MagicJack User Experiences
Written: May 26 '08 (Updated Sep 02 '08)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Cheapest long distance service, high voice quality, anywhere there is a direct-connected PC, inbound number
Cons: No telephone support, non-standard install, limited area codes, some complexity calling outside US
The Bottom Line: For a low cost second line with reasonable long distance service, it is tough to beat. Get it quick. At these prices, they might not last.
|
|
|
| kcowan's Full Review: Microsoft magicJack USB VOIP connector for Windows... |
Initial Impressions:
Got my MagicJack (MJ) yesterday. After a short download and a long registration process (reading the gotchas in their contract), they assigned me a number (US only) within 2 minutes and I was making LD calls. Very good voice quality, much better than either Skype or Yak. The price was 39.95 plus 6.95 S&H. The device was shipped out of Toronto using the mail and a regular stamp. That includes free service for 12 months, then subsequent service is 19.95/year (or 4 years for 49.95). Even the cheap alternatives are costing us $10 to $20/mo calling to landlines.
They allow one free number change so that when Canadian numbers are available, we can switch. Subsequent switches (e.g. you move) are $10. Voicemail picks up calls when the line is busy or the computer is shut off and send a wav file on email.
You can plug the device into any USB 2 port and it will automatically configure and be ready in a minute or 2. (WinXP or Vista).
Package: In just 5 businees days, the MJ arrived in the first-class mail in small lightweight package that will easily fit through a mail slot. It only included the magicjack, an optional USB extension cord & very minimal instructions.
Practical considerations. The MJ is thick enough that that the extension is probably need to avoid conflict with the adjacent USB port. They recommend only using independently-powered port extenders if you need more USB ports.
The registration process is long because you have to read through their licensing agreement. They promise to communicate with other MJ users and then cover themselves on their software. So if you bought it to call regular phones, you have to hope that they are successful enough to maintain that current practice. To install the MJ on other computers once you have registered, just plug it in an wait a minute. Take it with you and use an internet cafe or a friends computer with a headset or a landline phone.
Customer support: The best approach is to search unofficialmagicjack.forum2u.org as there is plenty of good help and software available there. This is really a DIY dream and I have high expectations that it will do amazing thing because it has been embraced by the technical community.
Website: Their main site is a marketing/ordering tool. Once you have your MJ, you will be automatically registered and they create a my.magicjack.com access for you. From there, you can order extensions to your service, top up long distance for international calling, and access magicfix. Magicfix runs automatically and checks your machine for required updates. It verifies your configuration and recommends fixes. Then it presents a list of Frequently Asked Questions. You can come back often for new releases. (Requires current version of Java).
Contacts: The user site has presented ways to import contacts from your cell phone or other directory on the PC. It only uses the name and number fields.
Spoofing: There are also ways to present a different phone number than the one assigned. This is really important until they get all the area codes covered so as not to be screened by people you are calling. You can present your current home or office number to caller ID. There are also ways to see who the private callers are that are calling you.
Voicemail: It is a straightforward voice-managed voice message system. You can have the messages arranged by work, friends, family. You access it by dialing your own number and then star (*) and entering your password, then you go through them like any other telephone voicemail system. You can access it from any telephone. There is a recorded message for away, line busy, or temporary (e.g. vacation). Whenever a new message is recorded, you get an email saying what number called, how long the message is, the date and time it was recorded and a reminder how to access it. Retrieving the message is similar to most telephone voicemail systems. you have to go through the messages sequentially but the emails have given you an idea of who called.
Call Forwarding: Accessing my.magicjack.com enables you to set call forwarding to your cell phone or another landline, rather than just presenting voicemail so that you can be accessible. Some will just use this to be more accessible to their friends or clients. It is also a way to keep your cell phone number private. Also as a business, you can buy local presence in a target city. We have our local number in San Diego where our friends can call locally and even reach us on our cell phone in Vancouver.
Other items: You automatically get a soft phone installed on your PC which has some nice features. But we bought it for using with regular phones. Immediately after the install was complete, I plugged in a phone and dialed a number. Connected right away and the call quality was excellent. I called my brother who is my test caller: Skype, Jajah, Yak and this was the best connection ever. It was like being across the road and it was 2500 miles and many Internet hops. The softphone tracks the calls dialed for the real telephones so you have a complete log. From the softphone you can redial any of these numbers. It is logged even if the call does not complete.
As a Canadian, I am buying this so friends can call us in Mexico on their Canada/US calling plans. And we can call them too. When Canadian numbers become available in 2009, we will pay the $10 to switch to our area code. We can also call other VOIP users in Mexico and avoid the measured service surcharges (100 local calls a month).
My wife hates computer calling and so will not use Skype. This will enable us to use both our local line and LD from our Uniden cordless phone system (see my review here on epinions http://ecoustics.epinions.com/content_241497378436).
We will put in an AX522 switch which enables us to switch between our local line and our MagicJack line from any of the (up to 10 cordless) extensions in the above system both at home and in Mexico.
I will update this review when I get even more experience with my MagicJack in a few weeks but to get more insight in the meantime, I have joined
http://unofficialmagicjack.forum2u.org/
where all the early adopters are hanging out now. From there, you can see that there are problems with computers that are not vanilla. Also some phones will not ring on incoming calls. YMMV. But the forum is providing a base of self help, making it tolerable. We had no experience with this because we have a simple XP system with only Skype and Jajah installed. So it worked right away.
For $50 (with shipping) you get a year of unlimited long distance to US/Cda. If you sign up for 5 years, you get unprecedented low price for your own alternate phone number and both inbound and outbound with voicemail and caller ID. When they get enough customers, their support will probably become increasingly viable too. Right now it is spotty.
Update: After 2 months of usage, here are some added insights. The voice quality is better than Skype and Yak in calling from Vancouver to Toronto. They have their own CLEC and I guess they route the calls through it. This reduces latency and echo, a common problem with Vonage.
MJ keeps you PC turned on. I do ctl-alt-del and shut down MJ so I can hibernate my PC. Then I unplug it. I plug it in again to make calls and run the utility from my desktop to reinitailize it. (Not required if it is a PC reboot but only when it comes back from hibernation.) I have no problem recommending it for anyone who likes using the telephone rather than soft phones. I load my phonebook into the soft phone by following some advice from the forum. The soft phone works well too and will synchronize with MS Outlook.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
kcowan
|
|
Location: West Vancouver, BC
Reviews written: 25
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
Keith worked in various sales and executive positions with IBM, then as founder/consultant, including CEO.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.