If you're a Jetsetter, you want to be able to keep in touch with friends and family at home. Ideally, you want to be able to reach them wherever you are and for them to be able to reach you. You also want to make local calls to restaurants, hotels, theaters, airlines, and such. Twenty years ago, you'd pick up the phone in your hotel room, enter the number, and call. Connections were generally good—and costs were generally outrageous, even for local calls. And you'd be connected only when you were in your hotel. These days you have lots of options. There is no one best option; what's best for you depends on a bunch of factors. But you can generally keep in touch, at little or even no cost to you or to those who want to call you. If you have a smartphone or tablet, you can make calls at extremely low costs by downloading a Voice-Over-Internet Protocol (VOIP) app. Most make calls directly over the Internet as long as you're in a Wi-Fi hotspot, and when you aren't in a hotspot, they default to the local GSM 3G network.
The Global Call app is a newcomer. As this is a new application, it is currently only available for iOS and Android. The concept behind this application seems to be simplicity. There is only one function, and that is to be able to call any phone number, whether it is a land line or a mobile phone, within a limited number of countries. Global Call will utilize your data, but the recipients will receive the calls and text messages through their voice minutes and SMS. And that’s all it does. However do not undermine this app because its greatest features can be said in two words: Price and Point. Global Call undercuts every mobile VoIP application in terms of price. Users will have to purchase credits, and those credits will be used up at a flat rate based on the country they are calling. However, due to the cheaper price point compared to other mVoIP, your money will go much further, which is perfect for someone who makes the occasional international call. Since you are able to call people regardless of whether or not they have a smart phone or the same program, this is probably the cheapest way you will be able to make a standard call overseas.
If you don't need full 24/7 connectivity, you can spend as much time as you'd like on social media wherever you happen to be—and it doesn't cost anything, as long as you're in a hotspot. These days, probably the majority of ordinary hotels in Europe and many in other parts of the world offer free Wi-Fi, and booking sites always specify. Oddly, it seems the higher the hotel price, the more likely it is the property charges for Wi-Fi. Finding Wi-Fi in small inns, B&Bs, vacation rentals, and gites can be more problematic. If you're planning on staying in a place without Wi-Fi, you often have to rely on some other approach to keep in touch. By using free Wi-Fi, you can still bring along your mobile phone for emergencies (if it is GSM-enabled), and your cost risk is low. Just remember to disable any automatic downloads.
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