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New gadget on Indiegogo aims to kill roaming charges

28 points by mardysmith 11y ago

Gys 11y ago
You could also forward your mobile number to a virtual landline number (forwarding your number is normally supported by any provider). Then connect that landline number to a sip app on your mobile. No hardware needed.
glxc 11y ago
This is pretty cool, a project that directly addresses a problem faced by many millennial travelers including myself. A few questions that are unclear: do you still need WiFi on your phone while traveling for the service to work? The mechanism for placing calls is still unclear, as opposed to receiving calls. Republic Wireless and Google's Project Fi seem to be tackling related problems.
- mardysmith 11y ago
  From the Indiegogo page: "You can do this via WiFi (in your hotel or a cafe) or via a Data SIM card. The Roam comes with a Data SIM card where you can pre-purchase data. Alternatively you can use a local SIM card when you arrive at your destination." So it's a global sim from Strone, a local sim or WiFi.
- mardysmith 11y ago
  And... for the calling, it looks like you do that from the app too, when you're in foreign parts.
  - mattei 11y ago
    Matthew from Strone here. Yes - while your SIM is in the Roam all incoming & outgoing calls and SMS flow through the Strone app. Basically the Strone acts as your messaging and calling apps on your phone for that SIM in the Roam.
- mikestrone 11y ago
  To make a call you need to have our app installed and be able to connect to the internet. The Roam will ship with an international data SIM where you can pre-purchase data to connect to the internet. If you find a cheaper local data plan then you can use that as well.
GordonS 11y ago
Wow, great idea! I'm having yet another 'why didn't I think of that?!' moment!
- mardysmith 11y ago
  Yeah, happens to the best of us :)
Gys 11y ago
'The Strone Roam is a smart device that allows you to make and receive calls and messages on your phone in another country while eliminating roaming charges. Simply insert your SIM card into the Roam and leave it at home. While away, calls and messages will find you on our Smartphone App.' So the active sim stays at home. It needs wifi to forward any calls. Then at your destination you need wifi (internet) as well to receive them (or make them). Interesting. Although I am not sure why I would want to keep my mobile number. A similar setup for landline numbers in any country is much easier (needs no hardware and no safe location with wifi).
- mardysmith 11y ago
  I think it depends on what your lifestyle or business life is like. If you're travelling and you've got clients or employees, keeping the same number is going to be very handy.
  - Gys 11y ago
    True. But in that case I would take a landline number in the first place. Its more professional and more easy to reroute somewhere (or to somebody) else.
- josephpmay 11y ago
  I believe you don't need wifi. You just need a data SIM from the country you're visiting. And because data is so cheap in a number of European and Asian countries, this could actually be an awesome product for some people.
  - Gys 11y ago
    Correct, it does not need wifi. I was mistaken. I just looked it up again and it says it needs an ethernet cable to connect to internet.
    - mattei 11y ago
      Matthew from Strone here. Yes just use the supplied ethernet cable to connect the Roam to the internet!
rasz_pl 11y ago
VOIP for unwashed masses
- mardysmith 11y ago
  There's a lot of people out there that wouldn't know how to mess around with SIP protocols
danielsamuels 11y ago
Or join Three in the UK and get free roaming anyway. http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Phones/Feel_At_Home http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Phones/Feel_At_Home
- dagw 11y ago
  As long as you only go to one of the 18 countries included in that deal and as long as you aren't there for an "extended" time.
CPLX 11y ago
This article seems overly deferent, the tech prowess required for making this an actual pleasant and workable experience for $135 or so isn't obviously easy to obtain. The article implies that "it's not like customers are speculating on this" because they have units "almost" ready to ship. That's dubious -- nobody has tried one of these things. Just anecdotally, my experience using portable wifi hotspots, like the products from CLEAR or Boost Mobile, suggests that having a pleasant calling experience on one of these things is far from a guarantee. Getting voice calls to feel and sound non-annoying over some type of relayed data connection in a foreign country is a non-trivial problem to solve and there's no real actual evidence in this article that they've solved it. With that said I sure hope they do, I would find this product very useful. But it seems like the jury is very much out.
- mikestrone 11y ago
  Hi I look after Marketing for Strone so I'm far from the most technical person to answer your questions. We will be posting updates on Indiegogo but just to fill you in on a few things. The technology works. We have completed test calls using the hardware. We will be sending out our first batch of Beta units in a couple of weeks. Our apps are working now. I called the US last week and spoke for 40 minutes and the line was crystal clear with no delay. I would love to hear what else you would like to hear about our product?
breitling 11y ago
Check out http://roamly.com http://roamly.com Their solution is to make you pay local calling rates when you're abroad. You still get to keep your same phone number and you don't even need an internet connection to make it work. To me, that's much better than phone calls over a WiFi or a Data connection.
- mardysmith 11y ago
  Their website's down FYI
  - mikestrone 11y ago
    Hi - it's working for me????
Grue3 11y ago
Well, it's Indiegogo. Regardless of how technically feasible it is, how many of Indiegogo products you know that actually shipped?
- mikestrone 11y ago
  We are quite well advanced along the product development path. I think what we might do is capture on video a live call. Would that help?
Tinyyy 11y ago
> The campaign uses a Flexible Funding model, meaning Strone will still receive all money raised if the USD$50,000 goal isn't met. As such, backers will also receive their units. Or it means that you could not receive anything at all if they don’t have enough money to produce at a certain scale?
mattei 11y ago
Matthew from Strone here - I run Product. Feel free to ask questions, I'll check in regularly!
propersystems 11y ago
We did some analysis of Strone Roam campaign, make sure you read before backing. http://proper.systems/strone-roam-roaming-wierdness/#more-342 http://proper.systems/strone-roam-roaming-wierdness/#more-34...
propersystems 11y ago
We did some analysis of Strone Roam campaign, make sure you read before backing. http://proper.systems/strone-roam-roaming-wierdness/#more-342 http://proper.systems/strone-roam-roaming-wierdness/#more-34...
propersystems 11y ago
We did some analysis of Strone Roam campaign, make sure you read before backing. http://proper.systems/strone-roam-roaming-wierdness/#more-342 http://proper.systems/strone-roam-roaming-wierdness/#more-34...

