Hello All,

I have had a Storm 1 for two years now and it suffers from crashing multiple times daily so I am a upgrading to a new phone.

Here's the deal, I am deploying to the middle east in the Fall and have been researching use of Skype. THe Storm 2 has wifi and is a world phone so according to Verizon folks, as long as I pay $69/ month for the international data plan they will allow me to use Skype to make calls home. If I do not get the international plan, then they block Skype. Skype calls ar 12 cents per minutes, Verizon wireless network is $2.49

The Droid (if I were in the states that's what I want) is not a world phone so if they allow me to use Skype it would only be when connected to a wifi network, and even then I am told (by Verizon) that it would be disabled.

So it looks like I need a phone with both wifi and global access, leading me to the Storm 2. Has anyone had experience with smartphones and skype in the middleast that can help me decide the technology that will best allow me to connect with my family here in the states?

Thanks,
Heath

Here's the solution : the-blackberry-storm . net/2009/05/01/skype-blackberry-storm-get-skype-for-the-blackberry-storm-for-free-iskoot/

(remove spaces)

Here's the problem with iScoot: " We route your Skype calls over the voice channel to ensure that your Skype calls sound as good and connect as well as any other calls you make from your mobile."

If my call is routed over voice channel Verizon will charge me $2.45 per minute.