Magic Jack

[halfdome, Danny]

I saw an infomercial today that was quite convincing called the Magic Jack. It's only $20 a year for a telephone including US & Canada long distance. It plugs into your PC and uses your high speed internet connection.
I was ready to look into it until I saw this website. It may be okay for a traveler or someone who makes lots of long distance calls providing it's not their primary telephone. Danny

[signs]

Danny,

Although their web site leaves a lot to be desired, their product is GREAT.
I have had one for about 8 months, use it all the time and have had No problems. Right now it is hooked up to my fax machine and used to fax paperwork into corp office 3 or 4 times a week. Saves me all those long distance charges for the fax calls.

I recommend it all the way.


Jay

[halfdome, Danny]

Jay, It sounded fantastic but I don't want to waste an additional $20 a month by leaving the PC on 7/24. The regular Qwest phone is in the upper $20 range and it would be a wash for me since the cell is for long distance and mobility. Does it need PC software or is there a way it could be plugged into a wireless router to avoid leaving your PC running all the time? I also looked into Vonage and for me it wasn't cost effective. Some how I want to get away from the old phone company. Danny

[PaulC]

Danny, have a look at skype, http://www.skype.com/intl/en/ It's free to other skype users. I've got my kids on it and it's very good.
Our kids, 6 of them, are scattered all over Oz.
Cheers
Paul

[signs]

Jay, It sounded fantastic but I don't want to waste an additional $20 a month by leaving the PC on 7/24. The regular Qwest phone is in the upper $20 range and it would be a wash for me since the cell is for long distance and mobility. Does it need PC software or is there a way it could be plugged into a wireless router to avoid leaving your PC running all the time? I also looked into Vonage and for me it wasn't cost effective. Some how I want to get away from the old phone company. Danny

Danny,

I also use Vonage for my main phone line at home. ATT/SWB here is in the mid $30 range so vonage saves me over $10 a month plus allows me to have a number from back home. That said we are considering dropping Vonage for another Majicjack.

Vonage does not need the PC to be on as it connects at the router. Majic Jack does need the PC to be on to work.

As far a the PC, I leave one on at all times to receive e-mail. At my house so much is on or in use so much of the time that I would not be able to tell the difference on my electric bill if I shut down the PC

[asianflava]

My wife's brother uses Magic Jack and he swears by it. When he sent out an e-mail with his new number, you would have sworn he had a vested interest in the company. I just took it with a grain of salt because this guy is so cheap, he squeaks when he walks. The last telephone system he used had such an annoying lag that I wouldn't talk to him on the phone. I'd hand the phone off to my wife or find an excuse to hang up.

[TheBizMan]

I have used the MagicJack for 8-9 months. I use it everyday to call long distance to my companies headquarters in Baltimore and to my office in Los Angeles. I call my kids locally and out of state. I make all sorts of calls and I don't leave my computer on all the time. If a call comes in when the comp is'nt on, they get my voice mail and leave a message just like on the answering machine I had in my home. I also use their forwarding feature to send the calls to my cell when I'm not home. When I first received the MJ, I had a problem setting it up. I contacted the live chat and when they found out it was a bad unit they overnited a new one to me. When I purchased the MJ, my credit card wasn't charged for 32 days because the 30th day was on a Saturday. I have since purchased a second MJ and use it with a Chicago Number for business. Also Danny, the money I spend on the internet connection I would still be spending even if I didn't have the MJ, that makes my calls free. My monthly phone service went from over $400 per month to less then $50. I would recommend the Magic Jack to anyone.

[Mike B]

I have a friend who has one, and he demoed it for me. It seems to work fine except for one thing: it doesn't work with Linux. At all.

That means I won't be picking one up any time soon. Like forever.

Mike
Hayden Lake, ID

[Elumia]

here is another option I've seen advertised on the radio around here. No monthy fee for basic service. Just buy the box for $249.99. You can keep your own number for a 39.99 fee. the premier service gives you all kinds of features like a second line

http://www.ooma.com/

Mark

[halfdome, Danny]

here is another option I've seen advertised on the radio around here. No monthy fee for basic service. Just buy the box for $249.99. You can keep your own number for a 39.99 fee. the premier service gives you all kinds of features like a second line

http://www.ooma.com/

Mark

Mark, With the exception of the initial up front expense this one has some nice features and can be plugged into your router. I think phone manufacturers need to change the way their products work to take advantage of new technology. At first their demo looked like all phones work off one device. I can't see having a satellite device (Scout) at every phone in the house just to use this service, it would just junk up the house. The premium services they list are very nice.
Thanks for posting, I'll look at it again later just to make sure I didn't understand. Danny