1. keeping in touch PHONE & INTERNET (circa 2014)

2. telefonini One in six mobile users have experienced “bill shock” from unanticipated roaming charges or other confusing fees. The Federal Communications Commission has proposed a plan that would require wireless companies to send their customers a voice or text message when they are approaching their plan’s limit, when they have reached that limit and when they are starting to incur roaming fees. For good measure, turn off data roaming on your smartphone to block e-mail, browsing, downloads and apps.

3. calling advice Rick Steves says: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/phones-tech/calling- over-internet

4. (1) COMPANY PLANS prepaid voice & data: texts & calls clearly priced; data charges not as clear VERIZON: 100 MB of data / $25 per month $0.25/ MB versus $20.48/ MB for pay-as-you-go one photo = 2-5 MB

5. Off-line solutions APPS: city maps 2go trip advisor guides OsmAnd … BUT remember apps can eat up phone battery USE HOTEL WiFi to upload photos at the end of the day

6. T-MOBILE: simple choice plan For $50 a month you get unlimited talk, texting and data on your home network but also unlimited data and texting in more than 100 countries at no extra charge. There’s no annual service contract either. You can cancel after a month. Phone calls to the United States are 20 cents a minute; calls to landlines in some countries are free. Some tasks, like streaming music and video, will be slow when you’re abroad

7. COMPANY PLANS Bottom line: Phone company plans are not always the most affordable way to go, but they offer one-stop shopping directly with your carrier.

8. (2) LOCAL SIM CARDS UNLOCKED phone (less than $50 from Amazon, etc.) incoming calls usually free; text messages & local calls cheaper phones must work on a GSM network (Sprint & Verizon do not) buy a SIM card at your destination from a newsstand or mobile phone store buy a SIM card online before you go www.onesimcard.comwww.onesimcard.com RENT A PHONE FOR THE COUNTRY YOU ARE VISITING www.piccellwireless.com You will need to give your phone number to friends & family - they will pay international rates for calls to you

9. DRAWBACKS: local SIM card gives you a local number in that country – calls from US can be costly to them telephone instructions may not be in English

10. (3) HOT SPOTS TURN OFF DATA ROAMING BUY AN UNLIMITED PASS FOR CITY-WIDE WiFi Boingo offers one-month unlimited mobile Wi-Fi access for two devices at more than 700,000 hot spots worldwide for $7.95 In London, for example, you would discover that there are 32,209 hot spots in public spaces, 721 in restaurants and 244 in retailers

11. telefonini Answer the phone with “PRONTO” gli occhi di Alessia Merz lascia un messaggio = leave a message cellulare = cell phone bustino = envelope lampaggiare = to light up

12. Wi-Fi options SKYPE skype.com or (truphone.com) or FaceTime (iPhones/iPads) allow users to make free calls over the Internet to anyone who also has downloaded the service. Both offer apps for calls on your smartphone, so you don’t have to be traveling with a laptop to use the service. skype.comtruphone.com to call someone who doesn’t Skype, you can pay as you go for calls (2 or 3 cents a minute) or sign up for monthly plans to make unlimited calls in certain countries for a flat fee biggest challenge: finding a STRONG wifi signal so that your call is clear and doesn’t freeze up most internet cafes have Skype installed and have webcams and microphones for using your Skype account

13. WhatsApp WhatsApp Messenger is available for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone and Nokia and yes, those phones can all message each other! Because WhatsApp Messenger uses the same internet data plan that you use for email and web browsing, there is no cost to message and stay in touch with your friends. In addition to basic messaging WhatsApp users can create groups, send each other unlimited images, video and audio media messages. Voice calling to be available through WhatsApp Spring, 2015

14. FREE WiFi FINDER app – use public internet services …. but users are at risk of “sniffer” accounts so your information may be vulnerable Bottom line: If you use a lot of data and are willing to gamble with free public Wi-Fi, you’ll save serious money.

15. google.com / voice you can choose your area code & number settings: tell the google number to ring the cell phone, house phone, etc. at particular times, etc. includes ringing the international phone – Americans can call a US number and it will be free for them, then it rings the international phone with free incoming calls texting to foreign numbers may not be supported