Travelling to Turkey |
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Phone Card / calling home
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| 10. |
31 Oct 2007 Wed 10:22 pm |
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That's really good info, Keith. I'll check into that while I'm there. Maybe a better solution for the person who started this post since she'll be there longer, but great to know!!!
I went onto the Skype site another member recommended. www.skype.com They actually sell PHONES that use the Skype service, which can be used about anywhere in the world with a wireless connection. This is really neat! Has anyone ever used this type of phone? Istanbul Airport is one of the places with a free wi-fi connection for Skype.
http://us.accessories.skype.com/servlet/ControllerServlet?Action=DisplayPage&Env=BASE&Locale=en_US&SiteID=skype&id=ProductDetailsPage&productID=80816800
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| 11. |
31 Oct 2007 Wed 10:34 pm |
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Quoting Turk120807: Cell phone companies in the U.S. do sell phones that work all over the world. A friend of mine took her U.S. phone all over Europe with no problem. You have to have a specific phone to do it. The one I have now doesn't have that capability, but we have them here if you want to buy them, they're just expensive. |
I checked them out about a year ago and they were about $400. A bit too pricey for me but the sims cards are easy and convenient.
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| 12. |
31 Oct 2007 Wed 10:36 pm |
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Quoting KeithL: the turkish sim card will cost you about $20 dollars and comes loaded with 250 contours. This is enough for about 60 minutes in calls to US or dozens of short calls within Turkey. |
also, if you text message, SMS's in Turkey are 2 contour. SMS's to the US are 3 contours. Very cheap!
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| 13. |
31 Oct 2007 Wed 10:39 pm |
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Yes, the phones in the U.S. are outrageously priced. If I sign a new agreement with my provider, the price would be lower (about $200 for a phone instead of $40 , but I'd like to avoid that since I'm no longer under a contract. VoIP/Internet calling seems the way to go, whether via laptop or one of the phones that use Wi-Fi.
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| 14. |
31 Oct 2007 Wed 10:39 pm |
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Sorry, meant instead of $400...not $40...
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| 15. |
31 Oct 2007 Wed 10:40 pm |
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What is a "contour"??????
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| 16. |
31 Oct 2007 Wed 10:42 pm |
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Quoting Turk120807: What is a "contour"?????? |
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| 17. |
31 Oct 2007 Wed 10:44 pm |
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Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....okay!  I understand now. Thank you for the clarification. Helps a lot!
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| 18. |
03 Nov 2007 Sat 06:09 am |
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Quoting mey0722: Does anyone know how much a phone card costs in Turkey to call the U.S.? I read I can buy one at the PTT (post office). How much per minute do you think it will cost to call the U.S. and are there any other fees involved? If I use my cell phone over there, it will be $1.49/minute (US Dollars). Can I find anything cheaper using a phone card? Also, are the connections okay? Where is it best to call from - a pay phone on the street or where?
Thank you,
Aminah. |
www.comfi.com has great calling cards .. I use the contintal card .. that allows me to call cell to cell. You call a number from your cell that isn't long distance .. and then enter the number you want to talk to .. I have been using them for 6 mos now ..
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| 19. |
03 Nov 2007 Sat 06:13 am |
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Quote: QUOTE SOURCE=Turk120807]Cell phone companies in the U.S. do sell phones that work all over the world. A friend of mine took her U.S. phone all over Europe with no problem. You have to have a specific phone to do it. The one I have now doesn't have that capability, but we have them here if you want to buy them, they're just expensive. |
The price for quad band phones (worldwide) has dropped considerably. I know AT&T Mobility formerly Cingular Wireless offers awesome deals on the quad band phone .. The Motorola V3 RAZR for example can be had for a mere $80 now I believe .. possibly less and you can add international calling to your plan for $3.99/mo and that drops the per minute charge down based on the country you are calling. Currently I believe its .38/min to call turkey from my cell .. also you get 200 international txt msgs a month .. that saved me a bunch right there .. its rare I go over my 200 int'l txt msgs/mo .. but then again voice/video calls over msn are a wonderful thing!!
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| 20. |
03 Nov 2007 Sat 06:56 am |
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My Samsung from T-Mobile was about $150 with a 1 year contract. It is a quad-band and worked all over Turkey. Incoming and outgoing calls. Everywhere I went I had some sort of connection. Avea and Vodaphone were the companies who provided service. T-Mobile sent me the bill, it was like $1 per minute or something...so really only good for emergencies, or if you absolutely positively have to speak to someone in your native language. That happened to me after about 14 days of nothing but hearing Turkish!
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