Tag Archives: google+

Google Hangouts for Keeping in Touch with Family Abroad

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When you have friends and family aborad it is always good to find free ways to contact them. Skype is a very popular VOIP (Voice over Interactive Protocol) that allows you to call and video conference friends abroad for free. However, Google Hangouts are, in my opinion, much better than skype. In this blog, I am going to explain why google hangouts are so great for contacting people abroad.

What is a Google Hangout?

A ‘google hangout’ is the Google Plus video conferencing feature. Google hangouts are free and easy to use. They will also work on your tablet or mobile phone. Google Hangouts can involve more than two people. Away from the family at Christmas? Join them for a post Christmas dinner drink!

Google Plus itself is a social network that will allow you to share information and keep in contact with friends and family. It will allow you to share photos, updates and videos with your friends and family abroad.

How do I get a Google Plus Account?

To be able to do a Google hangouts, you need to set up a Google account. You may already have one set up – you can also sign in through Gmail, YouTube or Android.

When setting up your Google Account, enter your profile details, and select your settings. This will then take you through to set up your Google Plus Bio, so enter your details. If you are concerned about privacy, you can adjust your privacy settings.

If you are logging in through gmail, you will see your Google Plus Profile in the top right of your screen when you are in your gmail inbox. Simply click on the image of you, or the icon, and you will go straight to your Google Plus profile page.

How do you start a Google Hangout?

Firstly, make sure that the person who you want to hangout with is also registered on Google Plus and is online at the same time as you (remember the time differences!). You can add people to your circles and they become contacts. Google Plus circles are great way to organise your contacts. For example, you might have a circle for ‘work’, a circle for ‘friends’ and a circle for ‘family’.

Once you are logged in to your Google Plus account, there will be a button in the top right corner that says ‘start a Hangout’, which you need to click. Name the hangout and invite the person that you want to connect with. When they join the hangout, you will hear the signal and they will appear on your screen.

What are the Advantages and Features of Google Hangouts?

google hangouts

The sound quality is often much better in google hangouts than on skype. In my experience, you hear less feedback and it doesn’t cut you off like skype sometimes can.

Google hangouts are better than skype because you can use the screenshare facility for free. Screensharing is great if you want to share things with your friends and family abroad. Skype have recently started to ask you to upgrade, and charge for this facility.

Google hangouts have a YouTube sharing facility too, so that you can watch YouTube clips together with your friends and family abroad. The Google hangout facility allows you to create a playlist.

My favourite thing about Google hangouts is the special effects. There are sound effects and headgear to make your video call even more exciting! Give your friend a round of applause for saying something great. Give your dad a birthday cake, whilst wearing a pirates hat or say hello to your sister with a dog face!

Pocketdial UK

For times when you don’t have internet access, you can always use Pocketdial UK to make cheap international calls.

 

How to Avoid a Large Phone Bill when you Travel

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Avoiding a large phone bill when you travel

roaming charges when abroad

Have you ever had that gut-wrenching feeling when you open your first phone bill after travelling abroad?  Making the mistake of not checking your roaming charges with your service provider can end up leading to unnecessary expenses.

In this Pocketdial UK guide to avoiding a large phone bill when you travel, you will find advice on what you can do before and during your trip to keep the cost of your phone bill down.

 

Before you Travel

It is important that you contact your mobile service provider to set up international roaming and familiarise yourself with the call and text charges for your travel destination. There may also be charges to receive a call, so check that too, otherwise you could end up with a very large phone bill. In some countries, depending on your network, it can even cost up to £2.00 just to receive a call. Receiving a text is often free, so it makes much more sense to ask your friends to text you rather than to call you.

Also, check that your phone is compatible with the foreign networks in the country that you will be travelling to. Find out if your phone is dual band, tri-band or quad band from your manufacturers website. If it is a quad band phone, it will work everywhere. If it is dual or tri-band, it may not work on some networks, so it is important that you find this out.

 

Data Roaming can lead to a large Phone Bill

Data roaming whilst abroad can also lead to a very large phone bill.  If possible, avoid using the internet on your phone. If you need to use the internet on your phone, you could connect to local Wi-fi, instead of using 3G.  This will be much cheaper.  In fact, many Wi-fi hotspots abroad are free.  For more information on data roaming, visit www.moneysavingexpert.com.

 

Phone Bill saving methods from your Operator

Many UK operators have international tariffs that you should research and set up. At the time of writing this article, here are the deals with UK phone operators that we found for roaming (mobile use while travelling abroad) to keep the cost of your phone bill down.

We found that O2 offers a data abroad bolt on to help you to reduce your phone bill when travelling. If you have an O2 phone and would like to find out more about international tarrifs for calling abroad, click here.

Orange offer an application to help you to control your phone bill when you are travelling abroad.  If you have a Blackberry, Android or iPhone you can download the roaming Angel  App to help keep track of your roaming costs while you are abroad.   It tells you how much you have spent so that you avoid running up a large phone bill.

Roaming Angel

Click here to reduce your phone bill with the Orange Roaming Angel

If you are on Orange and travelling in the EU, the Orange weekly EU bundle. For £19 a week, you can get 30MB of data, 50 minutes of calls and 100 texts, giving you a saving of almost £25.00 on your phone bill.

If you are a Vodaphone user, Vodaphone offer the Euro Traveller. This allows you  to take your price plan with you anywhere in the Europe zone for just £3.00 per day.

T Mobile offer Flexible Boosters which can be used to reduce your phone bill when roaming. They also offer a World Class Tariff which allows you to make calls for 55p a minute in 25 different countries.

 

Call Cards and International SIM Cards

Buying international call cards and SIM cards can make phoning from abroad on your mobile much cheaper.  It also means that you are fully in control of your spending. You can use a travel SIM card and encourage friends and family to call you on your foreign SIM using Pocketdial UK. If you are looking for an international SIM card to reduce your phone bill, click here.

 

VOIP Service providers

However, why use your mobile when you can use a VOIP (Voice over internet protocol) for free instead? Using a VOIP service provider is the best way to reduce your phone bill whilst travelling abroad.

Skype to Skype calls are free when you are both logged into Skype via your internet connection. If you already have a Yahoo, Google + or Facebook account, you can log in and begin a free video conference through these facilities.

Another option is Jajah, which doesn’t require you to download any software.  You can make calls direct from your web-browser on your smartphone, which is easy and handy if you are travelling without a laptop.

 

And Finally…

Wherever you are travelling in the world, have a fabulous trip. If you find out any new tips on reducing your phone bill when travelling, please leave your comments on our blog.