Travel Technology - Vonage V Phone

Has anyone used this? Here is my situation:

My parents are semi-retired from our business and stay in India for 3months at a time. I am thinking of getting this for my dad since it is small, looks easy to use and we can save money by him calling us and us calling him since it will be a local call for us and him...

If any of you has used this, is it worth it?

I haven't used the Vonage V phone, but when mrs. themicah was in Israel for a year, she brought along a regular Vonage box and just plugged it into her DSL modem in Jerusalem. I could then call her on a local NYC number, and she had unlimited calling to the US and Canada, no problem.

what about the quality of the call...static and is it like a normal coversation or do you have to wait?

Is "V Phone" the normal VOIP service from Vonage, or it is in some way different?

I use their regular VOIP service and the call quality is just like a landline phone 98% of the time. The 2% when it's not I just hang up and call back. It would be annoying in a a business situation, but for your situation it sounds perfect considering how much money it would probably save you.

If you want to use VOIP, be aware that Vonage is not the only company out there (and not necessarily the best either).

is this available in any stores or just online via vonage?

It says that you get a new number with it. Does that mean that I essentially add a second line and have the recurring charges of that second phone? I'd be much happier if I could clone my existing number on my Vonage at home and use this to have that same number when I travel.

I'd be much happier if I could clone my existing number on my Vonage at home and use this to have that same number when I travel.

So would I, but I guess that is not what they have in mind. I think you either have to move your line to the device, or get a new number.

It says that you get a new number with it. Does that mean that I essentially add a second line and have the recurring charges of that second phone? I'd be much happier if I could clone my existing number on my Vonage at home and use this to have that same number when I travel.i have read of this and you must order a second vonage telephone number. however you can use call forwarding (http://www.vonage.com/features.php?feature=call_forwarding) from the first number to your vonage v telephone number. hence you keep your original telephone number.

The V-phone is nothing special and you don't have to use Vonage to achieve much the same thing. You can 'roll-your-own' if you are reasonably technically skilled. Broadvoice (http://www.broadvoice.com) offers Bring Your Own Device service which allows you to pick any VoIP equipment you wish. So you could have an adapter for wired-phone use, a WiFi phone, and a PC soft client all set up to use the same number/account (so your dad would need a headset as he would with V-phone) .

Only one will work at a time but you can interchange as you please. For WiFi, you'll need an open access point or the Linksys WIP-330 (http://www.voipsupply.com/product_info.php?products_id=1563) which allows for logging into hotel/public hotspots via a browser. I use the WIP-330 and am mostly happy with it. The perfect VoIP device doesn't exist yet, sadly.

Or you can get him something like this (http://www.voipsupply.com/product_info.php?products_id=1522&searchid=98118) and use Skype. I prefer Broadvoice as the voice quality is good and they don't charge extra for using your own device(s).

Note that for ANY of these including Vonage he'll need broadband.

i have read of this and you must order a second vonage telephone number. however you can use call forwarding (http://www.vonage.com/features.php?feature=call_forwarding) from the first number to your vonage v telephone number. hence you keep your original telephone number.

For me, having the same outgoing number is useful to minimize the game of voicemail tag; and, as this doesn't do this, I'm still looking for a better solution, something akin to the following:

a wi-fi-, USB-, and ethernet-enabled GSM-enabled Blackberry-type phone -- with bluetooth, functioning web browser, and at least 500 MB of storage space -- that can be charged at the same time as it's being used would be good enough for my needs.