Magicjack
 

Just came across this magicjack on the BBC website.

Anyone used or has knowledge of it?

Looks like an intersting approach to IP telephony. Of course, if they run like Packet8 and then go out of business you're in trouble. I'd consider moving my Vonage over to this and just leaving it plugged in to my server in the closet.

If you don't have a computer that you leave on then this is a bad idea. If you have a small handset that you travel with and would rather use that than a softphone this isn't a terrible idea, though I can't imagine traveling with a handset.

Nifty technology though.

Packet8 never went out of business, perhaps you are thinking of Sunrocket?

I have MJ and think its great. The price is $40 for the first year $20 each additional. I suggest everyone purchase one.

Gomike, do you use it for local or international calls? Is the reception very good?

I think I'll give this a try, definately worth the $40.

magicjack
 

magicjack has been around long enough, a lot of the sunrocket refugees went to magicjack after the shutdown of sunrocket.

I went with the free net2phone offer, it has been solid since the switch over. I might try the magicjack just for travel though.

I picked up one the first day that they went on sale and at the time you could only pick from a few area codes, one of them was 206.

They have since started offering 415 numbers, and they don't have a way to change your current one, so it was just easier to buy another one, so I actually have two.

I wouldn't say they are completely bulletproof, but 95% of the time they work great and work behind most standard home firewalls without problem.

All domestic calls are free and incoming is free, unlimited. Free voice mail, too.

It is basically a small (size of a zippo) that plugs into your USB and looks like a USB stick to your computer and runs a little app on the stick to control it.

A very cool thing is that the unit has an RJ11 jack on it, so you can plug in your regular home phone to it and just use it with your existing home phone if you aren't into goofy headsets.

If you are on the road you can toggle to use a USB headset instead of the RJ11 jack. In hotels I've used the hotel's phone on it as well as a nice Plantronics USB wireless headset, both work great.

Overall, a total bargain for $40, not sure how long the company is going to be around, but even for six months, it works good enough to be worth it.

The manager application has a phone book that you can put in all your common numbers and it follows the unit, so you don't have to keep a separate phone directory. Bummer that you can't import phone numbers into it from a comma-delimited file or something.

Another note - they ship fast, when you order one on Monday, you will have it by the end of the week. It comes in one of those hang-packs you would see at Walmart or something that are nearly hermetically sealed in plastic and require the sharpest of scissors to open.

It looks designed to be sold at a retail store because it is bought then registered and configured online, you don't get your number until after you install it on your computer.

A little late to the thread, but I took Magicjack for a spin and posted my review on the blog.

I am amazed how well magicJack works. Per ScottC's review I pulled the trigger and ordered it last Friday and received it yesterday. It works perfectly except for an occasional echo, I love it. I tried using it to fax a few Excel spreadsheets and they came out perfect. I don't have a land line so this gadget has got to be one of the best purchases I have made. I highly recommend it as well. ^

Just noticed that Magicjack has included Irish 076 numbers in its mobile category. 076 prefixes are non-geographic and are classed as a local call so the cost should be 0.02.
It is probable some other countries number sets are also misclassified.

That's a very helpful and complete review, Scott. I've also pulled the plug and ordered one today.

Thanks!

In Japan right now and have been using one all week, sometimes with a headset, sometimes plugging in the RJ11 jack from the hotel phone into it just so you have a "normal" phone to use.

So, I've had one (now two) since the beginning. I find that the outbound calls work almost all the time, about the 95% I mentioned earlier in the thread.

Inbound, however, is total hit-or-miss for me. My local phone number one has only worked a few times since I've had it, right now it isn't working, for example. I can make outbound calls fine, but inbound just go to the voice mail.

I contacted support before and they said that it is probably a firewall issue, which I suppose could be true, I haven't tested it to know for sure and since I use it pretty much for just outgoing calls, no big deal.

Another thing about the MJ is that when calling the US you have a nice US looking caller-id number that people can recognize, unlike Skype.

Not only that; you also get good inbound caller ID, include CID on the phone jack port of the adapter.

I'm guessing that the inbound issue might be related to firewalls, or even latency issues.

We've had one for about six months. Sound quality is good, and it works well when travelling. ^

Tempting, but I am very happy with my vonage right now. I got it all configured, and never had any issues with incoming and outgoing calls.

Tomorrow is the last day to jump on the free 30-day trial offer. ^

One sale a day has it today for $29.99 with a year of service (plus $6 shipping)

And they extended the free trial a few more days.

http://www.1saleaday.com/

OK I bought 2.
This will work great for our place in Mexico, and also another one I can use in Colorado

Groan...

I'd love to use this on my Asus eee but it looks like it's not compatible with Linux.

Interesting rant on the EULA terms here. That could be enough to dissuade me, not that I was likely to sign up anyways.

I am using MJ as a back up to my Onesuite.com voip and its been good except for the occasional hiccups but overall its okay.

Good Tool
 

So far I like the quality of Majic jack- my only negative is that it is another piece of stuff that I have to take with me on a trip.

Great Deal, But Not Sure Whether It Is Capable of Replacing a Landline
 

As a secondary phone, I think it is a great deal. I'm just not sure if can replace your main number. The USB devices seem to not be as reliable (IMHO) as the hardware based ATAs.

