Cutting on Long Distance Calls (Part 2 of 2)

I super love the Internet! It has definitely been very instrumental in making our lives soooo much easier and cost efficient. There are a plethora (Yessss naman deep) of means to help make communication easier for LDR couples out there.

Here are the Internet-based means we are actively using to cut on communication costs…

Chikka.com

Dodong brought both his Globe and Sun phones activating his International Roaming. So what we do is that I get to text him on his roaming phones with regular costs (Php 1 per text for Globe and Php 0 for Sun since I am on text unlimited), while he replies to me using chikka text for FREE! He gets to use Chikka since his job is desk-based (well, most of the time) so he definitely has internet access…more importantly, Chikka access! Dodong gets 30 Globe credits (ak.a. texts) and 20 Sun credits per day from Chikka. So pretty cool right?

Just make sure you don't end up replying to the chikka text because you will be charged Php 2.50 per text. Hehehe. Though replying to Chikka, gives the sender additional 2 credits per reply.

Yahoo! Messenger

It was actually Dodong who introduced me to Yahoo! Messenger (YM) eons ago. So now we get to chat almost everyday…as long as I would be plastered to my desk it would be fine. Buti na lang YM ids could also be used in Windows Live (which is the only licensed instant messenger at work). Also, I'm thankful that YM could still be accessed via Yahoo! Mail now.

Well, of course, when I am home (and not paying for the Internet bill), I get to chat for as long as I want. Hehehehe.

Yahoo! Messenger Voice Chat

Thanks to this new feature we do get to hear each other's voice for FREE! Well, it's a bit awkward to do voice chat in the office. So, we do it when I am in the privacy of my own home. Preferably, in my room since there are things that I'd want to discuss with Dodong in private. All the two of you need are headphones with a microphone and you are ready to go.

A bit of a problem with YM voice chat is the internet signal in Dubai. It actually sucks so there are "choppy" moments we experience when doing voice chat. But I guess we are kind of used to the sucky Sun cellular signal so natitiis na din namin. Libre naman e!

Skype

I've heard of Skype from friends and colleagues who are also in LDRs. Hmmm honestly, we haven't tried Skype since apparently it is banned / blocked in the UAE. Is there any truth to that? I'm really not sure on that.

Any more means I don't know just yet? Share! Share! Share!
Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay

Love the distance,

Inday I. Nagintay