[CORedneck]

When I traveled to New Zealand three years ago and Japan six months later, I took my iBook which had a software Voice IP Phone with a US Number. I used it quite a bit to make calls in addition to e-mail and web surfing. I would go to an Internet cafe. I remember being in an Internet cafe in Queenstown, NZ talking to my stock broker. When I arrived in Auckland and waiting for my flight to Christchurch, I called one of my former co-workers back here in Colorado and gave him a hard time that it was 75 degrees while it was zero where he was at. When we got to Japan, we called my parents in Indiana. It was morning in Tokyo and early evening in Indy.

I now have an iPhone and when I travel overseas, the phone will be in Airplane mode or turned off. I have an older hacked iPhone that I could use with a local chip as well.

When I traveled to Asia, there was never, ever a shortage of internet cafes around. As per my calculations, they were dirt cheap. I did bring my cell but it just took me seconds to look, then shut off.

[max americana]

>>I now have an iPhone and when I travel overseas, the phone will be in Airplane mode or turned off. I have an older hacked iPhone that I could use with a local chip as well.

You are correct. When I was in the Philippines, I went to the local markets and everywhere I asked in Manila, there were available people to hack my Iphone and replace the chip. It was 100 pesos which was like $2. Then again, most overseas Filipinos use Skype because its free.