http://www.vectonemobile.co.uk/onlineoffer/vmukgglcsphilippines.aspx?ch=googlevtuk422cpi&site=www.allmusic.com&gclid=CLGsldTRp60CFaEhtAodjiyXng Is this as good as it seems, anyone?
Well if you were in the Phils Mike and calling Smart to Smart you would get 150 minutes for 15 quid on standard tariff, however no one over there is on pay as you go standard tariff now as they all use the UNLI deals. The UNLI299 deal on Smart costs 299 peso and lasts 15 days so if you take a break of one day you can call it a month, if the Philippine end does two UNLI299 a month (ten quid roughly) then they can call a Smart Plug n Talk in the UK for free, unlimited minutes. You just need the initial investment in the Plug n talk device and about 300 peso a month load every 3 months for the UK end, really does work out at 698 peso a month. In reality no one is going to be on the phone 25 hours (1500 minutes) a month to the Phils so the Vecton deal is really relying on you not using it to it's full in which case it becomes more expensive as it is a higher flat charge. The Smart Plug n Talk combined with UNLI is the cheapest way I have found to call the Phils and of course you get loads of texts for that money as well. The other benefit of the UNLI route is that the person in the Phils can call anyone else on Smart in the Phils for free during the whole month as well. The downside of UNLI ? Well it cuts off every 3 minutes or so and they have to redial but that is pretty quick and of course they need to dial a prefix code to get to you, but they can save that as your number anyway so no big deal. The Vectone for me would be slightly limited, but of course it will work direct from a real cellphone whereas the Smart Plug n Talk requires a computer.
Ah another point Mike the Vectone thing is only available on Sun Celluar (which is now owned by PLDT/Globe) not sure that is as well supported round the country but I could be wrong.
Well guys, so far I am very pleased with Vectone I got the SIM when I arrived to UK and it was so cheep to call my family and friends that I decide to hang on to it, and so far I cant complain. It helped me a lot when I was depressed for being far from home... Try it, you will probably like it!!!
Sorry I forgot to reply before, Jim Thanks for your replies. My wife's family is on "Smart" so we're out of luck!
Calling & Testing Philippines for Free The cheapest way I have found to call the Philippines is for FREE by using PreCaller: www.precaller.co.uk. To use PreCaller you really need a phone service with free calls to 0845 numbers (at peak times) as you build credit against your land-line number by calling an 0845 number. It is perfect for TalkTalk customers (like me) who have an unlimited call package. Once you have built credit (I have over 40 hours of credit at the moment) you can make free calls to every country in the world from your PC. You can also make free calls from any phone you register (including mobiles) providing you have free inclusive minutes to UK land-lines from that phone. The best mobile tariff I have found in order to make free calls to Philippines (using PreCaller) is ORANGE RACOON, since it includes unlimited UK land-line minutes (PreCaller calls are made via a UK land-line number). If you get ORANGE RACOON on a cash-back deal, the monthly cost is as low as £0.00p, after cash-back and you can get a free Nokia camera phone as well! To send free SMS messages to the Philippines I use Chikka Messenger: www.chikka.com For incoming texts I just have a Philippines SMART SIM card. Ideally, it would be wise to have a mobile phone with a DUAL ACTIVE SIM; that way, when your Mahal sends you a text asking you to call, you can use the same phone to call her back!
Anyone, what do you think is the cheapest way to call the Phils from a UK mobile (I am on orange but don't have a landline) ?
The O2 'Your Country' SIM, this is a Pay as you go SIM, 15 quid loading every month you get 100 minutes free calls to Philippines mobiles or landlines I've been using it for about 5 months, the only problem is I virtually never make any calls to UK numbers so I have now accumulated about 60 quid of load (the load never expires and for the first couple of months I was only loading 10 quid for 50 minutes of free calls). Failed connections are not charged and short connections that fail within a few seconds of connection do not appear to be charged against the free minutes, I find 100 minutes to be enough these days what with all the other communication methods we use as well.
Is this sim card the same number all the time, Jim? We used to pay £15 for a O2 sim card regularly to call the Phils but they stopped the ones we used to buy a few months ago?
No Mike, I can call any number, landline or mobile in the Phils, as soon as I dial I get a voice that says 'Free Call' In actual fact the one I am using is Tesco Mobile Pay as you go but it is O2 that provide the actual service, the SIM card cost a pound and I just buy a cash top up every month a day or two before the current month's free minutes allowance runs out. Ah if you meant do I have a fixed number then yes I do, it's not a new SIM every month just an electronic top up, it's really good I just need a way to spend the rest of my credit that I am building up
Yes, I have used the Vectone Sim to call the Philippines. I availed of their new offer called Country Saver Philippines. This gives you 1500 mins for £15 a month. This is really a good deal as it is very cheap. The Sim is free as well and I can call other vectone mobile numbers in the UK for free.