28 points by mardysmith 11y ago

Gys 11y ago

You could also forward your mobile number to a virtual landline number (forwarding your number is normally supported by any provider). Then connect that landline number to a sip app on your mobile. No hardware needed.

glxc 11y ago

This is pretty cool, a project that directly addresses a problem faced by many millennial travelers including myself. A few questions that are unclear: do you still need WiFi on your phone while traveling for the service to work? The mechanism for placing calls is still unclear, as opposed to receiving calls. Republic Wireless and Google's Project Fi seem to be tackling related problems.

mardysmith 11y ago
From the Indiegogo page: "You can do this via WiFi (in your hotel or a cafe) or via a Data SIM card. The Roam comes with a Data SIM card where you can pre-purchase data. Alternatively you can use a local SIM card when you arrive at your destination." So it's a global sim from Strone, a local sim or WiFi.
mardysmith 11y ago
And... for the calling, it looks like you do that from the app too, when you're in foreign parts.
- mattei 11y ago
  Matthew from Strone here. Yes - while your SIM is in the Roam all incoming & outgoing calls and SMS flow through the Strone app. Basically the Strone acts as your messaging and calling apps on your phone for that SIM in the Roam.
mikestrone 11y ago
To make a call you need to have our app installed and be able to connect to the internet. The Roam will ship with an international data SIM where you can pre-purchase data to connect to the internet. If you find a cheaper local data plan then you can use that as well.

