RJM62
Touchdown! Greaser!
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2007
- Messages
- 13,157
- Location
- Upstate New York
- Display Name
Display name:
Geek on the Hill
I've mentioned the Magicjack a few times on these fora. It's an ultra-cheap ($35.00 / year) VOIP service that actually works pretty well, especially considering how cheap it is. I've always found the sound quality to range from mediocre to good on cable, and slightly better on DSL.
In any case, I just logged in to renew my service and found that they're having a sale on the device itself, plus a full year of service, for $39.95. That includes basic calling features like Caller ID, Call Forwarding, Call Waiting, and Voice Mail.
It does not include E911, which is a mandatory additional fee determined my your local government. Mine was $1.67 for the year. There's also an "administration fee" that's basically aggregated taxes which I suppose also vary by jurisdiction. Mine was $2.73 for the year. So a year's service actually costs me $39.40.
The device in question may be connected to a computer or to a router. It may require being initially connected to a computer to be activated. I don't think it does, but it might. I forget. It's been years since I first activated mine.
As for the service, it's actually a lot better than one would expect for the price. It gets scratchy or cuts out if too many devices are hogging Internet, and even when it doesn't I wouldn't exactly call the quality crystal clear; but it's not horrible, either. I've never not been able to make a call, and it's very rare that the call quality is so bad that I hang up and call again. By rare, I mean maybe three for four times since I've had the thing, and I've had it for years.
I use the MagicJack as a number to give to people or entities I basically don't want to hear from: department stores for their loyalty cards, vendors in general, most government agencies, my most recent ex, and others who demand my phone number but to whom I refuse to provide my cell number. It's also the only number I use to make outgoing calls to these people and entities, so it remains the only number they ever have on file for me. It helps keep my cell phone relatively free of nuisance calls.
But in fairness, the device and service do work well enough that Magicjack could be used as a regular home phone number as long as you have decent Internet and you're not too picky about sound quality. I've also found that it works well enough for the very rare faxes I have to send or receive, although I don't think the service officially supports faxing.
Rich
In any case, I just logged in to renew my service and found that they're having a sale on the device itself, plus a full year of service, for $39.95. That includes basic calling features like Caller ID, Call Forwarding, Call Waiting, and Voice Mail.
It does not include E911, which is a mandatory additional fee determined my your local government. Mine was $1.67 for the year. There's also an "administration fee" that's basically aggregated taxes which I suppose also vary by jurisdiction. Mine was $2.73 for the year. So a year's service actually costs me $39.40.
The device in question may be connected to a computer or to a router. It may require being initially connected to a computer to be activated. I don't think it does, but it might. I forget. It's been years since I first activated mine.
As for the service, it's actually a lot better than one would expect for the price. It gets scratchy or cuts out if too many devices are hogging Internet, and even when it doesn't I wouldn't exactly call the quality crystal clear; but it's not horrible, either. I've never not been able to make a call, and it's very rare that the call quality is so bad that I hang up and call again. By rare, I mean maybe three for four times since I've had the thing, and I've had it for years.
I use the MagicJack as a number to give to people or entities I basically don't want to hear from: department stores for their loyalty cards, vendors in general, most government agencies, my most recent ex, and others who demand my phone number but to whom I refuse to provide my cell number. It's also the only number I use to make outgoing calls to these people and entities, so it remains the only number they ever have on file for me. It helps keep my cell phone relatively free of nuisance calls.
But in fairness, the device and service do work well enough that Magicjack could be used as a regular home phone number as long as you have decent Internet and you're not too picky about sound quality. I've also found that it works well enough for the very rare faxes I have to send or receive, although I don't think the service officially supports faxing.
Rich