LIFESTYLE 11
Luc Deflorenne (archives)
05
BE PATIENT “When you’re abroad, don’t open emails with large attachments if it isn’t urgent,” says Luis Camara, marketing director at Tango. “Downloading photos and big files uses a lot of data, so unless it’s absolutely necessary, wait till you’re in a place with Wi-Fi.” Retrieve emails manually. “Or, if you have an iPhone, you can also set the ‘push’ mode for loading emails to once an hour or once a day even,” adds Pisano.
Mobile phone providers are aware that customers today need options compatible with travelling--and even more so in Luxembourg. All of them therefore offer special plans which include roaming minutes. “The most important thing is to be well informed,” insists Camara. “Tell your provider what your specific needs are and you’ll get the best solutions. It’s often possible to get a special package with only what you want.”
Robert Scoble/Creative Commons
09
08
Olivier Minaire (archives)
the case for example for Manifone (manifone.com) or Rebtel (rebtel.com), but a Google search will list you many more possibilities. For texting, use WhatsApp Messenger (whatsapp. com), a free cross-platform mobile app allowing you to text without having to pay for SMSes no matter your location. Finally, get a special app to compress the amount of data you use. The free app Onavo (onavo.com) for example compresses apps like Facebook so you can extend your data plan by up to five times.
There are a number of apps that can help you keep the costs down in different ways, whether phoning, sending texts or browsing the internet. One of the most popular ones today is Viber (viber.com), which allows you to make free calls and send free texts to other Viber users no matter where you are. There is also the obvious choice of using Skype (skype. com) or a whole lot of other VoIP services (for which you will need a Wi-Fi or 3G connection), some proposing to slash your call fees by up to 90 percent. This is
Derek A.R./Creative Commons
07
GET TO KNOW THE APPS
10
Sean Lamb/Creative Commons
KNOW YOUR NEEDS
Sam Michel/Creative Commons
Thomas Benkö/Creative Commons
06
CHECK YOUR LOCATION
DON’T WATCH VIDEOS
USE SOCIAL MEDIA APPS
BEWARE OF HOTSPOTS
Mobile roaming doesn’t only happen when you cross borders. Sometimes your phone will switch automatically to another network if you’re close to a border--which, let’s face it, you often are here in Luxembourg. To avoid this, and the extra costs linked to it, change your network access to manual.
Watching videos once you’ve crossed a border is an absolute no-no unless you have a lot of money to spare. “Videos swallow up data like nothing else, so abroad is definitely not the place to browse on YouTube or stream movies,” states Pisano. If you do have an urge to watch pictures in motion or download music, wait till you are Wi-Fi connected.
“If you use the apps for websites like Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin, you use less data than if you go through an internet browser,” explains Pisano. This being said, unless you watch videos there, your Facebook addiction won’t cost you a lot. “Simply looking at your friend’s statuses won’t use up much data,” underlines Camara.
“Hotspots may seem a good idea, but it’s not always the case,” says Orange’s Pisano. “First of all, they’re not always free and sometimes you end up paying for much more than you actually use.” Points out Tango’s Camara: “It always takes quite a lot of time to log on to and there’s also the issue of security. Hotspots don’t always protect your data very well.” NOVEMBER 2012
51