Buy Magic Jack Now

I just saved $320 by cancelling an extra phone line and signing up with magicJack. It works as advertised; I like it; and it’s a keeper. I also have tips to make magicJack better, and if you’re intrigued, hack into it. (Fair warning: My magicJack review is long, way more than I usually allocate for one newsletter.)

Making the Switch to magicJack

I used to have three phone lines, and for years I needed all of them. But with almost all of my communication through e-mail, I decided to dump one and replace it with a magicJack. And save myself about $320 a year.

You plug the magicJack into a free USB port, then plug your phone line into the gizmo. Now you can make free calls with VoIP — they’re routed through the Internet. (The magicJack comes with a 6-inch USB extension cable in case it interferes with other devices plugged into your USB ports.)

Plug one end into a USB port and connect the other end to your standard phone.

 

Hey, I’m Connected

To see how easy it was to get started, I connected the magicJack to a USB port on my PC. (If you use a hub it has to be powered; if it’s not, or underpowered, the magicJack might not work.) Then I plugged a phone into the magicJack using a standard phone cable. Cordless phones also work; just plug in the base unit.

The computer recognized the magicJack like any Flash drive, then it took about 5 minutes to download software updates. I picked up the phone, heard a dial tone, dialed as I normally would, and made my first magicJack call. Cousin Judy in New York said I sounded unusually good, a backhanded compliment if I ever heard one. It took another few minutes to create a 911 location and set up voicemail.

You can call by dialing your phone or do it from your PC.

Once I saw that the magicJack worked, I connected it to my ancient Nortel Venture three-line phone, the one that I rigged up to use a Plantronics wireless headset. If you prefer, you can use your PC’s speakers and a microphone, or a headset, just as you would with Skype.

What’s the magicJack Catch?

There really isn’t any. There are a few inconveniences, and one not-so-minor hassle, and I’ll get to them. But first I want to cover the basics.

One thing to consider is that you need broadband: magicJack requires speeds of at least 100KB. And if you have DSL service, magicJack will work just fine, but don’t call the phone company to shut off your regular phone line as it’s needed for the DSL connection

The magicJack service costs $40 for the first year, which includes the USB dongle. The cost for subsequent service is $20 per year, but chances are good the fee will increase. So the company pushes a 5-year service plan for $60. You get unlimited calling to anywhere in the United States, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Canada. International calls are 2 cents a minute.

If you make a magicJack call to a friend’s magicJack number — anywhere in the world — the call’s free. Calling the United States or Canada from another country with your magicJack is also free. Yep, that’s right: You can carry the magicJack while you’re traveling, connect it to your notebook, and all your calls are free.

You can call as much as you’d like, but magicJack’s Terms of Service obliquely says, “If magicJack sees excessive use, including but not limited to, a customer whose usage is twenty (20) times more than the average magicJack’s customers usage” they’ll cut off service and won’t give you a refund. Swell.

All your 411 calls are free, but you need to listen to a 20-second commercial first. I prefer Google’s free Goog-411 (800-466-4411).

Other features? You have access to 3-way calling and call forwarding. What’s missing is caller ID blocking.

Of course you’re worried about voice quality, and so was I. Most of the time it ranges from very good to great. I talked with my TechBite partner, Mike, in Denver, for about 2 hours and it was a perfect connection. Yet when I tried magicJack’s 411, and then checked voicemail, the connection cut in and out; I also experienced a disconnect when I called my mother (really, Mom, I didn’t hang up!). I got better quality if I stuck the magicJack in a port on my PC instead of using the USB hub.

Is MagicJack For You?

Maybe.

Some forums say that magicJack is good only to use as a second phone line, maybe for a teenager, or just for saving money on long-distance calls. I agree; I wouldn’t advise you to drop your only landline or cell phone for magicJack for a couple of reasons.

First, I wouldn’t depend on the magicJack for emergency 911 calls. Say there’s an emergency and you lose power. Access to the Internet is gone, and magicJack is useless.

Second, you have to keep the PC on. When your PC isn’t running, incoming calls to the magicJack phone number are routed to voicemail. (Here’s a neat option: If someone leaves a voicemail, magicJack sends you an e-mail with a sound file of the message.)

I thought I’d get smart and try a work-around. I attached the magicJack to the USB port of my server, an always-on Seagate Network Attached Storage device. The magicJack had a hearty laugh and refused to be recognized. The designer of the magicJack said it couldn’t be done.

BTW, magicJack includes a local number as part of the service; most metropolitan areas are covered, but you might not be in one of those spots.

Try magicJack for 30 days. If you don’t like it, all you pay for is shipping. The trial starts when you order the device, and you have to get it back to them within the 30 days. (I know you have more concerns, you always do. So read the FAQ for all your picayune questions.)

