Hi rgf,
What you are saying makes sense,but those phones are only good in Spain. If you want to make international calls you have to buy the "good ones", that means the "expensive ones". I still think that Telefonica calling cards are the best solution. You can find public phones everywhere in Spain, even the smallest village has 2 or 3, the calling cards are not very expensive and if you call on weekends it is cheaper. You only have to go to the "Estanco" (the place where they sell stamps, cigarrets...) and buy the calling card. You can buy one that cost 2000 pesetas and talk with your family/friends for at least 45 minutes. I know what I am talking about, that is what I did when I was in Spain and my husband (boyfriend by that time) was in USA.