Step Two: Fring for the iPhone. Free: Fring has an interface that allows the iPhone to be used to place Skype calls over a Wi-Fi network.
Step Three: Boingo for Mobile. $7.95 per month: Unlimited access to commercial hot spots around the globe.
So when I am at home I can either use Skype via my laptop or Skype via Fring on the iPhone to place free calls via my home Wi-Fi network. When I am on the road I just need to find a Boingo location and use the same Skype/Fring combination.
We’ll see how it goes this month.
10 Responses to “mobile phone charges”
Something else… to reduce the cost of the iphone a buddy of mine was able to get to switch to a voice only contract, no data. So he has to rely on wifi networks he can connect to, but to around $20 off the monthly bill iirc.
Might want to look into that too.
you could use a free internet based voicemail box, and reply to messages via postcard.
stamps are a better investment than 401k’s anyway.
@(dis): seems low tech.
the other option is to give out a friends mobile phone number and then just spend all your time hanging around the friend to take calls.
Interesting.
T-Mobile just dropped the Unlimited Loyalty plan today (nationwide), so I can rock/rub/run/slay/whip an iPhone plus whatever POS the wife’s got for $90 (plus data and messaging).
unemployed, despondent over his lack of fitness, smithers hits the pumpkin loaf hard….gonna have a yard sale of ‘time’ bicycles or do you prefer to burn it all in the back yard, while shoving an entire pumpkin loaf down yr gullet… seriously, good luck from one the many unemployed, may all yr dreams come true(or is that a bad thing)
plus taxes, plus fees… but it’s still better than Verizon’s nickel-and-diming.
Of course the iPhone won’t be much of a mobile device if it’s on the charger long enough to stay on Wi-Fi (or “wiffy” as an otherwise-competent techie friend used to say).
A common friend uses his father, brother and two friends to form a family plan with ATT and iPhones. They have 2100 min at $170 and 3 extra phones for $120. That’s $60 apiece with unlimited data, unlimited family plan phone or ATT phone charge, unlimited weekend and night and rollover till years end.
What if you are not near a Boingo site?
@Painman: then I use the regular mobile phone service and pay through the nostrils.