Love in the time of the worldwide web

Love, or specifically, telecommuting love affair is more possible than ever in the time of the worldwide web. We're lucky we live in this time and age.

Many say globalization has allowed the world to shrink. The number of people who go out of their respective countries to work, study or migrate to another has been on the rise. I am one of those statistic. Mr. Bargainhunter is another. Over periods of time, walls of separation defined our circumstance. We brought each other's hearts (though that sounds ewwww sweet), if not each other's company across Asia, Europe, and North America, until the weeks we get to be together again. I remember one time calling him at 4am his time bcoz i can't sleep on my side of the world.

Email, YM, Skype are our staples. But that presupposes both of us are online (this was before skype introduced unlimited pC-phone offers). What about if one or both are not connected to the net? Yes, this entry is devoted to all the wire and wireless techonologies we have used to keep the communication going.

1. 02 Handy* Fone. I subscribed to 02, a mobile company that offers (1) unlimited calls to landlines and 02 numbers across Germany, and (2) a landline number (on my mobile) when I am within the 1 km perimeter of my home (or any place I've registered) zone. Since it's cheaper for Mr. Bargainhunter to call a landline, having a landline number on my handy phone was really neat!

2. Smart Prepaid Roaming Cell* Phone. Both Mr. Bargainhunter and I had and still have handsets powered by the Philippines' Smart Prepaid SIMs. Advantages: (a) remains on roaming mode until such time you roam it off; (b) you only need to have it topped up with at least 30 PhP (.50 euro) every half a year!; (c) practical - receiving SMS is free and if the sender is from the Philippines it only costs her 1 PhP per message (d) can accept SMS through Chikka, for free. Disadvatanges: can't receive calls, but what the heck. that's too much to expect for such a low maintenance phone.

************When in the departure area, about 30 mins before boarding, type in "ROAM ON" and send to 333. When back to the Philippines, just type in "ROAM OFF" to 333.************

3. Chikka. If somehow, I get to meet the developers of Chikka, I'd treat them to a real homecooked meal! This program allows you to send free 70 SMS alone to Philippine cellphones EACH DAY! And more than 100 SMS to other destinations, like the US, UK, Spain, Italy and HK, each day too. If you don't have one of the chikka-recognized SIM, you can also receive SMS replies through a number chikka gives you.

4. Mobivox. This is a VOIP service which provides local access numbers in selected countries. Using my 02 handy then, I call a Mobivox local access number in Germany which connects me to Mr Bargainhunter's phone in Canada, and vice versa. We only had our time difference to worry about and not long distance bills. How's that for a change?

5. There were many other experiments whose services were really great for a time. But failed to deliver later on. But since for a while they were great too I'd mention them: Lycatel phonecard, Voipstunt and Voipzoom.

6. Peterzahlt. This is also one supreme moneysaver for making long distance calls. I login to peterzahlt, it asks me my number and the number of the person I wish to call. My phone rings, and when I pick up, the other party's phone rings too. Voila, free call galore! This only works for calls originationg from Germany, as of this writing, though.

7. Jajah. So far this is the best VOIP service for calls to the Philippines that I have tried. It gives good rates, clarity of audio and rebates! AOL seems to offer cheaper rates than Jajah, but haven't tried yet. If you have, let me know.

8. Online New York /HK/German Number. I used to have online German and Hongkong landline numbers but for now I just maintain the New York one, albeit I am not in New York. How do I do it? I bought a number from Skype. This number is really practical because I can bring it anywhere I am so long as I am connected to the net. Since calls from anywhere to the US are cheap, my callers don't find it financially draining to contact me. And it is also not so expensive for me either to buy that number, which needs to be renewed in a year's time.

And I should not forget one thing. Writing love letters and sending them through the post office remains to be the number 1 way to keep in touch, even in the age of the worldwide web.


*handy to Germany is what's mobile/cellphone to other parts of the world