Finally got around to installing it. I've got to say, I'm pretty impressed -- voice quality is great both to and from the MagicJack. I also like the idea of being able to take this thing with me internationally and being able to receive calls from the States that are billed as local for the caller. I'm even considering picking up some of these for our friends in China to use to call us (and so we can call them).

Has anyone ever tried this with a fax machine (or a fax modem)?

I purchased MagicJack specifically for faxing and the results were spotty using a multi-function Brother MCF-7200 fax machine. Sometimes it would work perfectly faxing to a local number. Some long distance faxes seem to get "garbled". Voice quality is good although there is a bit of a lag and echo. All in all it is a good value for those who don't have a land line. Single page faxes seem to work OK, but multiple pages and spreadsheets are not dependable. That's my experience in the last 60 days. I like the product and concept, but I can't use it for reliable faxing.

From MagicJack FAQ:
"We do not officially support using faxing with magicJack.
Please try the following steps to use magicJack with your fax (contact your fax vendor for details):
Turn off error correction on your fax machine or program
Set the fax machine or program to use the slowest speed available
Increase the speed, checking at each speed that faxes work "

As for the "last day" offer that they show on their website. There is no such thing as they update the day to today's date. Check back tomorrow and you'll see that they use that to entice you to "buy now". As far as I can see, there's really no hurry.

I am a bit concerned about the privacy and advertising issue that many people have mentioned in the EULA. Since I'm already on Skype and it works fine, I don't think I'm going to switch. And they don't offer Canadian numbers either.

I read the EULA carefully. Apparently, the "data" collected is in the form of a cookie and is used only to determine the ads that you're shown within the MagicJack user interface. This is no different than what Google does or, for that matter, those supermarket discount cards that use the information to print targeted coupons with the receipt. As MagicJack is, by it's very nature, "opt in," the use is disclosed and, in my mind, de minimus, and the "consideration" for disclosure is far more than significant (free phone service) than that offered by, for example, Google, I have no problem with it at all.

I think they may have changed their EULA somewhat. According to this posting at BoingBoing, it certainly doesn't make me feel that great about them. I am still skeptical and especially if they start changing their EULA without notice. I have no proof so it's all innuendo.

But heck, it seems people are giving away passwords for a chocolate bar, so it's not suprising how much we value our privacy. ;)

All I can say is that the minimal amount of information disclosed and the way it is used (automated analysis to target ads within the MagicJack software) is, at least for me, a reasonable exchange for a service that lets me, for example, make telephone calls back to the U.S. from overseas for free. If, for example, MagicJack tracked all my calls, used reverse look-up to compile a list of "contact" and then sold this information to third-parties without restriction I'd be significantly more concerned.

The key is "informed consent." I believe that MagicJack obtains that and is sufficiently clear about how it uses the collected information.

I now am really much more impressed with MagicJack. I called my friend who just flew to Halifax, Nova Scotia and the reception was perfect. No echo or lag time at all. This gadget really rocks! It's a keeper for sure. One of the best gadgets I have ever come across in a long time. The more I use it, the more I recommended it.^

And now a fax went through just perfect !

We just received ours last week. Its awesome. Perfect clarity and great function.

We are in the Carribean next month. I can keep up with orders and clients very economically now.

I am thrilled with it.

Well based on the advice I was given in the thread I started about a home VPN, I ordered Magicjack and now have it installed. (anyone want my number ;) )

Overall I like it, set-up was quick and easy and the phone clarity is better than my cell.

I plugged it into my docking station hoping it would work when the notebook wasn't in it, nope - gotta be docked for it to work. Didn't realize it needed the softphone option. Oh well, I will set it up on my desktop.

One thing I do find annoying with it is whenever I make a call, the softphone jumps up and in front of whatever I am doing. It is annoying to be surfing por... newspapers and have this get in the way. What is a girl to do? Any ideas?

Go over to The Unofficial Magicjack Forum and do a search. You'll find a number of solutions (involving user-written software) that will block the pop-up.

Thanks I just went over and registered. Another forum to remember to check :rolleyes:

Ok, I just ordered one of these. I thought for the price it really couldnt be so bad. I really only use my vonage for cheap calls to Thailand for my wife and if this works out the we will just continue to use it and drop vonage as I have a pc in the house that is running all the time anyway so I just put the magicjack in that and run the rj11 cable to my house phone "network" like I did with my vonage and so far cant tell the difference.

It also will be easier to travel with and I would say for anybody that travels outside the US this would be a nice thing to travel with.

I'd prefer hard phones rather than usb based voip devices. You need a computer for this, but this would be handy if you bring your laptop along with you and you have good internet connection.

So what is the advantage over a simple softphone?

You can connect physical PSTN phones and get caller ID support

It's cheap - in fact, if you crunch the numbers, it can even be cheaper than Skype for unlimited US calls

Not sure why I would want to connect an adapter and a PSTN phone to my computer when I can simply connect a headset? I use sipgate in Europe for my calls (using X-Lite) and they support caller ID and have free local numbers in Germany, Austria and the UK.

But only for one year, right? Aren't there several SIP offers that give free calls.

I'm not really convinced... I prefer a nice SIP solution that works on my IP phone at home, as well as working as a softphone when I'm on the road.