Skype

I used it this past summer to try to stay in contact with clients while I traveled. It was both helpful and frustrating, but I would use it again. I purchased a Skype number so that calls to my cell phone would ring through to Skype in the evenings (business hours on the West Coast). I started out using an Ipad to do this and the Ipad was awful. Call quality was bad and the calls dropped all the time. I took over my daughter's netbook and both the call quality and connections were better, but it was not ideal. There were a lot of missed statements and requests for repetition. I did find it frustrating enough that I forwarded my cell phone to a co-worker's phone, because the calls just seemed too darn unprofessional. I continued to use Skype to call family and friends and it was awesome for that. Word of warning, though: it's not actually 2.3 cents per minute. It ends up being more like 12 cents, which is still a great deal. Skype will tell you what it's charging you in the upper left hand corner of the screen. It varied by country for me.

We've been using Skype on both a PC and a Macbook Pro with both the audio and video for a few years from both Europe and here in the States. It's been great.

I use Skype on an iPod Touch. That's my preferred way of calling home. I don't recall it costing 12 cents, it seemed much cheaper. I'd talk to my mother for an hour and it would only cost about $1. Skype requires a high-quality internet connection, however. If your hotel wifi runs at dial-up speed, it's really not worth the trouble.

Yes, Kristen, it will work the same way as you used it in Mexico - put your phone in airplane mode and use it in wifi areas.

Thank you for all your replies! We figured it would be the same, but wanted to ensure this was an okay plan rather than coming home to some absurd phone bill :) We will be sure to check what it's charging us and keep in mind that it may only be ideal for short check-in phone calls, unless there is an emergency. It's comforting to know it's an option!

We used it last Christmas in Germany on a first generation ipad and it couldn't have worked better. We had a wireless system in the apartment we rented so it was very reliable.

I have the newer Iphone 4s and Ipad2 and have Facetime. My daughter and son both have iphones. We did Facetime when I was in France last fall. So much fun. From my hotel room I could "call" my kids with video. not that I expect anyone to run out to buy iphone, or ipads, but I can tell you it's "Sweet" no charge for the call as long as you have wi-fi. So easy to use. I remember my first trip to Europe in 76...I sent post cards that arrived after I got home from my 5 week trip. I didn't call home even once due to the cost...no cell phones, just phone cards, or call collect. How times have changed!

Right, I use Skype on my laptop in France, where I'm living now, to communicate with and see family and friends in the US, for free -- wouldn't be without it.

We used Skype with an Ipod to call home from Europe. It worked fine, just need a wifi signal and earbuds that include a microphone.

The Ipod Touch has a microphone built into it which works with the Skype app. So an external microphone isn't mandatory.

Michael is right, there is an external microphone (and speaker). Before our trip I made some calls to test it. I found the built ins worked fine in a quiet place but not as well in a noisy area. If you're calling from a Starbuck's, hotel lobby, airport, train station, or anywhere else with background noise, earbuds with a microphone work amazingly well. You can speak quietly and hear perfectly. I didn't try it with just earbuds and the microphone in noisier places, maybe that would have been fine too.

I have always used my AT&T cell phone account to send a text message online (it's kind of hidden, but I log in like I am going to pay my bill online and look for the "send a text message" optionit's free to my friends and family, who also have AT&T) to my friends or family letting them know I am online and available on skype. They then log into their skype accounts and we video chat for free. This obviously doesn't work for emergencies, as they may not be near a computer, but has worked great for the occaisional weekly chats. If you don't use AT&T, I'm pretty sure there are other free text message web services out there...

I should have said you can also call Europe with your Skype, just use the access codes as if you're calling from a regular US phone. We made one Skype call to a hotel while in Europe. It worked fine but I had to use the access codes as if I were calling from the states.