skype mobile

shaun40400

hope this is the right place to post??
as i live abroad im looking for an easy way to call family back in the UK.
all the younger members have computers so we use skype.
my parents are old and cant get to grips with a computer, so i was thinking of getting them a mobile phone with Skype on, as that way i could call them for free.
Is anyone using these phone i would like to know are they value for money and are they easy to use.
Obviously id have to set up the skype account for them.
at the moment im spending 20/25 a month Stirling for calls to parents,
thanks in advance for your thoughts
shaun

imagia

I'm still waiting on 3 to deliver my PAYG skypephone, but the value for money is very good. Bear in mind that to use skype you have to top up by £10 each month. The contract deals work out to be cheaper than PAYG as you don't have to pay for the handset. If you do go with this option make sure you check out the cashback at quidco.

philnicandamy

We managed to find a couple of white & blue skype phones on PAYG had them just over a week or so now & i'm pretty pleased with the ease of use & quality, we were prev with virgin & had connection problems poor signal etc near where my OH works...with skypephones i've had no problems reaching her, she's not very tecno savy but she's picked up the skypephone pretty easily....yeah you do have to top up £10 every 30 days for the skype functions to continue for free (the £10 can be used on telephone calls/internet/txt messages etc etc)...they would have to input a few small details on the handset if you register a skype account once thats done it's as simple as that....overall we're pretty pleased with the handsets the call quality so far is ok between handsets, calls received from other skype users (pc's etc) are again ok have an auntie in australia who skypes me weekly...the handsets are pretty good quality & for the cost you do get a lot, the downside is that you cant use the "skype out" function although three say its being worked on at the moment...and the handset can't do video calling again though it's being worked on according to three..how it'll work though I dont know as the handset has only one 2mp camera and its located on the back of the phone!

Cavey

Check the mobile signal in your area is 3G and it's good enough for Skype to work well. I don't think it would work at all well at my parents house

Do your parents have an internet connection? If yes, why not get one of the stand-alone skype phones? (Cheapest is about £50). Can still call them for free and you don't have to pay for the mobile phone connection. (May seem a stupid question, but my parents were on the internet, using email etc... but I'd still describe them as "not being able to get to grips with a computer" as I specifically had to show them what to do or set it up for them).

Also, you don't say how long you are talking to your parents for or how you are doing it, but SkypeOut to land lines in the UK is about 1p per minute. I recently spoke to my SO while she was in El Salvador over Skype for three hours for around £6. You might therefore be able to make it cheaper by buying Skype credit and doing it that way.

Or, you can try an alternative method - buy your parents a webcam. When I provided one for my parents and suddenly they were able to see my Uncle in Canada, it gave them the incentive to find which buttons to push to get Skype working.

shaun40400

the £10 a month to the moblie opperator?? will prob be more than they spend now but they can cut back on landline calls to use up the credit might be cheaper for mobile to mobile?
and i can always do top up for them over the net either way has to be better than spending 300 a year to stay in touch

wont be able to use quidco as not in the uk..
however what are the contracts like do they have a uk web site i can look at .
thanks again both for the quick replys

philnicandamy

http://www.three.co.uk/personal/mobiles_/skype_/index.omp

shaun40400

i live in the middle of no where and dont use normal internet so skype out is not supported .or i be happy to pay 0.01cents a min
normal phone calls to uk are around 22cents a min, often talk for 30 to 50 mins and odd quick 10min calls in week, as dads had major heart surgery and stroke,
no they dont have internet or id use skype that way
thanks for info

imagia

The £10 topup also gives you £10 of credit that doesn't have an expiry date. So you can still make all your usual mobile calls and send texts and get the skype for the money.

According to 3, the Skype service doesn't require 3G reception - it also works in 2G areas as they simply use the existing voice service.

To be honest, I'd have a look at Rebtel. It will probably work out cheaper than £10 a month even if you don't use the free calls method:

http://www.rebtel.com/en/

shaun40400

have similar offers over here, but when you take into account your free mins, usage ,then it works out more expensive or the
same.
3 top up ? am i right in saying the mobile credit is undated but you have to top up by £10 a month to get free skype?? as part of term and conditions.
at the moment bill pay would seem the way to go as it also includes 300 mins of uk calls for them.

imagia

shaun40400 wrote: »

3 top up ? am i right in saying the mobile credit is undated but you have to top up by £10 a month to get free skype?? as part of term and conditions.
at the moment bill pay would seem the way to go as it also includes 300 mins of uk calls for them.

Yes, the credit doesn't have an expiry date. But you do need to top up £10 a month to keep skype services.

To be honest, there's not much to choose between the contracts and PAYG. You can do the "stretch" thing on PAYG , so with a £15 top up, it converts to 300 minutes and texts. The down side is that it only lasts a month and doesn't rollover like standard credit does. It's a shame you can't do quidco because there are some brilliant deals on offer there.

shaun40400

stupid question time " drum roll please"
what is quid co maybe i could get it for parents get them to order phone and transfer cash