GordonS 11y ago

Wow, great idea! I'm having yet another 'why didn't I think of that?!' moment!

mardysmith 11y ago
Yeah, happens to the best of us :)

Gys 11y ago

'The Strone Roam is a smart device that allows you to make and receive calls and messages on your phone in another country while eliminating roaming charges. Simply insert your SIM card into the Roam and leave it at home. While away, calls and messages will find you on our Smartphone App.' So the active sim stays at home. It needs wifi to forward any calls. Then at your destination you need wifi (internet) as well to receive them (or make them). Interesting. Although I am not sure why I would want to keep my mobile number. A similar setup for landline numbers in any country is much easier (needs no hardware and no safe location with wifi).

mardysmith 11y ago
I think it depends on what your lifestyle or business life is like. If you're travelling and you've got clients or employees, keeping the same number is going to be very handy.
- Gys 11y ago
  True. But in that case I would take a landline number in the first place. Its more professional and more easy to reroute somewhere (or to somebody) else.
josephpmay 11y ago
I believe you don't need wifi. You just need a data SIM from the country you're visiting. And because data is so cheap in a number of European and Asian countries, this could actually be an awesome product for some people.
- Gys 11y ago
  Correct, it does not need wifi. I was mistaken. I just looked it up again and it says it needs an ethernet cable to connect to internet.
  - mattei 11y ago
    Matthew from Strone here. Yes just use the supplied ethernet cable to connect the Roam to the internet!

rasz_pl 11y ago

VOIP for unwashed masses

mardysmith 11y ago
There's a lot of people out there that wouldn't know how to mess around with SIP protocols

danielsamuels 11y ago

Or join Three in the UK and get free roaming anyway. http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Phones/Feel_At_Home http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Phones/Feel_At_Home

dagw 11y ago
As long as you only go to one of the 18 countries included in that deal and as long as you aren't there for an "extended" time.

CPLX 11y ago

This article seems overly deferent, the tech prowess required for making this an actual pleasant and workable experience for $135 or so isn't obviously easy to obtain. The article implies that "it's not like customers are speculating on this" because they have units "almost" ready to ship. That's dubious -- nobody has tried one of these things. Just anecdotally, my experience using portable wifi hotspots, like the products from CLEAR or Boost Mobile, suggests that having a pleasant calling experience on one of these things is far from a guarantee. Getting voice calls to feel and sound non-annoying over some type of relayed data connection in a foreign country is a non-trivial problem to solve and there's no real actual evidence in this article that they've solved it. With that said I sure hope they do, I would find this product very useful. But it seems like the jury is very much out.

mikestrone 11y ago
Hi I look after Marketing for Strone so I'm far from the most technical person to answer your questions. We will be posting updates on Indiegogo but just to fill you in on a few things. The technology works. We have completed test calls using the hardware. We will be sending out our first batch of Beta units in a couple of weeks. Our apps are working now. I called the US last week and spoke for 40 minutes and the line was crystal clear with no delay. I would love to hear what else you would like to hear about our product?

breitling 11y ago

Check out http://roamly.com http://roamly.com Their solution is to make you pay local calling rates when you're abroad. You still get to keep your same phone number and you don't even need an internet connection to make it work. To me, that's much better than phone calls over a WiFi or a Data connection.

mardysmith 11y ago
Their website's down FYI
- mikestrone 11y ago
  Hi - it's working for me????

Grue3 11y ago

Well, it's Indiegogo. Regardless of how technically feasible it is, how many of Indiegogo products you know that actually shipped?

mikestrone 11y ago
We are quite well advanced along the product development path. I think what we might do is capture on video a live call. Would that help?

Tinyyy 11y ago

> The campaign uses a Flexible Funding model, meaning Strone will still receive all money raised if the USD$50,000 goal isn't met. As such, backers will also receive their units. Or it means that you could not receive anything at all if they don’t have enough money to produce at a certain scale?

mattei 11y ago

Matthew from Strone here - I run Product. Feel free to ask questions, I'll check in regularly!

propersystems 11y ago

We did some analysis of Strone Roam campaign, make sure you read before backing. http://proper.systems/strone-roam-roaming-wierdness/#more-342 http://proper.systems/strone-roam-roaming-wierdness/#more-34...

propersystems 11y ago