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Magic Jack Phone ?

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mateek:
I'd been using a USB Skype-Linksys phone for about half of my long distance, but I couldn't get the confidence to drop my long distance land-line service until I got Magicjack.  Now I can rely on either, depending on where in the apartment I am.  I have the magicjack plugged into a splitter, and then a normal house phone and normal cordless phone.

It does have a commercial section on it's interface, but no pop-ups or junk emails, and I just minimize to my tray.  It's saving me $6.75 a month plus all the long distance charges I used to get charged.  I don't have any mobile/cell phones, so I'm keeping my local land line, but it's working perfect on my DSL connection.  I don't see the need for leaving a computer on if you turn off your cell phone, or don't answer emergency calls in the middle of the night.

A big caveat, if you go on the road with your laptop and use wireless or broadband in your hotel room, or at friends, bring the Magicjack and use any phone with a normal wire, or bring a headset.  You don't need to use your cell phone every time.  You have a phone number that follows you, and you're right at your computer where you should be when doing most of your business.  You get caller ID and voicemail for the yearly fee of $20.

I recommended this one.

Follow-up: As of about 2/2009 I've dropped my land-line completely.

larry50:
I've been using it for quite a few months now, and I love it. I had my doubts about it at first, but it worked better than I ever thought possible. When I have had a couple of questions, you can get them answered online, though it is kind of hard to find out where that can be done at the first time you try to use the chat help.

olamoree:
I got MagicJack in Jan 08 for US$19.95 for the dongle and US$19.95 for the first year of service.  In a word, GREAT.  $20 a year for unlimited calling to and in the US and Canada is a no-brainer.... you can recover that investment in the First Week!   I live in Costa Rica and plug in my MJ to my DSL enabled (512/256) computer and with my Florida number, call to where I like in the US and Canada whenever I like and for as long as I like... isn't that a no-brainer too?  You DON'T have to leave your computer on 24/7... incoming calls ring 4 times (currently, that can't be changed) and then it goes to VoiceMail... your caller leaves the message, MJ sends you an email about the message with attached audio file and you open the file and play it!  You DON'T need to go to your VoiceMail.  GOM Player does it well as does WMP... another no-brainer?  Calls to my AC305 Florida number ring HERE in Costa Rica, I answer the phone and have excellent audio.  I could be in Timbucktoo and the same would happen.  I have an old cordless phone plugged into it with good batteries and can have it anywhere in the house to receive and make calls.

International calling:  It was difficult to deposit the US$10 to my account but eventually it "took".  I saw in their initial announcement that AT&T was providing their long distance service but that announcement was quickly removed and now just mentions "the best quality International Provider in the world"... would that be AT&T?  However, once with an international credit, calls to Europe, South America, Middle East, etc. are about 30% cheaper than Skype and the voice quality is like "next door".    

The EULA is not draconian, just reflects the providers business sense and protects them from abuse as the service is offered for folks like you and me, not some corporate entity that will be calling 24/7.  I have not seen any attempts to "call home" and my Comodo suite doesn't pop up using it and a-squared does indicate some low risk activity but mostly related to MJ checking to see if it is connected and working.  If you feel it is invasive to your privacy, then don't use it for illegal activities but for personal communications, who cares if you are being profiled?  And no, I don't get any spam from them or any of their possible related activities.  In fact, I use Gmail so I don't get spam in my InBox anyway.

I acquired a "tiny" phone, Supra-Phone M6, cut the RJ-11 cord down to 8 inches and resoldered it to the pc board, and with my laptop connected to free WiFi in most airports, I can while away the waiting time chatting on MagicJack.  No, I have no MJ afiliation except that I am a more-than-satisfied customer... my US$40 investment is good for a year... that US$40 restaurant meal you had last night has already turned to crap.

Cons:  Once a month or so I get a call dropped and have to redial.  It was problematic to buy US$10 of international call time... needed "live aid" and a week wait.

Why not give it a try?

Ali

mouser:
Just a reminder -- some people have warned us that magic jack occasionally employs people to post on forums praising their product.

Not accusing anyone of doing this just reminding anyone thinking of doing such a thing here for any product, that it's the fastest way to develop a very bad reputation for your product and is definitely not the thing to do on this forum.

compn:
my grandmother bought one of these and asked me to hook it up.
it says "Windows and Apple Mac" supported on the package.
yet it fails to say Intel Mac ONLY (until you get to the website).

remember kids, there are two types of processors in apple computers, ppc and x86 (aka intel-mac). always be sure to label or support both properly.

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