National Geographic's Talk Abroad global phone
This phone looks so boring, we can't actually look straight at it -- we kinda have to aim our eyes just right or left of it and take it in with our peripheral vision. Then again, gearheads don't appear to be the target demo sought out by Cellular Abroad with its new National Geographic-branded Talk Abroad candybar; the upshot here is keeping global roaming relatively cheap and simple (as in, prepaid simple) on an equally simple, no-frills handset. For your hard-earned $199, you get the phone (a quadband GSM piece -- we'd expect no less when they're playing up the global angle here), a set of plug adapters for whatever countries the average National Geographic reader might visit, a UK-based phone number, and thirty minutes of outgoing talk time. Best of all, incoming calls are allegedly free of charge in 65 countries, though the countries aren't spelled out. Look for the Talk Abroad handset to ship next month; if you've got it in your heart to accept an exceptionally uninteresting cellphone, that is.[Via Mobilewhack]












Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Michael Pearson @ Feb 22nd 2007 10:37AM
If it's GSM, can't you just swap out the SIM card into a much cooler phone?
Hoopla @ Feb 22nd 2007 4:48PM
Looks like you can just buy a sim for $59 right now.
http://www.cellularabroad.com/cellAbroadppsc.php
Free incoming calls anywhere in Europe (and China) is a pretty good deal - too bad the outgoing rates are so high ($.97 within "zone 1").
I've never heard of a package with free incoming calls for roaming before.
CAROLEISH @ Sep 30th 2007 10:45AM
I PURCHASED THIS PHONE FOR MY GRANDDAUGHTER BECAUSE SHE WAS GOING TO DENMARK TO STUDY FOR 6 MONTHS. FOR THE LAST THREE WEEKS IT HAS NOT WORKED AT ALL, AFTER COMPLAINING, THEY SENT OUT A NEW CHARGER,,,IT STILL DOES NOT WORK. WHEN I CALLED TODAY THEY TOLD ME THAT N,G. WAS HAVE DIFFICULTIES AND IT WOULD BE TWO MORE DAYS BEFORE IT IS STRAIGHTENED OUT. WE PURCHASED THIS SO THIS STUDENT WOULD HAVE A DEPENDABLE PHONE,THIS HAS NOT LIVED UP TO ITS ADVERTISEMENT. FOR ALL THIS INCONVENIENCE, AT LEAST SOME MINUTES SHOULD BE FREE AND IF IT STILL DOES NOT WORK IN TWO DAYS, I EXPECT A FULL REFUND. HOPE THIS GETS STRAIGHTENED OUT, VERY DISAPPOINTING......