MagicJack! Realllllly... Yeah Really...
Ok folks I will admit that I was a Fan of Billy Mays, not his products but his presentation cause no matter what you were doing when a Billy Mays commercial came on you paid attention or at least knew what the product was. LOL...
However I am not one to buy anything from TV commercials, figuring that the majority, while not out and out scams, are not worth the money especially when you add in those famous "Handling and Shipping Charges"...
However as a result of our switching to U-Verse we had to give up one line (it was for the girls) and they were back to sharing ours which I quickly grew tired of however i did not want to add another $25 - $35 a month telephone line just for them. So I started searching information on VOIP solutions.
Most require Monthly payments or expensive equipment plus monthly service fees and then I remembered the TV commercials for "MagicJack" and figured I would check their services out...
Well let me tell you DO NOT start by visiting their Web Site it is like a loud TV Commercial but on the web and the amount of information is about "zero"... An example..
Okay, Ok not quite that little information, in a nod to fairness they have a FAQ section but I understand that support is ONLY web based chat, not even email and no phone support... but still not a site that inspires one to buy, at least me... (I am not placing a link as I don't want anyone to think I am promoting, I am just passing on my experience) Just Google MagicJack...
They even have a famous ONLY 100,000 can be shipped free promotion on web site...
Anyhoo... I started searching for real users comments, many seem to simply be promotions for the MagicJack, but in between mostly what I found was that while some folks have had issues even those admit that it works at least basically...
So I decided we could at least try it, it is only $40.00 and buying from a reputable Retailer I figured would be safe as we could return it if it was junk... BestBuy and Target carry in stores (Walmart has ship to store) all the same Price which is the same on the MagicJack web site $39.99 or so and we bought at Target.
So I get it home, plug a regular cordless phone base into the Jack, plug the jack into a USB port and it started Auto installing which was relatively simple, Name, Address select City for Area Code is basically it. Now they try to upsell you for more MagicJacks or vanity number or additional years every step of the installation but I am so used to those from GoDaddy that I simply clicked right through them LOL...
Finished, waited a minute or three and then picked up phone and turned it on and sure enough had a dial tone and called a friend that said it sounded completely fine.. Had the friend call the number provided back and sure enough it rang and my Girls had their own line again...
$20.00 for the Jack and then $19.95 annually for phone service, with unlimited US calling, one weird thing is you must use an Area Code for all calls even next door.
I have to admit as being extremely skeptical when I bought it but I never provided a credit card so don't have to worry (at least for the first year) about any "special" charges, and darn if the thing doesn't work exactly as advertised, at least for us.
So IF you are thinking of adding another telephone line and if it isn't your only means of communication and you have a High Speed Internet connection, I would at least give it a try, an extra telephone line for $20 a year is nothing to sneeze at ;)
Good luck,
Bob
However I am not one to buy anything from TV commercials, figuring that the majority, while not out and out scams, are not worth the money especially when you add in those famous "Handling and Shipping Charges"...
However as a result of our switching to U-Verse we had to give up one line (it was for the girls) and they were back to sharing ours which I quickly grew tired of however i did not want to add another $25 - $35 a month telephone line just for them. So I started searching information on VOIP solutions.
Most require Monthly payments or expensive equipment plus monthly service fees and then I remembered the TV commercials for "MagicJack" and figured I would check their services out...
Well let me tell you DO NOT start by visiting their Web Site it is like a loud TV Commercial but on the web and the amount of information is about "zero"... An example..
Free...
Free... More
Free... Even More
Plug in your Phone plug into computer and start talking...
Okay, Ok not quite that little information, in a nod to fairness they have a FAQ section but I understand that support is ONLY web based chat, not even email and no phone support... but still not a site that inspires one to buy, at least me... (I am not placing a link as I don't want anyone to think I am promoting, I am just passing on my experience) Just Google MagicJack...
They even have a famous ONLY 100,000 can be shipped free promotion on web site...
Anyhoo... I started searching for real users comments, many seem to simply be promotions for the MagicJack, but in between mostly what I found was that while some folks have had issues even those admit that it works at least basically...
So I decided we could at least try it, it is only $40.00 and buying from a reputable Retailer I figured would be safe as we could return it if it was junk... BestBuy and Target carry in stores (Walmart has ship to store) all the same Price which is the same on the MagicJack web site $39.99 or so and we bought at Target.
So I get it home, plug a regular cordless phone base into the Jack, plug the jack into a USB port and it started Auto installing which was relatively simple, Name, Address select City for Area Code is basically it. Now they try to upsell you for more MagicJacks or vanity number or additional years every step of the installation but I am so used to those from GoDaddy that I simply clicked right through them LOL...
Finished, waited a minute or three and then picked up phone and turned it on and sure enough had a dial tone and called a friend that said it sounded completely fine.. Had the friend call the number provided back and sure enough it rang and my Girls had their own line again...
$20.00 for the Jack and then $19.95 annually for phone service, with unlimited US calling, one weird thing is you must use an Area Code for all calls even next door.
I have to admit as being extremely skeptical when I bought it but I never provided a credit card so don't have to worry (at least for the first year) about any "special" charges, and darn if the thing doesn't work exactly as advertised, at least for us.
So IF you are thinking of adding another telephone line and if it isn't your only means of communication and you have a High Speed Internet connection, I would at least give it a try, an extra telephone line for $20 a year is nothing to sneeze at ;)
Good luck,
Bob
posted by Bob at 4:20 PM
0 comments
