Mobile Phones and Travel : Save Money With Travel SIM Cards

You arrive in Paris: You give a call to your buddy to have him pick you up from the air-port. You talk just for five mins. You still are not able to find him, therefore you call him again. Twenty minutes later, you eventually understand, exactly where he's telling you to meet him. = And it cost you 19.14 EUR
You have a couple of drinks while partying on the beach in Philippines. Then you decide to start sending text messages to that guy/girl you met in Boracay a week ago. You exchange fifteen SMS. The following evening, you do exactly the same. Additionally, you send several text messages to buddies back home. = This innocent flirt has cost you 21.4 EUR
You out of the blue need to get to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, however you are not able to figure out the airline schedule from New Delhi , India. You give a call to the airport repeatedly but no one answers before getting in touch with a friend of a friend living in India for help and advice. Considering the fact that you have not made any reservations, it's a last minute decision, you call a number of hotels in Dubai until eventually you pick one with an available room at a price that meets your budget. You have spent thirty minutes on the phone. = So the room has just cost you 45.94 EUR more

(Based on current international rates from AT&T)

That certainly is somewhat expensive.
The fact is that, several people pay these outrageous amounts of money to use their cell phones while travelling mainly because at first, it seems that choosing an international roaming service from your home country is the only choice you have. And even though it might be the least complicated choice (typically all you have to do is go on the internet and activate the additional plan), it's an option that really has very few, if any, other positive aspects.
And honestly, that is why I've under no circumstances used that option myself.
Here is a run-down showing how I make the most of my cell phone as I travel all over the world:
MySims2Go - Travel Sim Card: MySims2Go is a multinational company located in UK that offers Roaming Sim Cards especially for travellers. It is a pay as you go sim card that operates in 190 Countries (97% of the World Coverage) and it offers free incoming calls in 100 countries. What I love about MySims2Go is that I don't have to buy any new local sim card and change numbers in every country that I visit. What makes this sim card ideally suited for a traveller, such as myself, is that when the credit runs out, I simply top-up instantly from anywhere in the world using my mobile or the Internet. Because of that, I don't pay a regular monthly fee and I'm not signed up to any kind of long-term contract.

Why Is This The Best Solution For Me?

First of all, it's the cheapest. Looking closer at our previous example, the total cost is 86.48 EUR. On the other hand using MySims2Go, your expenses would be just 31.45 EUR, that's 64% Cheaper ! Even though I used France, Philippines and United Arab Emirates in my previous example there are countries that you can save up to 80% using MySims2go. You should also consider using a VOIP application too when wi-fi is available in order to get the most from your travel budget.
Even though I'm not exactly a socialite who is talking on the phone and sending text messages all day, I realized that a combination of a Travel Sim Card and VOIP applications for smartphones is the most cost-effective way to use my SmartPhone when I'm travelling abroad.
How do you handle your mobile phone while travelling? Have you found any particularly good deals out there? Any questions about travelling with your phone?

(This guest post is contributed by Ilias Fotopoulos)