Two Not-So-Magic Quibbles

One thing I didn’t like: I had to click the Minimize icon to get the magicJack program into the system tray. I’d prefer it automatically minimize when magicJack loads. I haven’t been able to find a way to do it, and no, I don’t want to use an extra software tool to do it. The designer said, “… anything is possible, but this is not on the drawing board; the magicJack is built for the people who need to see it loading.” Whatever.

The company includes an Outlook add-in that lets you dial directly from Outlook’s contacts. That’s handy, but I’d also like a way to import directly into magicJack’s contacts from an Excel or CVS file.

You’ll also have to remember to add an area code no matter where you’re calling, even if it’s a local call.

MagicJack Tricks and Hacks

There are lots of ways you can play with the magicJack. Here are a few:

• I don’t need to see magicJack’s splash screen, so I disabled it.
• If you want run the magicJack from your hard drive rather than the USB dongle, here’s the trick. It doesn’t seem like it’s worth the bother, though, because you still need the dongle in order to connect to a phone line.
• When I connect an external USB drive, I expect it to be drive letter “G.” Without asking, magicJack grabs the first two available drive letters — “G” and “H” — for its USB dongle. It’s easy to fix that.
• You can run magicJack as a Service, spoof its caller ID, reveal more magicJack features by changing the skin, and maybe get your Chevy to get more miles per gallon. It’s all in the magicJack hack site. The Unofficial magicJack forum has more ordinary fixes, hacks, and advice.
• If you have a PBX system, and a nimble mind, you might be able to hack the magicJack to act like a trunk in any Asterisk-based IP PBX. If that’s not Greek, get the details at VoIP Insider and INTJ Geek.

magicJack working with magicFCC and magicCarriers on magicFemtocell

by Chris Ziegler, posted Apr 22nd 2009 at 3:48PM

From pcmag.com

BOTTOM LINE:
So simple it’s almost perfect, the magicJack is the best home voice-over-IP gadget I’ve seen to date. Excellent call quality, a workable set of calling features, and an amazing price make this little box the VoIP wonder to beat.

PROS:
Nice price. Good set of calling features. Softphone capability included. Simple enough to be idiot-proof.

CONS:
Only one line (and phone number) per magicJack for now. No Linux drivers.

COMPANY: 
Ymax Corp.

Editor’s Note (2/05/09): New firmware and hardware have been released (and many readers wrote in to tell us about tech support and billing problems) since this piece was published, so we’ve published a new review of magicJack for winter 2009.

 

Those commercials advertising cheap voice-over-IP (VoIP) phone rates look appealing, but there’s always some fine print: You have to switch cable-TV providers, install a VoIP-smart Internet router, or something. And you end up ticked once a month when the bill from MCI, Verizon, or some other telecom robber baron dips into your wallet. If this sounds like your bio, the YMax magicJack is for you: 2 minutes of setup, voice quality that’s almost indistinguishable from a straight analog POTS line, and a cost of just under $20 a year for unlimited nationwide service. When I was testing it in December 2007, the service offered phone numbers in about 90 percent of the country. International calling wasn’t available at test time, though it should be in the next few months. Pricing will be determined based upon phone rates at that time, though YMax says its mandate is to make international calling cheaper than any rate you can get with either Skype or Vonage.

 

The magicJack device, about the size of a box of Tic Tacs, has a USB plug on one end and an RJ-11 phone jack on the other. I had to connect mine to a Windows PC, but Mac OS X drivers should be ready soon. After USB plug meets USB port, you’ll wait a minute or so while the magicJack software gets automatically loaded. Those who already have magicJack will be happy to know that the company says a firmware rev released while I was testing makes the hardware more resilient to problems caused by fluctuating electrical levels in foreign countries. It also installs hardware echo control, which taxes your CPU about 50 percent less than before.

If this is your first time using the device, you’ll have to run through a registration process. You either request a new number or ask to have your existing number ported (porting availability depends on where you are, takes up to 60 days, and has a $10 surcharge attached); then you input the information necessary to make e911 work (so that emergency services know where you’re calling from). The process should force you off the couch for 60 seconds or so, but that’s it: no phone configuration, no Internet router tweaks. Low-tech folks who just want a cheap phone can just plug a regular analog phone into the magicJack’s RJ-11 port and start dialing.

Those who want a little more will find a fairly impressive array of features in the magicJack software, including caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding, and voice mail that will respond even if you’re not online. The software supplies a softphone that works through a headset and microphone connected to your PC. Compared with business VoIP, this might be a light feature set, but for home users it’s plenty.

Your PC plays a significant part in the service—as in no calls without one. That made me balk at first, thinking that a PC had to be on constantly to make this work. But while technically that’s true, the magicJack’s ability to pick up voice mail even while you’re offline means that your PC can be off while you’re at work or away, since you wouldn’t be there to answer phone calls anyway. And, as with any VoIP service, magicJack doesn’t care where you’re connecting to the Internet as long as the service is broadband. So if your software is installed on a notebook, you can take your home phone with you. And YMax says that in the near future a firmware upgrade will use remote wake-up (a feature that most motherboards support these days) to power up your PC when a call comes in.

