nmenaker

technically at this point in the ooma history there is only one model, the teleo - the BLACK ONE. One CAN get the older Core model THE WHITE ONE and sometimes a Core plus SCOUT bundle at costco, and online, but I THINK that even a NEW but UNSOLD CORE is going to carry a yearly fee, per their new model. if one CAN get an older and I believe activated CORE model, the WHITE one, then I think it carries the older "no fees" pricing. And, I have heard people getting boxes that have the older "no fees" packaging, activating them and managing to get the NO FEES service. None of this applies to the TELEO though.

The TELEO is nice, but remember it is DECT 6.0, which many don't like or want.

cblaisd

You can find the old ones, used, on Craiglist. Use something like allofcraigslist.com

Riverwalk

On the Ooma support forum, the Ooma people refer to the no-fee version of the Core as the "golden ticket" model. They're becoming more scarce all the time.

IMO, that's OK. No-fee was not a sustainable business model, since the company was absorbing over $3/month/customer in government taxes and fees. It was a great way to make an initial marketing splash.

cblaisd

There are four of them on CL right now, with asking prices as little as $125.

efis123

Good to know, I'll have to check out craigslist. I've been planning on buying one for a while now, guess I better hurry up while they're still available.

cblaisd

Got an email from Ooma this morning about its iPhone app

http://www.ooma.com/products/ooma-iphone-app

Trying to figure out who this app is aimed at. I don't think it is me.... I never come close to using all my domestic cell minutes each month and currently have 1000+ rollover minutes.

I am thinking that this is primarily aimed at international callers?

I'd enjoy trying it out (and assume calls made through this would show one's Ooma caller i.d.) but not for $9.95 for the app.

Riverwalk

As an Ooma customer, I'm disappointed that calls to the US on the iPhone app cost money, since the app is not free. That's inconsistent with the free calling model of Ooma devices. I would have expected it would be a simple matter for the company to provide those minutes as a perq of having an Ooma device account.

nmenaker

I think the idea for the app is that YOUR NUMBER will ring to the app, so if you depend on your number you can have your calls route seamlessly there. Here, there, in China whereever. The pricing is a bit more than skype and they don't currently offer a monthly domestic free service (for a small fee of course) other than premier membership.

LessO2

Can someone dumb this down for me? It took one month (no exaggeration) for Ooma to respond to my e-mail inquiries. I have some other questions, but have read about their lousy customer service.

I'm interested in Ooma, but am fuzzy on some things:

- I have two lines into my home (I work from home). If I want to use the existing phones for my residential line (two of them) and my single business phone, do I need to purchase two units?

- Besides the taxes and a slicker look, what is the difference between the Core and the Telo

- Is anyone nervous about how three Ooma executives being either fired or replaced this year?

ScottC

I once called them, and got someone on the phone right away, who took care of my issue immediately and followed up in an email. No experience with emailing a question.

You can use a single unit with two lines, but be careful with business calls - they don't like them. If you stay low on the minutes, you'll be fine.

The differences are minimal - but the Telo comes with a monthly tax, so when possible, stick with the original. It'll lack slick stuff like Bluetooth, but works perfectly.

I don't care about management changes - they seem to be selling plenty of them, it has seriously never been down for me, which is more than I can say for most other VOIP services.

Riverwalk

The Core is based on older hardware and different software to which new features may not be added via firmware updates. The gap between the two is not large now, but could grow in the future. From the faster rate of firmware updates being pushed to the Telo, it's clear that it is the device getting the bulk of the company's client-side development attention.

The Telo has a handset accessory (sold separately) which can be customized to be the only device that rings for a second phone number on the account.

cblaisd

+1

nmenaker

I don't think I have ever had a "down" scenario, but I HAVE had times when the voice quality seemed to be suffering while the network had no performance issues. One nice thing abou the oomas, is one can artificially SET a higher bitrate for both better performance and much better call quality - arguably better than any landline quality.

As for the telo v. core, I haven't moved to the telo for a couple reasons. I don't like DECT phones and this is the handset that enables a lot of the features that the Telo offers. Although of course, one can plug in any type of handset or cordless setup they want. Some of the newer features, like using your bluetooth phone to connect to the base station so you can use it in the house, pick which ringing you want to happen, only are avaiable on he Telo. Also, I think the new iphone app allows remote configuration of only the Telo station.

That said, for the 150-175$ that these Cores have been going for in the past few months, I would probably just go that route - save some coin and if in the future one wants to have the more features I think the value of the current cores will maintain itself since it will carry the lifetime free services T&C's.

cblaisd

http://www.woot.com/ has a refurbished Ooma Telo VoIP Home Phone System for $139.99 today.

AZ_MISMAN

Any thoughts/guidance/experience on making a fax work? I tried what it said on the Ooma site, but that didn't seem to work.