Need advice on owning a 2nd cell phone

[spacecadet]

@EB, FONGO is completely free.. No billing,no emails (except when initially set up). The only thing you pay for is if you want international calling or text messaging. And you do get a valid local number so you are reachable anytime your app is turned on just as a real phone. So agency owners shouldn't have a problem with it. I just Google one of my two fongo numbers and got same results as my regular cell number.

To me, it's a no brainer. It's free and less chance of getting caught than a physical 2nd phone.

 

[EagerBeaver]

And how much did your friend pay? because I have to change mine soon, the battery is going bad, and since I rarely use it, I don't want to spend a lot.

Foobarator,

He paid more than he needed to, and the reason why is somewhat complicated. In the weeks prior to the trip my friend told me his US prepaid phone was shot and he needed a new one. Our debate then focused on whether he should buy US prepaid vs. Canadian prepaid. Because he hobbies in various US cities to which he travels on business and is not often in Canada, I had suggested he get a US prepaid. He agreed. Unfortunately due to shit happening/procrastination, he did not get one before our trip. So on the drive to Montreal he told me we would have to go buy one as soon as we arrived in Montreal. We arrived in Montreal and checked in at our downtown hotel at 3:30 p.m. and we did not have a lot of time because we had to exchange our money, buy gifts for his kids, get the phone, shower, eat dinner, and then walk about 10 blocks to get to the Good Girls party location. There was a lot of pressure to scramble and get shit done. So we went to a few downtown stores.

In the final analysis I think he paid around $50-$60 for the phone which was purchased in one of the downtown malls, plus whatever money he put on it, so I think he ended up paying around $80-$90 total. I am sure if you go to the Walmart in Lasalle there is a much cheaper selection of phones. We, being tourists trapped by time limitations and geographical constraints, did not have the luxury of shopping for reasonable alternatives.

Don't feel sorry for my friend though, he makes well into 6 figures and it did not put much of a dent in his wallet. He will also be able to use the phone if we return to Montreal as expected in February for the next GG party.

 

[foobarator]

Thanks, EB, I figured $50-$80 was pretty much the price for a dirt cheap phone.

But I been thinking I might get an unlocked Samsung (android) from an internet store.

I really don't have a need for it though, but about a year ago I was with a favorite stripper of mine (Estelle), man do I miss her :/ and a song started playing and I liked it quite a lot. So I asked her if she knew the name. Told me she didn't but got her phone, started an application and bang! : Madonna's new song. I though it was great! very cool really, just 10 seconds & voilà.

Other than playing with it like a toy, I just don't use phones that much. I'll compare prices I see what I get.

 

[YoungBob]

Told me she didn't but got her phone, started an application and bang! : Madonna's new song.

I know of two Android applications that do this. They are SOUNDHOUND and SHAZAM. They both work incredibly well.

YoungBob

 

[IamNY]

I just downloaded the Iphone app Line 2. For $10 per month you have a second phone that works on your current cell phone. You get 1500 minutes of talk time and unlimited texting. You can pretty much get any area code including those in Canada. It works on wifi or from your data plan (i would only use the data if I'm in the states to avoid international roaming). It's perfect for me because I don't have to carry two phones, it works anywhere I have internet access, one low fee of $10 per month, and it can save me a ton of $$ avoiding all of the international fees. The downside, you have to have internet access or it doesn't work. But, with so many wifi hotspots available, your never really out of touch for long. I've found that it works perfectly for hobbying in Montreal.

 

[nylonlover]

thx 4 everyone's advice. You have all given so much info, that i still don't know what to do.
My main purpose of having a 2nd line/phone is to separate my 2 lives, but also to keep my identity in tact, especially in this era where SPs and some agencies don't bother nowadays with blocked calls, which used to be my preferred course of action when calling to book.

 

[warmtouch]

There's been a lot of good advice here, but I'm still not sure what to do.

In my case, I'm an American who travels to Canada once or twice a year. I'm planning on heading to Montreal next (first visit). I've traditionally just used my US phone (Verizon) but I'm tired of all the crazy roaming charges I end up with. I also don't have a texting plan since the only time I ever text is when I'm in Canada making appointments with SPs. So I've been thinking of getting a pre-paid phone just for those occasional trips. Using an app wouldn't help me a lot because I'd ever have to find free wi-fi access or suffer data roaming charges, both of which are a pain to deal with.

Since I've got a Verizon phone changing the sim card definitely won't work. Am I better off going to Walmart here in the US and getting a cheap pre-paid phone and dealing with the roaming charges with that? Or buying a pre-paid once I get to Canada? I'll be driving so I have the option to go to places away from the tourist centers. I'm looking for a little bit of privacy so that family and friends don't stumble on a random txt message when borrowing the phone, but I don't need to go through so much trouble to hide it and I don't care what the government thinks.

Any suggestions?

 

[jacep]

i would recomend https://www.g3wireless.com/global-roaming-simcard.aspx which has low annual renewal fee/costs/top-up for prepaid and get a canadien phone number.

most canadien prepaid companies charge $100 airtime top up to keep the phone for a year. a $20 top up will give you maybe 30 days airtime usage with most prepaid companies and if after your expiration date you don't top up, after ~30-60 days you have to purchase a new sim card which most canadien prepaid companies charge $10 for sim card.

for my recomendation, you will need an unlocked phone that uses the bell/rogers/at&t/telus 3G network since G3 doesnt support the gsm band and it doesnt support the tmobile bands or the videotron or wind bands.

 

[greenacres99]

Any suggestions?

I asked a similar question and settled on the Gophone from AT&T. It works in Montreal no problem. The cheapest phones can be had for less than $10. The usage rates in Canada are higher than in the US, but do you really spend hours on the phone with a booker? Depending on how much you use it, it will cost about $100 to maintain the phone for a year. The cheapest, easiest most consistent option I could find for making calls in Canada.

https://merb.cc/vbulletin/showthrea...hone-that-works-in-Montreal&highlight=gophone

 

[warmtouch]

Do you have a smartphone? And can you get by with using in Canada when you have a wireless signal?

I have a smartphone and I've been using free wi-fi in previous visits but I find it to be pretty impractical trying to find a hotspot all the time. I've had appointment problems as a result and want to get away from relying on wi-fi.

Thanks for the suggestions, jacep and greenacres99. I'll take a close look at them both.

I do have one other possibility that I forgot about. I bought a phone in the UK when I was out there a couple of years back that I topped up in December. Anyone know if a UK Virgin Mobile service would be practical in Canada? Or if nothing else, would I be able to swap sim cards with that phone?

 

[jacep]

Anyone know if a UK Virgin Mobile service would be practical in Canada? Or if nothing else, would I be able to swap sim cards with that phone?

if uk virgin mobile prepaid has roaming in canada i wouldnt get or use a non north american mobile service to call agencys or indys or to tex them. roaming with prepaid is generaly expensive ex t-mobile prepaid is i think about $0.60 per minute to use in canada compare that with $0.10 per minute to use the same phone in the usa and rogers prepaid is $2 per minute to use in the usa compare with $0.30 to use saem phone in canada.

i feel that most agencys and indies won't tex back to a non north american number because it might be expensive or joke. some wont tex a number that is not a montreal number for same reason but this is more rare then not texing a number that is not north american.