In Reply to: Another phone question...sorry! posted by Butter on Tuesday, 2. July 2013 at 20:12 Bali Time:
I've just returned from 1 month Vietnam, Thailand and Bali.
I took, and used a LOCKED Optus Samsung Galaxy S11 and used it everywhere at NO cost!...my wife also used an unlocked Samsung S111...neither of us paid a cent!
Firstly turn off "global roaming" and "deactivate data"...the deactivate data link appears when you press your on and off button and you can use free WIFI (which is everywhere) to contact friends via Viber, Tango or Skype at no cost...you are simply using the free WIFI data.
Tango also has face to face (video) capability.
Most hotels, cafes, restaurants and bars have free WIFI just ask for the password...some connections can be a bit slow and sometimes you might drop out, just find another one that is faster.
Both myself and close personal contacts had all downloaded the Viber and/ or Tango app. for smartphones...these apps will automatically search for your friends with these apps and put them in your contacts list.
I also used Skype which I had pre loaded with credit using my credit card.
Skype to Skype is free, Skype to any mobile number is approx. $1 per minute, but Skype to any landline is very cheap..eg I rang a Sydney landline from Bali , talked for 5 minutes and the cost was 29 cents.
I would suggest that you and your friends download the above prior to leaving and get used to using it.