Phone alternatives, like Majic Jack

[cowboy]

Looking to see if there are other choices besides Majic Jack (condisdering using it), to make use of my existing home phones.

I recently cancelled my landline phone.

I do have a cell phone, but occasionally it's nice to be able to use a traditional phone.

I know there are things like Google Voice, and Skype etc...
But they don't allow you to make use of your existing household phones.

So, anyone run across anything similar to Majic Jack ?
If so , how is it working ?

 

[Lexluethar]

Vontage, we used it in Springfield Missouri and it was horrible. Their customer service said that it was because they didn't have a hub in Springfield, but regardless it sucked.

May have better results in a larger city.

It turns your DSL / Cable line into a phone line that you plug into your PC.

 

[KSoD]

The thing to remember is this. While these services are great, they also are very dependent on 2 things. 1 Power and 2 a working PC. So if you have either a power failure or problems with your PC, then the services become useless in and of themselves. So unless you decide to dedicate a PC that you dont use that often to running just this service, then you could have problems. I only say that cause if you are trying to use the PC for something really CPU heavy like Photoshop while you make a call, it will hinder the call quality as the CPU will be tasked doing other things aside from your phone call. Plus there can be interference as well.

I personally have not used either of the services due to my 2nd point. I work on my PC often and as such making sure that I have a constant and working PC is a trick itself. With all the beta testing and that done on the machine the services themself might not work. So it is a tough decision to make if you know that you have some lingering problems with the machine that might cause the service to not be available when needed. Last thing you want is for someone to try and call you via these services and your PC is down and you dont get the call.

 

[WERTZtilitHURTZ]

Cowboy, I have used Magic Jack and was pretty happy with it. The phone calls were clear and the voice mail worked quite well. My setup consisted of multiple handsets, kind of like this one. I had one issue where it quit working calling certain numbers for a few weeks, but that was cleared up with an update. That problem was years ago, though. Most issues are resolved simply by unplugging the USB and plugging it back in.

Personally, I didn't renew it because I started using Google Voice when I wasn't using my cell phone. For your scenario of wanting to make use of your home phones, I would say it is definitely worth it.

 

[Lexluethar]

I should retract what i said - it doesn't plug into your PC. It connects to your router then that connects to your PHONE, not your PC.

But as mak said it does still effect your PC because you are taking bandwidth up.

 

[cowboy]

Are there others like Majic Jack ? i.e., competitors

 

[KSoD]

There is nothing else out there like Magic Jack. That is the only one. So you have either Vonage or Magic Jack. Only choices.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

I've used magic jack and it works well. IMO it's a much better deal than paying for a traditional phone line.

 

[strollin]

Magic Jack now has the Magic Jack Plus which can be plugged directly into your router so no PC required.

Verizon has a device they call Home Phone Connect that is cellular based but allows you to plug a regular phone into it. No PC required and it also has a battery backup so it will still work if the power goes out.

I have used all 3, Magic Jack, Magic Jack Plus and the Verizon Home Phone Connect. All work well.

 

[mrnotu]

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