Anyone try the Magic Jack?
- Thread starter paulbunyon
- Start date
It's VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) like Vonage or Skype, but the free part I don't get. There's plenty of USB to phone jack adapters out there. I got this from GigaOm:
"The company’s business plan revolves not so much around the USB gizmo but instead around a robust nationwide network that Borislow says is also a certified CLEC; the company has interconnect agreements with all the larger carriers, meaning it’s not about to be shut down like some other value-cost calling operations; and as part of its initial marketing push, MagicJack plans to give away a free phone number (of which it says it has millions) to the first wave of customers who plop down $29.95 or $39.95, a price that includes a full year of unlimited calling to the U.S., Canada and parts of Europe."
http://gigaom.com/2007/03/20/the-magic-behind-magicjack/
It apparently won't always be free.
"The company’s business plan revolves not so much around the USB gizmo but instead around a robust nationwide network that Borislow says is also a certified CLEC; the company has interconnect agreements with all the larger carriers, meaning it’s not about to be shut down like some other value-cost calling operations; and as part of its initial marketing push, MagicJack plans to give away a free phone number (of which it says it has millions) to the first wave of customers who plop down $29.95 or $39.95, a price that includes a full year of unlimited calling to the U.S., Canada and parts of Europe."
http://gigaom.com/2007/03/20/the-magic-behind-magicjack/
It apparently won't always be free.
Thanks bandaid. After posting this thread I did some more web research on it and there is definitely varying opinions on it to say the least. I'll link to some on the discussions on it I found. The consensus and biggest complaint seems to be about their shitty customer service. Apparently they try to stonewall at every turn. Thats enough to raise a red flag with me for now.
Also the quality of the service is supposedly spotty due to differing degrees of people's modems/internet connections. I'll definitely hold off on Magic Jack for now at least until they can work some of the kinks out.
Also the quality of the service is supposedly spotty due to differing degrees of people's modems/internet connections. I'll definitely hold off on Magic Jack for now at least until they can work some of the kinks out.
Why don't you try Skype? Skype to Skype calls are always free, and calls to most of the world are about two cents a minute. All you have to do is put in about ten Euros at a time when your balance gets low. There are USB phone handsets for about $30 and adapters to plug a regular phone into. You can also buy a phone number for inbound calls (including overseas numbers, very cool; you can have a London or Hong Kong number if you want) for €30 a year. It's not free, but it's cheap enough and no worries.