Studying abroad is a fun experience -- new language, new country, new friends, new food! -- but the everyday luxury of chatting on a cell phone in a foreign country can be very expensive and leave you feeling out of the loop! Since international cell phone plans and calling cards may empty your travel fund faster than you thought, to save you stress and a few euro, yen (or whatever currency you're using!), this week's installment of
Back to School with Voxox is all about how Voxox can help you, and other adventurous students studying abroad, keep in touch with friends, family and fellow classmates without spending a fortune!
Image Source: content.thoughtequity.com
Last week we posted part 1 of Back to School with Voxox: How to Stay in Touch While Away at College, which highlights cool Voxox features for students living in the states, but this week's features are just for those spending a semester across the pond, Down Under, or anywhere else in the world! Check out these 5 must-have Voxox features for students studying abroad...
1. Universal Translator
Meeting new people and learning the native language is part of the studying abroad experience, but when you're chatting online or via text and don't understand what your friends are saying or know how to respond, carrying on a conversation can get a little tricky! Luckily, Voxox's
Universal Translator lets you hold a 2-way translated conversation (in more than 50 languages!) across your favorite chat and social networks, SMS and email. Oh, and the best part is that it's not only available on your desktop -- leave that foreign phrase dictionary at home because you can also use the Universal Translator with the Voxox Call iPhone app for
translation on-the-go!
2. Voxox Call Connect SMS
If you think cell phone plans in the U.S. are expensive (we sure do!), just wait til you venture out of the states... the rates will blow your mind! To save yourself mucho dinero, use Voxox Call Connect SMS (a nifty service that lets you connect your new local cell phone number to your Voxox account). Once you've authorized your local cell phone number with Voxox, all you do is send a text message to our special Voxox Call Connect number with the phone number you want to call in the body of the text message. Then, Voxox Call Connect will give you a ring back, complete with your friend on the other end ready to chat! The reason this is so great is that in most countries inbound calls to your cell phone are free, no matter where they are coming from. So, with this helpful feature neither you, nor your friend has to make an expensive outbound call on your local cell phone -- both of you get inbound calls while Voxox makes the outbound calls for just a few pennies per minute.
Check out the full instructions here.
3. Text Internationally for Cheap (or Free!) with Voxox Call for iPhone
Wi-Fi is available almost anywhere, and most of the time it's free... or the price of a coffee at the corner bistro, so why not use it to send text messages for super cheap? With
Voxox Call app for iPhone, you can turn off data roaming and calling, and instead use the
SMS feature of your Voxox Call iPhone app in combination with local Wi-Fi hotspots to send texts. Outgoing texts are just 2 pennies a pop to any location around the world, and inbound texts are free! Your friends back home will be happy you learned to say... "Café, s'il vous plaît!" P.S. Read about how one of our Voxox team members
saved $300 by texting over Wi-Fi while abroad.
4. Video Chat
No matter how far away you are from the faces and places you love most, connect in real-time with Voxox video chat. Invite your friends and family to
download Voxox to their desktop (if they haven't already!) so you can enjoy free face-to-face conversation... and don't forget to show off your new dorm room while you're at it!
5. Share Giant Files All Over the World
Did you capture an amazing video clip of your experience abroad you want to show your parents back home or need to share a large PowerPoint with your classmates, but the file is just too big to email? Voxox has a solution for that -- the ability to
share 100 MB files with anyone, on any network! Just upload your file and Voxox will create a short URL where the file can be accessed and downloaded. You can send this link via chat, email, or text message to any of your Voxox contacts... for free!
We hope you find these features useful when it comes to keeping in touch internationally and saving some cash for your travels! Have a great experience abroad and be sure to share your personal international communication tips with us — comment right here or connect with us on the Voxox
Facebook or
Twitter page!