Cheap Phone Calls - MagicJack Alternatives - Comments Page 1

I've kissed the phone co. bye bye and have been using Magic Jack Plus for the past month.
I've ported my number to Magic Jack Plus and now pay less per year than I used to pay per month.
Every one I've talked to has commented on the excellent audio quality. It's never been this clear.
I use Comcast for my internet service and simply plug the into the Modem and the phone to the phone end. My phone service consists of 1 main phone and 4 extensions.
To my knowledge, there isn't anything that comes even close to the low price charged by Magic Jack.
I would not recommend the original Magic Jack but, Magic Jack Plus is something I'm using and fully endorse.

I've been with Calcentric for over 2 years. You have to use your own ATA. I got one (HT 286) on amazon for $30. Various plans incl. pay as you go, ($3.45 a mo. + 1.5 cents a min.) Outgoing calls are 1.8 cents a min. I average about $5 a month. Great customer service too.

Bob-

Very intereseting. Can any of these devices/services be used for faxing? A big expense for me is international faxes.

Thanks!

How is it that phone calls in the USA are so expensive? Here in the UK mostly we get free calls included with the ISP. Not so in the USA?

I am paying about $20 per month with a download limit of 40GB.

Also I have another phone account which I can include anybody else, charged to my account, which used to charge 1 penny (UK) connection charge and 1 penny per minute. Now the connection charge has increased penny by penny over the years to a 5 pence connection charge but still 1 penny/minute for all UK calls to landlines.
Nothing like in the US? If not, a business opportunity for someone.

I have the old MJ. Had probs with it time to time. I got a replacement, well, it wont let me use the replacement on my new laptop, without disabling the other:(.

Which has me mad.

The new MJ Plus, they will not transfer over my 5yr prepaid plan.

Keep up the good work Bob!

Bob, you have ignored the best alternative - Ooma. You purchase an Ooma Telo device ($179.00 in Costco, $249.00 in Best Buy). It plugs into your router or modem. No computer is required. After the initial purchase, there is NO OTHER COST besides the tax (which, in my case, is $3.47 per month). FREE calls anywhere in the U.S. and very cheap per minute charges everywhere else. Crystal clear quality

Ive used Ooma for the past year and so far have had no problems with it. I got the main Ooma box off of woot.com for cheaper then retail and now i pay $4 a month for all my calls, local and long distance... with a ton of extra features... I highly recommend it and was disappointed to not see it listed as an option.
Thanks Bob!

Recently I purchased the Sykpe At Home black box, resulting in a reduction of my AT&T bill from $128.00 p/m to $27.00, mainly becuase I made a lot of international calls and AT&T's rates were not very good even with their international calling plan option. I have always found Skype service and quality to be very good when travelling abroad or at home by using the computer version, and the cost of even very long calls is simply dirt cheap. I still wanted to keep a landline for 9-1-1 and power outage purposes, and dropped At&T down to simple POTS line service.

My only complaint about the Skype At Home box is that it will not pass Caller ID info. This was a shortcoming not clearly pointed out in the promo material. This is a glaring fault, and I bought a very cheap Caller ID capable phone to plug into another outlet to solve the problem. A successful work-around but not very elegant.

I've been using magicJack for almost 5 years now. At first there were problems, but in the last year after the latest upgrade magicJack has been working flawlessly (limited to 90 minutes of talking time per call). I have recently dumped the Phone Co. for a magicJack Plus with Platinnum Service for my home phone. I connected the mJP through a pair of 85 Mbps Wall-Plugged Ethernet Adapters so I could have the base answering machine on my nightstand. I stand to save over $2500.00 on phone bills in the next 6 years.

Vonage is only half of my old average phone bill, mJ is 1/20 or less. After paying for the mJP and 5 years of service my monthly outlay will be less than $2.40 a month.

And mJ and mJP work just fine with a wireless phone set with multiple handsets.

Bob-
you missed one excellent option, especially for international calls: Rebtel

Bought a nettalk when it was $79 one time fee, no recurring monthly charges. works great. when It came out, it hooked up to a router while magic jack needed a pc to run.

I've had MagicJack for more than 3 yrs.Notice I said I've had it ,that doesn't mean I could use it.
This is the computer dongle.In the beginning connections were fine but as time went on and more and more users were added, it became almost impossible to keep a connection for more than a few minutes.Constant drops became the norm - at least for me.I've used other VOIP services ,like Google Voice or Skype or even ancillary VOIP in TeamViewer and have none of these problem.It seems simply a case of server overload.Hence I'm very hesitant to bother with the new version - what is in effect a 1 line ATA.It may well be one of the cheapest solutions ,but if it doesn't work satisfactorily ,that means nothing.

I use my own ATA device but do have friends with Magic Jack. There primary complaint is the local carrier they use for Internet blocks some exchanges. Must have to do with competition.

I have used MagicJack for about 3 years now... I use Skype since before that and Google Talk for video calls. I like Google Talk because even with a video call, seems to use less bandwidth than the others. For the cost of the calls I can't see much room for complaining... anything that brings the world closer together is a plus and a cent or two a minute doesn't compare with anything else out there.

I'm a fan of Google Voice. I often talk with an aunt who lives in another state and who doesn't have unlimited long distance on her phone. For that reason, I chose a Google Voice number that is a local number for her. Not only can I use Voice to make my long distance calls, now my aunt can call me and it's not long distance for her. I also use Skype for video calls with relatives and friends who have it. The quality of both the video and audio is excellent. And I don't pay a dime for either of these services, which makes it even sweeter!

I have to agree with Kenny on CallCentric. Even after buying my ATA and paying the port fee, CallCentric has more than paid for itself. I pay for unlimited incoming calls, 911 service and a per call fee for outgoing. My monthly charges over the past year, have ranged from a low of $9 to a high of $17. My average monthly charge has bee $11 and change. Annual savings over Verizon and Time Warner range from $300 to $650.

THEN THERE IS: http://www.phonepower.com/voiphome.aspx

A LITTLE MORE EXPENSIVE, BUT REAL PEOPLE SUPPORT, TOO, AND I'VE FOUND IT TO BE VERY RELIABLE.
ALSO, YOU CAN HAVE 2 LINES ON THE SAME INET CONNECTION, COMING OFF THEIR DEVICE.
SO WHEN MY WIFE IS ON THE PHONE AND ANOTHER CALL COMES IN, I CAN PICK IT UP ON PHONE #2 WITHOUT DISTURBING HER CALL.
OR, I CAN SIMPLY PLACE ANOTHER CALL ALL TOGETHER ON PHONE #2 EVEN THOUGH SHES TALKING TO SOMEONE ELSE.
NO EXTRA CHARGE FOR THIS. THEY CALL IT LINE CLONING. THIS IS UNDER ONE PHONE NUMBER.
I'D CALL IT CALLER ID ON STEROIDS.

Last time I checked, NetTalk Duo still doesn't support line porting.

I have used both Net duo and Magic Jack Plus. Since the day i hooked up net duo i lost calls and phone service quite often and when i called them to ask what is the problem they did not know and said i could get a refund, so i decided to try Magic Jack Plus and i am very happy with it. No more lost calls and only had to reset the router one time in the four months that i have been using it. With net duo i had to reset the router almost daily.

Hiya Bob--Your newsletter is always informative. I've been thinking about getting MagicJack for a couple of months--yeh, paralysis by analysis--so your article about alternatives was very timely. I checked out NetTalk Duo online via boards and the knowledge base. I then called customer service. FYI,in regard to number portability or number porting which is available with MagicJack, NetTalk doesn't currently offer it and has been saying it's coming soon since 2009. A deal-breaker for me.