I wanted to keep in touch with family and office while traveling in China so I made a list of what I needed. This is my chronicle of all the equipment and services I used.
1. Cell Phone- make sure your phone works internationally. Most of the world uses GSM technology which AT&T and T-Mobile uses. Verizon users (me) must make sure that their phones are “global phones” which means CDMA/GSM capable. I have a Blackberry Tour which works internationally. But beware the hefty charges- $1.99 per minute. If you don’t have a GSM capable phone, you can rent a phone from Verizon or my favorite, Planetfone.com.
2. E-mail on my blackberry- to receive e-mail internationally, I had to change my blackberry plan for the month of December to their $64.99 Unlimited Global Email plan.
3. Wifi is not widespread in China so I brought a portable wifi access point to access the Internet anywhere in the hotel room. My Linksys wireless access point is small and weighs less than 1 lb . China has their “great firewall” which blocks access to many popular sites so I will use the company VPN to bypass the firewall and access any site I want.
4. Electrical converter- don’t forget to bring one. Most countries are different from the US
5. Other Devices- I also brought my Kindle to read english newspapers each morning and my Ipad for quick Internet/Email access while at the airport.
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Less expensive options to keep in touch
1. Use Skype to video conference with family and the office which is free. With a fast Internet connection, the video and sound quality is actually quite good. The limitation is that the recipient must have a computer, webcam, and skype installed.
2. Calling landlines and cell phones with skype. This is not free but much cheaper than using a cell phone. The cost is $.023 cents per minute. The quality ranges from excellent to barely understandable based on the speed of the Internet connection but for the price it can’t be beat.
