RSSNational Geographic Offers Cell Phone
By Nate Mook | Published February 21, 2007, 3:19 PM
Wednesday marked an unusual entrant into the mobile phone space: National Geographic. The organization launched what it calls the "Talk Abroad Travel Phone," which is designed for individuals circling the globe. But worldwide roaming doesn't come cheap at 90 cents per minute.
National Geographic joined up with Playa del Rey, Calif. company Cellular Abroad to provide the service that works across borders by picking up local cellular carriers in over 100 countries. The phone number will stay the same in all locations, and the handset utilizes GSM technology, which is prevalent throughout South America and Europe.
In addition, the Talk Abroad Travel Phone offers a dedicated toll-free number to reach Cellular Abroad's 24/7 customer support service.
"Students, vacationers, business travelers and our own explorers and photographers can now stay connected with this affordable travel phone and SIM card, while they seek to understand and experience our world," remarked John Dumbacher, senior vice president of licensing for National Geographic.
However, such capability isn't new, and National Geographic may have a hard time breaking into a market where third-party providers that don't have their own networks have struggled to compete. All major United States wireless carriers offer international roaming, with GSM providers T-Mobile and Cingular already enabling users to take their phones with them.
Pricing for the Talk Abroad Travel Phone is $199 USD, which includes 30 minutes of outgoing talk time. A SIM-card only option is available for those with GSM phones that costs $79 USD and includes 30 minutes of talk time. Additional minutes can be purchased for 90 cents each. Prices from T-Mobile and Cingular vary by country, ranging from 20 cents to up to $3.
Incoming calls to the National Geographic phone or SIM card, however, will be free. In comparison, incoming calls when roaming with T-Mobile and Cingular are charged the country-specific international roaming rates and can end up being quite expensive.
The National Geographic Talk Abroad Travel phone will be available starting next month at Cellular Abroad's Web site.
Incoming calls aren't free - they are paid for by the caller. Up to 50 cents or more a minute!
Callers have to dial a Lichtenstein mobile number.
NG would have been better off using my company which just last week launched an international roaming card with U.S. phone numbers at savings of 50 to 90% over what Cingular or T-Mobile charges to roam internationally.
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|An item overlooked by your reporters; unlike conventional international roaming with T-Mobile, Cingular and Verizon, they also offer free incoming calls in 65 countries. No other domestic carrier offers you free incoming calls, not even when you are here in the USA.
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|Free incoming calls are a standard practice in Europe.
And T-Mobile is owned by Deutsche Telekom.
Oh...
Global roaming at 90 cents a minute! Sign me up! That financial model makes almost as much sense as an Iridium phone! Haha!
Sorry National Geographic...but I suspect your phone is headed the same way so many of the animals featured in your magazine are headed...
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|I am referring of course to domestic carriers, they charge you for incoming minutes here as well as overseas.
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|So...I am assuming they are distinguishable from the domestic carriers here who are not in the US?
;-))
If you travel simply get a phone there along with appropriate local SIM cards and save a bundle. And if you need to call home, simply use Skype.
The only market their phone will attract are the 'socially conscience' in the US who are Clueless as to how international wireless (and so many other things!) works. ...But on the other hand, considering how many of them there are, maybe the phone will be a great success!
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|Well, yes, if you feel like going across Europe with 50 phone numbers, or a computer.
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|Seems you missed the second to last paragraph :)
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|You obviously haven't done it.
As I suspected, the market seems ripe for this phone! There are plenty of Very knowledgeable folks in the US who will be lining up for it.
Impress your European friends with it...I suspect they will be polite and just smile.
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