cell phones

[ALAN GUTMAN]

I’m quite soon flying to Spain and months later to Ecuador and central america so I’m wondering what phone to purchase now for spain that would also be useable in Ecuador sim cards there.

Also I’ve become aware of the callback services vs direct call services and would appreciate any feedback about that w/r to ecuador.

And is there just one cell service in ecuador or is there one best found to be most reliable? Appreciate your recommendations

Thank you!

[EI EXPERT – EDD STATON]

Alan, it would probably be easiest to just buy a cheap phone when you get to Ecuador and add minutes as you need them. I have no idea what callback services vs. direct call services means. There are two providers, Claro & Movistar. Some people have a phone for each because calling from one service to the other is about 3 times more expensive per minute.

[COUNTRY EXPERT- SUZAN HASKINS]

I used a callback service 10 years ago in Mexico — worked well. But now with Skype, Magic jack, etc. I no longer have need for a callback service. If you won’t have a laptop and ONLY have a cellphone, you might want a callback service…

[DAVID STONE]

We bought a cheap cell phone for $45. It worked well and carried a MagicJack Plus for calls back to the US and to other MJ people in Ecuador. Make sure you have both cell companies activated on the cell phone!

[JENNIFER WRIGHT]

what about texts from US phones and back to US? thanks

[EI EXPERT – EDD STATON]

That’s not happening with local service. IM on Skype, Facebook, Google, etc. substitutes.

[COUNTRY EXPERT- SUZAN HASKINS]

I can text my son in the U.S. from my cheapo Ecuador cellphone. No problem. I’m sure it costs more but I don’t pay much attention because I rarely use my phone. I plug $5 worth of time into it every two months or so. I am far more apt to use Skype or Magic Jack from home. When I am out and about, I prefer to ‘savor the moment’ and not be chatting/texting on the phone. 🙂

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