My kids are off to China & Korea to teach

[bikerskier]

My son leaves in late July to teach for a year in a Seoul suburb and my daughter leaves in mid August to teach English at a college in Wuhan, China. Obviously, we have concerns about staying in touch are are trying to learn about the most cost effective ways to talk regularly. And for that matter, to plan for a trip while they are there. Anyway, both kids will have Apple computers and we have heard that Skype is good product for us to hook into. They will also want to talk to each other regularly. We have AT&T cell phones and I am told to get theirs unlocked so they can get local SIM cards. Does AT&T do this or do you need to get a third party to do it? Should they buy local phones? Does Magic Jack have a role in this? What else should they and we know before this adventure begins?

Thanks for any input!

 

[wheatonFJR]

I know nothing about how to do it as my son installed Skype on our computer....but it's been great to talk and see him on the computer as he is taking classes down at Indiana University.

Best thing since sliced bread for sure. :clapping:

 

[bramfrank]

So many questions. So little space.

They can certainly run Skype (or use the chat feature on MSN Messenger). Skype has the edge and, for about 2 cents a minute that can use Skype to call regular US land lines too. Both MSN messenger and Skype support the use of Webcams (though at the expense of bandwidth).

MagicJack might be an option too as it provides a phone line in the US - but the phone is plugged into the jack which is plugged into the computer that needs to be left powered up.

Another option is a VOIP line. You can use a softphone (uses a headset plugged into the computer - like MajicJack, but better) and you could get what is called an ATA (adapter box) and plug a phone into that and the ATA serves as the router for the internet connection. (note that reliable broadband is required for all options - Korean broadband is better than service in the US, though I have no idea what they charge for it). Subscribe to a US carrier and have a local number that just happens to ring in Seoul.

I have a VOIP number that is tied to my home. For $10/month I get unlimited North American calling. When I am in town I use it as a local line. When I travel I use the softphone on my laptop. people can't tell where I am when I use the VOIP, so long as the connection is good.

As to the cell phones. Just get new phones with local Korean numbers there. Cancel the US accounts. In 2 years when they get back they can get new

If you plan to make lots of overseas calls to and from their cell phones, there are lower cost 'call back' services that will dial them from their switch and thern lets them dial the number they want to reach without having to pay the huge overseas surcharge.

 

[beerme]

My kid was in Spain last winter and we installed Skype on Mac's here and over there. Worked like a charm -- audio & video quality were surprisingly good, & without the delay you often get in cell phones. I was really blown away the first time i used it to communicate. It was just like the Jestsons.

 

[cougar8000]

+1 on Skype. I use it all the time to talk with people on the other side of the pond

 

[uctofeej]

+1 on Skype. My daughter's piano teacher is in Taiwan for the summer, so they've been doing one-hour long lessons via webcam on a weekly basis. No problems at all.

 

[Wild72]

I have been using the Vonage VOIP srvice for around six years, and while initially there were problems with call quality and dropped calls etc., they have really got their act together over the past couple of years.

Free local and international calls within the US, Canada and to the UK. I aso have a virtual number in Scotland with them, which allows friends and family back there to call me for the cost of a local call. My bill is less than $40 every month.

I also have call forwarding to my cellphone at no extra cost.

They also have V-Phone which is a device that connects to any PC or laptop with a high speed internet connection. Not sure exactly how it works, but they might be worth a look for your pending situation. (www.vonage.com)

 

[colin]

Skype is great. Should be free skype to skype, so if you have it installed in the states, it should all work out fine.

There are some neat things you can buy, such as a local number (2 bucks a month or so, i forget exactly). So if Kid #1 has skype, purchases extra fancy bit to get a local number for you, then you can call that from anything (and not be restricted to your computer). Still, computer on the other end. I've got a chicago number for myself, calls my computer here in Tokyo. Of course, nobody I know uses it, really just get lots of wrong numbers. oh well.

 

[colin]

Thinking some more...

Re: local phones: Yeah, they'll need/want these as somebody mentioned above. As far as unlocking the US phones, probably not worth it, likely they'll get a decent deal getting a new phone locally. The only caveat I'll give here is that there may not be a very good selection of phones in English (multilingual). Not sure how easy it is to check that in advance. Perhaps worth getting the phone unlocked in advance just in case. ATT should be able to do it given some conditions (how long you've had it....that was the requirement for me back in the day). Else, there are plenty of third parties that should be able to do it.

 

[FatNakedGuy]

These skype phones are sweet! Add wireless internet connection and you're stylin'

IPEVO SO-20

https://amperordirect.wordpress.com/2009/03...e-so-20-review/

 

[Docholiday]

+1 on Skype. I have a son in Taiwan for the year and it is great to be able to see and hear him at the same time. The only trick is picking a time to connect. We usually set up a time to talk by email or text message. We also used Skype when my youngest son was in Germany last year and had no problems.

 

[bikerskier]

Thanks for the ideas everyone. Really appreciate it!

 

[TestPilot]

Another suggestion - establish Facebook accounts, because they can put up albums of pictures (and make them private or public) and you get to share more of their experience.

When our young ones were travelling (Taiwan, USA and mostly Canada) that's how we kept up with their experiences. I also used it when we went to visit them, and I set myself the task of placing Aussie flags where they would be visble on all the Highway Cameras we passed between Vancouver and Banff - see here: https://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2194...mp;l=657a0420c5

A friend even got a screenshot of me on camera.

 

[gypsy]

I realize Seoul is a huge city (11 million-ish) but I used to teach in Suwon (the Seoul suburbs). Just curious where your son is going to teach?

gypsy

 

[MCML]

I have traveled in China with my AT&T phone and have unlocked it.

Call AT&T and tell them that you wish to unlock the phone. If you are a new customer, without a history of paying the bill yet established, then AT&T may tell you that you have to wait a while to unlock the phone. Otherwise, they will give you a code and a multi-step procedure to follow to enter the code in your phone. It works well. There is really no reason not to do this even if you think that picking up a local phone would be a better alternative (but the sim cards were cheaper than the phone when I did this).

Also make sure you have international roaming turned on for the phone. Again, call AT&T to do this.

It doesn't cost anything to unlock the phone or enable international roaming.

 

[worldbound4now]

+1 on Skype. My brother-in-law is an english teacher in Taipei and we use Skype without any issues. He also has a US phone number that rings to his skype, and has voicemail on Skype. In his experience, he found it MUCH less expensive to purchase a phone locally rather than try to take a US phone overseas. In the end, we usually just use Skype. Can I say Skype any more? It's great to chat, use video for myself and my kids to talk to their uncle, and leave messages if needed.

 

[user 17282]

A few more Qs from someone else... I've heard of Skype but know nothing about it. How does one get started on this? From reading here, it sounds like there is some software to put on the computer? Where would I find that? Is a separate webcam required if the laptop already has a camera built into it? Is a high speed connection required? Is this a thing that requires yet another monthly fee? I have enough of those already.

 

[TestPilot]

@pageboy - Google is your friend. Google Skype and you'll find where to download. It installs free software, and it uses your laptop camera - no additional camera reqd. I have separate profiles for home, office and laptop - same name with slight variations. High speed connection definitely recommended (probably required for video calling). It's free calling Skype to Skype (computer to computer) but there are many variations and add-ons at relatively small cost. I only use what's free.