Originally Posted by
nmenaker
Was this an ad?
Sure looks like it.
Originally Posted by
UA Fan
Can someone tell me why they prefer Ooma over Obi?
Because (as Scott said) Ooma is an all in one solution. They provide the hardware, web site, billing, VoIP services, customer service, etc. One throat the choke. The Obi is a DIY box that requires users to choose/setup their own VoIP provider and figure out their own problems. Many Obi users hook to Google Voice because it's free, but Google doesn't really like the idea of piggybacking their services.
Originally Posted by
ScottC
Really? It wouldn't be the first time that Google suddenly decides to shut down a service people used a lot (Reader anyone?).
Precisely. For a more closely related example, Google used to offer an API for Google Voice users that transcribed voice to text, and it still transcribes voice mail for Google Voice users. This API was also used by IP PBX systems like PBX in a Flash (which I love) to provide the same transcription service. But (and I'm only guessing here) Google didn't see a lot of value in providing free transcription to non-customers, so they changed the rules and the API with zero notice.
The same thing will happen to Obi users once Google decides they're not being sufficiently rewarded for providing VoIP services to a third party.