MagicJack’s call quality is amazing—almost too good to be true. YMax reps say they can deliver such great sound because they built the operation as a straight phone company rather than an Internet voice provider. YMax worked to become the only such company certified in all 50 states, which, its reps claim, allows it more gateways linking the Internet and the telcos than any other voice provider has. That means it maintains control of calls much longer than a regular VoIP provider, which in turn translates into high call quality. I have no way of verifying the company’s infrastructure claims, but the voice quality speaks for itself.

What worried me is that this network sounds expensive, yet YMax is charging so little. That’s how SunRocket got killed. Then again, magicJack customer base was growing at 30 percent a week while the product was still in beta, according to the company, so maybe I’m worried about nothing. And after all, should the service go belly up, you still have alternatives: It’s not as if the telecom robber barons will disappear. Bottom line: The magicJack is the coolest little home VoIP gadget I’ve seen to date, and for less than $40, everybody should try it.

From Computerworld.com

By Robert L. Mitchell

I’m trying to save money by shopping around my telephone, television and Internet service in two locations. Currently I pay $118 for those services at one location and $60 at the other. To my family that’s a lot of money. We’d like to cut back.

This week I’m looking at VoIP alternatives for my land line telephone service.

The Phone Company

Sticking with what works is the easiest option for most people. It may also be the least expensive if you don’t have or want broadband Internet service, which is needed to support competing voice over IP (VoIP) options. But if you already have broadband, you’ve got other options to think about. My plain old telephone services includes unlimited local dialing for about $23 per month, excluding taxes and fees. Packages with extra features and long distance calling are much more expensive, however, so I get my long distance from Pioneer Telephone.

One nice thing about Pioneer: It doesn’t charge a monthly base fee for the service if you pay electronically (otherwise it’s $.99 per month – much better than the $5 per month most telephone companies charge). I pay 2.7 cents per minute for long distance out of state. In-state calls are 7.5 cents per minute. Of course, we could also use calling cards for about 1 cent per minute, but they’re inconvenient. We have them but don’t always use them.

Magic Jack

Magic Jack is the cheapest VoIP alternative I looked at. At $20 per year it appears that users are getting something for almost nothing. So what’s the catch? There’s no free lunch.

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Magic Jack’s VoIP service gives users unlimited local and long distance calling in the U.S. for $20 per year. To get started you must buy special hardware: a small device, available online or from retailers such as Radio Shack, that attaches to a USB port on any computer. Total up front cost: $40. You then plug a single telephone into the device. Once you’ve signed up for service, Magic Jack assigns you a telephone number and activates your account. From there you supposedly just plug the device in to get dial tone.

Magic Jack offers a few basic features, including call waiting, voice mail online, caller ID and three-way calling. It also offers free directory assistance – something other services charge for to the tune of $1 or more per call.

The device has the advantage of portability. You can bring your phone anywhere where there’s a computer with broadband connectivity and make and receive calls. On the downside, your phone is tethered to your computer, which must be on at all times. And if you have power saving standby or sleep mode configured you’ll have to disable them to receive incoming calls. That’s a hidden cost. Not using power saving mode increases your computer’s electricity consumption to the tune of $14 to $45 per year.

With other services, such as Vonage or Comcast’s Digital Voice, you get a box that can power all of the phones in your house. You (or a technician if you use Comcast) disconnect the twisted pair feed coming in from the telephone company at the termination point (a plastic box mounted on the side of your home of office). Then you connect the VoIP-enabled device to any telephone wall jack to energize your telephone wiring. Voila! All of your existing telephone extensions will work. Magic Jack doesn’t do that. You can still have multiple phones, but with only one jack in the house you’ll need one of those cordless units with multiple hand sets.

Another consideration, as I learned after an ice storm last winter, is that VoIP products don’t work when there’s no electricity. While Comcast’s VoIP service includes a backup battery that keeps you going for a few hours, Magic Jack has no such backup.

While other services can “port” or transfer over your existing telephone number, Magic Jack cannot. And in some areas of the country, such as New Hampshire, the company can’t even assign the user a local telephone number.

Perhaps the biggest drawback is Magic Jack’s support, which is limited to online chat through its Web site. Ironically, Magic Jack, which offers telephone service to its customers, has no public phone numbers you can call. Is that level of support adequate for your telephone? Judging by the number of complaints about Magic Jack from frustrated customers, including this Boston Globe reporter, this is a problem.

Magic Jack is cheap, but I can’t rely on it as a land line replacement. As a product it seems to fall more into the toy or novelty category — and it’s marketed in that way. Its Web site is a bit cheesy, with gimmicky come-ons and no e-mail, business address or telephone numbers you can call. It could save me money as a supplemental service for long distance calling if I made a lot of long distance calls from my land line. But I don’t, and the service, tied to one phone on an always-on computer — isn’t exactly convenient.