Texting While Abroad

[herrdude]

I will be spending 3 weeks in Seoul and followed by 4 weeks in Playa del Carmen with gf and family. Is there anyway we can text each other and not lose our shirts in the process? Some of us are with Telus and others with Rogers. I see that Telus has international messages but it is meant for sending texts from Canada to other countries. Just to point out we will not always have wifi, I was considering Viber...

Any suggestions?

[canehdianman]

Isn't your gf the one who needs to worry about texting while a broad?

[herrdude]

Hehehehe,

Had to read that one twice!

[Mulder and Scully]

If you have a wifi connection, use WhatsApp to text and Viber to call.

BTW, this will depend on the rates of your wireless carrier, but usually it costs less to call (when roaming) than to text. You can say a lot in under 1 minute.

[RAINMAN0]

if you phone is unlocked pick up a local sim card. They are cheap.

[rf134a]

Some app called Kakaotalk will allow you send SMS and MMS via wifi. It uses your phone number to verify by sending you an activation code. It works good for the people I know who have it installed. I don't like any apps that scan and upload all my contacts... but the upside is that it automatically adds all contacts who have kakaotalk installed to your friends list automatically.

http://www.kakao.com/talk/en

P.S. Kakaotalk is Korean so you'll have no issues in Seoul. :P

[GangStarr]

A lot of Canadian providers have 416phone#@carrier.mobility.com e-mail addresses that deliver basic texts. If you can get data/wifi/local sim, you can send an email to peoples cell phones even if they arn't smart phones.

Your best bet really is getting a local sim, in my travels, every time I've grabbed a local sim it's cheaper calling Canada from abroad then it is when I take my 416 phone to vancouver and call toronto.

In terms of no/low cost, wifi is so readibly availible in other countries (mcdonalds, almost every trourist restaurant), your best bet is just to e-mail back and forth. Considering your probably thousands of KM's from who your texting, I'm not sure why "instant" messanging is really a priority. If something is urgent just call home from a local sim cell/calling card/or skype call from an internet cafe.