by alec on January 28, 2009
Everyone is looking for a business model these days. If you don’t have one, you’d better get one in a hurry, unless you’re twitter, of course.
Monday Dopplr did just that, rolling out an online store that allows you to buy things that will make your travel experience better. For example, you can buy a subscription to Monocle Magazine, travel guides, or Pat Phelan’s MAXroam SIM to take the bite out of international roaming charges. Pat’s company Cubic Telecom is partnering with Dopplr, providing them with a Dopplr SIM and website to manage their mobile usage.
Pat Phelan’s MaxRoam saved my wallet in Barcelona at MWC earlier this year. Pop one of his SIMs into an unlocked GSM handset, and bob’s your uncle… you’re calling at reasonable roaming rates rather than inflated. For comparison purposes, I was paying somewhere under 40 eurocents (60 cents) per minute for roaming in Spain, as opposed to $3/minute on Rogers. I spent around 60 euros that week instead of close to $500.
It’s nine months in, and Pat says he’s saved his customers over $1 million since he launched. To celebrate, in the next 24 hours you can top up your MaxRoam SIM at a 9% discount. Details on his blog.
I’ll be travelling in Europe this summer, and definitely plan to make use of MaxRoam again.
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