How Do You Operate Your IM Business While Traveling?

Not sure about the security issues; however I do know that when you log in to LastPass via their website, you can enter your password via the virtual keyboard... and thereby avoid a keylogger stealing your main LastPass password.

Hi again,

No, YOU do not need a land line. You buy a number from Skype so when your friends call this number they pay normal price for local calls and then Skype transfers the call to your online skype account that you can take on your headset.

I used it when I was traveling in Asia for 3 months and it was something like $12. This will also enable your friends to leave messages because it includes an answering machine funktion.

Good luck!

Jute

ATT = GSM, T-Mobile = GSM. Verizon and Sprint = CDMA.

That's the basic summary on how cell phones work in USA. However, it's more complicated than that. Each manufacturer turns to each airtime provider (ATT, Verizon, etc.) and says "what kind of phone and features do you want?" And then they work it out from there. That's one of the reasons why it has taken so long for iPhone to get to Verizon, because Apple was in exclusive deal with ATT. Now that the agreement is coming to an end, Verizon basically says to Apple, "Can you make us a CDMA version of your iPhone, please?"

Google Nexus One was truly unique in that they were determined to make ONE model phone for each type of network and name it the exact same thing. If you go from ATT to Verizon booths @ a mall you will notice the phones look almost exactly alike but go by different names. What is happening is the manufacturer is making one model for ATT, and making the same basic phone with a few minor differences but a different model name for Verizon.

For instance, Samsung Omnia @ Verizon might be called Samsung Instinct @ ATT (not sure if they're close to exact, I'm just giving an example to get the point across.) What was particularly frustrating for me was, on the net the Samsung Omnia that is available in Hong Kong and elsewhere had a sim card and a memory card that could be swapped out without removing the battery. The US version didn't allow changing the sim card without disconnecting the battery first. Minor details but major confusion when you're reading the specs on the blogs because one Samsung Omnia has 8mp camera, but not in the US version, only the overseas version. At first I thought, no big deal, I'll just buy the 8mp version. But then that's when I learned that the 8mp version was GSM, which meant it would not work on Verizon airtime. And that's also when I learned the true cost of a cell phone! 8mp Samsung Omnia, $600, give or take. Verizon version, $465, but true cost = $99 out the door because I was a new customer willing to sign a 2 year contract.

And then to make matters worse, Verizon (prior to the Droid) handicaps their phones so that certain features that work on the international versions of the phones are not accessible or crippled so that they can charge you for extra airtime services to use them. For instance, most Verizon phones disabled bluetooth file transfer because they think they can sell you more ringtones if you cannot swap them with your friends. Not so bad, except that I actually tried to FIND and PAY Verizon for a ringtone I wanted and they DID NOT OFFER IT FOR SALE!!! Grrrrgh! Bluetooth works, just not the file sharing part of it. And Verizon won't let you activate a smartphone without paying extra for a data plan, even if you are NOT going to use the data just the computer connectivity of it (I'm talking about a Windows Mobile OS, so I was just looking for transfer of data from phone to computer for a certain software program and back, not actually using any airtime.)

But I digress...

Another thing that makes cell phone choices INTERESTING for the US market is, some of us customers travel round the world and only want to have ONE phone, not a US phone and a rest-of-the-world phone. So those CDMA companies came out with a "world phone" that does both CDMA AND GSM, such as a couple of Blackberry models and maybe one other phone model. I think those phones actually DO have a sim card in them, which covers the GSM part. Not exactly sure because I haven't owned a world phone just yet.

The way Google planned and designed the Nexus One was, they came out with ONE phone that was to be known by the same name no matter what network it ended up on. But if you buy a Nexus One directly from Google it will only work on the GSM services of ATT and T-Mobile at this point. Basically Verizon and Sprint said to Google "Oooh, I want one!!!" when Google came out with the Nexus One. But then other manufacturers were quicker on the draw with the Android platform and then Verizon and Sprint both saw that there were better options most likely to sell better than Nexus One and said, "Uhhh, never mind, we've changed our minds," just recently to Google. But the Nexus One's that were due to arrive for Verizon and Sprint were going to be CDMA Nexus One's.

As for the Verizon iPhone? That will be CDMA as well. That's probably part of what's taking so long for it to get to market, although Apple originally had an exclusive agreement with ATT.

Hopefully this makes enough sense for you to understand and make an informed decision.

I know very little about unlocking a phone, other than knowing that it can be done and what it is...which is basically taking a phone that was sold/designed to work on one network (usually in the USA) and then modifying it somehow either with a code or software so that it is no longer restricted to the one network it was originally sold to be used on. Great for ATT and/or T-Mobile phones if you want to turn them into world phones. But can be risky and sometimes turn your phone into a brick/doorstop if you don't get it just right.

So, to answer this question:

...the answer is, it depends! On your phone, on your provider, and on your cell phone plan.

As much as I travel with my regular job all over the US and Canada, things have gotten much easier for me with in flight Wi-Fi. Thank goodness Delta Airlines now has Wi-FI. I can spend each flight working on my IM stuff. Gives me a little free time in the evenings instead of working at the hotels or a searching for a WiFi hotspot.
But basically, I manage my IM stuff on the airplane, in the airport club lounges, and at the hotels in the evening when traveling.