Poke Talk and other callaround services when using a cell phone
 

Re: this posting on another thread:
<blue>valtor on Apr 25, 09 at 12:36 AM
To call overseas, use www.poketalk.com
This gives you 50 FREE calls per month, each of them of 10 minutes. You enter this site, write there your phone number and where you call and then you speak from your phone.</blue>

I use T-Mobile when in Europe, so both incoming and outgoing calls are $0.99/min.
I am fuzzy on understanding how the call-around services work, rather how it avoids causing me the $0.99/min charge from T-Mobile as soon as I activate a call using the call-around.

The aforementioned 'Poke Talk' site calls your phone, then connects you to the 'destination' phone and you can talk for 10 minutes for free. How does this get around the T-Mobile charge, or does it? Help me 'get it', please..?

Bookmarking-I want to see answers to this
one also and hope you get some replies.

It does not get you around the T-Mobile charge, how could it?. When you use a mobile, you would want a SIM with free incoming calls for callback or a SIM with low or no costs the access their local/national/0-800 dial-through number.

T-Mobile USA does not offer a suitable SIM.

>the access
to access

I don't have any experience with PokeTalk, but I did read everything on their website. Unless I'm misunderstanding their presentation, here are a couple of things I noticed:

You're still assessed roaming charges by your mobile carrier.

Depending on your home country and the country you are calling, PokeTalk does not necessarily support mobile-to-mobile calls. For example, it seems that if you're using a U.S. mobile phone, you can only call landline numbers in Europe. What's not clear to me is whether PokeTalk supports your U.S. mobile phone while in Europe or, if supported, whether the call is actually free. Click on "Destinations" and compare the "Free" and "Pro" accounts.

Also, they say they won't "sell" your phone number, but there's nothing in their policy that says they won't "share" information. PokeTalk will collect the data about your calling patterns, supposedly to help them "improve service."

duh. ok. good for SIM card users. Thanks!