Maxroam (aka Roam4Free V2)

[SKO]

Andy: valid critique but overly cynical. Instead of just having a go at us for trying to do something why not give it a go. If it doesn't work for you and we charge you more money than alternatives then let us know.

Sure we leverage the blogs and the internet to get attention. We're just a small company in the south of Ireland how else are we supposed to do it? Take out a multi-million dollar marketing campaign?

Anyone who is reading this and isn't immediately cynical please feel free to e-mail me with your address at "sean(dot)omahony(at)cubicmobile(dot)com" and I'll send you a free SIM.

If you think it's crap then by all means rip us to pieces. If you think we could improve it then please let us know your thoughts but don't just trach the idea without giving us a fair go.

[emka]

For my needs the product looks at first sight very interesting. But since it's totally new there aren't any experience reports out yet and I don't want to buy a pig in a poke.

I will travel in November to Japan for two weeks and need an international Sim. When a competitor started to sell a new product I decided to get it (UM+). Soon afterwards I had to learn that it won't work in Japan as advertised, the country disappeared without announcements from the rate sheet.

In the MAXroam FAQ it is mentioned that costs depend on "where you are and who you are calling". However at the calculator it is only possible to choose the location of the caller but not the destination of the call. So I am not sure on the costs (for example what it costs to call from Japan an Austrian mobile).

Only time and experience reports will tell whether it is "crap" or something everyone wants to get.

[plunderisley]

Hmm, actually might be good in some countries with the calls from the USA.
One less company to route my number through

[Przemolog]

Originally Posted by andy

Well, don't forget that this is inclusive of call forwarding from a landline DID, so that's hardly to be expected. Effectively, it's reversing the caller pays theme, but someone still has to.

Of course, other SIMs at least give you the chance to set up a cheaper route for yourself, if you can find one.

Hmmm, I think that adding landline DIDs to the international SIM isn't a bad idea especially for RPP-obsessed US customers . However, I also think that the best solution is to join the CPP and RPP billing in one SIM with a mobile CPP number and free incoming calls in plenty countries and DID(s) forwarded to that number. Globalsim.de (business tariff) and Yackie version with Manx SIMs (and 09 too?) are the examples.

Maxroam seems to be landline-only numbered SIM like VoiceSIM or Yackie with Israeli SIMs. Personally, I don't suppose it will be a good deal at least when to compare with eurotariff, as Andy has already mentioned.

BTW, what is a mobile number for Maxroam SMSing? An Irish one?

[MATHA531]

Excuse my ignorance...

What is a RPP-obsessed US customers ?

[andy]

http://www.cubictelecom.com/faq/

Using his Cubic Mobile on GSM: Roaming connection: $0.29 per minute; International connection to USA: US $0.42; Total cost: US ($0.29 + $0.42 * 12) = US $9.23 (€6.25)

compare, from Australia

http://www.maxroam.com/how-much-does-it-cost.asp

Apart from the dodgy maths, which is correct, 71 or 77 US cents, or 33 eurocents?

[Przemolog]

Originally Posted by MATHA531

Excuse my ignorance...

What is a RPP-obsessed US customers ?

OK, I used wrong words. RPP is a side-effect, not your target, of course .
My general impression from posts on this forum regarding the use of mobile phones abroad is that you, the US people, for some reasons are "obsessed" about being accessible on US phone numbers. That's why SIMs that provide US DID numbers with relatively low-cost forwarding to "real" SIM numbers are what you need. All this results in RPP payment model....

[Bossman]

I think the reason for that is so that most people that call us do not have to fiddle with dialing an international number. A lot of folks on this end get confused when they see they have to dial so many numbers. Most have never even dialed an international number. So, IMHO, having a US number for forwarding or aa sim with a US number is very attractive. Hence, the reason why most of us jumped on the yackie bandwagon in the beggining. Or look for a US DID number/VOIP that can forward internationally.

Originally Posted by Przemolog

OK, I used wrong words. RPP is a side-effect, not your target, of course .
My general impression from posts on this forum regarding the use of mobile phones abroad is that you, the US people, for some reasons are "obsessed" about being accessible on US phone numbers. That's why SIMs that provide US DID numbers with relatively low-cost forwarding to "real" SIM numbers are what you need. All this results in RPP payment model....

[harryb]

Originally Posted by SKO

Anyone who is reading this and isn't immediately cynical please feel free to e-mail me with your address at "sean(dot)omahony(at)cubicmobile(dot)com" and I'll send you a free SIM.
.

Too bad that user name is unknown by that server.


Although they can't spend the big bucks on ads, they must have a great PR person who got David Pogue of the New York Times to write a feature article on MaxRoam in Thursdays paper. He gave the concept a rave review and only in the last few sentences did he reflect the reality of what is actually provided.

harryb

[MATHA531]

Originally Posted by harryb

Too bad that user name is unknown by that server.


Although they can't spend the big bucks on ads, they must have a great PR person who got David Pogue of the New York Times to write a feature article on MaxRoam in Thursdays paper. He gave the concept a rave review and only in the last few sentences did he reflect the reality of what is actually provided.

harryb

Here's the link for the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/te...ref=technology

Quite an interesting article but obviously the author has little experience with international roaming....he is amazed, for example, that in order to make a call you have to dial the number, wait for a callback, and listen to a voice saying please wait while we complete your call! And he is absolutely fascinated that you have the ability to take a T Mobile US or AT&T phone, provided it is unlocked, switch the sim cards and you now have a phone with a different worldwise number...how revolutinary...I wonder why others haven't thought of that (he also neglects to discuss the frequency issue and that a cheap T Mo and AT&T phone lacking both 900 and 1800 will not work in Europe and that a phone lacking one or the other might not work in certain places)....he also gives the caveat that calls travel over the internet and your call will be perfectly understandable but slightly muffled with a delay (nobody ever mentions that calls made with those calling cards that give loads of minutes for next to nothing also travel that way).

But it is an interesting article worth taking a look at.