When you travel with your iPhone, there are some things to watch out for so that your phone bill doesn't get too high: roaming fees and data roaming for example. Note that Smart Caller does not avoid roaming fees.
Roaming Fees, Roaming Plans: When you travel abroad with your iPhone, you can still make and receive calls, browse the web and access your email. However, your phone will do so using a mobile carrier in your destination country, not the network you use back home that bills you (eg AT&T for US iPhone users). This is called 'roaming' because you are 'roaming' away from your home carrier’s network. Roaming is more expensive than using your iPhone in your home country, but your phone company probably sells a special roaming package that makes it a bit more affordable. For example, AT&T offers the AT&T World Traveler which reduces rates in some countries. Smart Caller makes calls using the normal mobile phone network, so if you are roaming, Smart Caller calls are still roaming calls, ie Smart Caller does NOT get around roaming charges. (Yet! We have something in the works to help you get around roaming charges!)
Roaming Data and Plans: If you buy 'roaming plan', that usually just means voice call roaming. If you also want email, web, and maps while abroad then that's called data roaming. Like voice roaming, it's expensive if you don't get an add-on data roaming plan before you travel. AT&T offers the Data Global Package for Smartphones where you pre-pay for 20-200MB of roaming data before you travel. If you are an AT&T customer traveling abroad, I strongly recommend getting this.
Text Messages: Text messages are often more expensive while roaming abroad. AT&T text messages can be 50c each when abroad - even if you haven't used all the free ones on your plan! It might be a good idea to ask people not to send you text messages while abroad, but to get the data roaming package and use email instead.
Settings in iPhone: There are some settings you can change in your iPhone to control roaming.
- Airplane mode: At the top of the settings screen is Airplane Mode. You turn this on when flying when the attendants ask you to turn off all electronic equipment. It turns off the cell phone and WiFi part of the phone. If you don't want to roam at all while abroad, just leave airplane mode on. Of course you won't get any phone calls, text messages, or emails, but you also won’t have any roaming charges either. You can toggle this on and off at any time to control when you roam and when you don't. When airplane mode is on, your missed calls will just go to voicemail.
- Airplane mode and WiFi: Turning on airplane mode turns off WiFi, but you can stay in airplane mode and turn WiFi back on again under settings->WiFi. WiFi bypasses the phone network altogether, so it doesn't count as roaming and there won't be charges on your phone bill when you get home. If you get on a WiFi hotspot while abroad, it will either be free or it might be a public one with a small charge. There are a couple of apps in the app store that let you find WiFi hotspots, though most of them need to connect to the internet to do the search! A good strategy can be to buy the cheapest roaming data plan so you can use geo-location services and a WiFi finder app, and then get on WiFi if you have to do a lot of web browsing or emails with attachments.
- Data Roaming: Under settings->general->network you can turn Data Roaming on or off. Turn this off if you keep your phone on for calls and text messages, but you didn't buy a data roaming package and don't want to use email, maps, or the web without being on WiFi. Many apps use the internet a little, and it might not be obvious to you when they do. For example, many games download high score charts over the internet, so it’s wise to turn off data roaming if you don't have the data roaming plan. You can even turn data roaming off now while you are home and leave it off all the time, because it only effects your internet connection when you are traveling abroad.
- International Assist: Under settings->phone is International Assist. This setting isn't available in all countries (maybe USA and Canada only). When this is turned on, iPhone automatically adds the USA country code when you dial a US number from your contacts. If you are using Smart Caller outside your home country, you should turn international assist OFF so you don't accidentally dial to a calling card access number in the USA.