Jeffrey
too dark too early
Premium
join:2002-12-24
Dix Hills,NY
clubs:
 ·Optimum Online
 ·Verizon FIOS
 ·Vonage
·magicjack.com
|  I like MJ
I bought one of them about a year ago, may be a little less, and I love it. I don't use it regularly, but I use it enough to know I like it.
I'll be picking up a second MJ for a specific reason in a few weeks to use as a more regular line as a favor for someone. They should get a good kick out of it.  |
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fuziwuzi
Not born yesterday
Premium
join:2005-07-01
Atlanta, GA
| so far so good
I've been using a MagicJack for about 6 months now. So far I've been satisfied with the service. I originally could not get an area code local to me, but within a few months this area became available and I was able to change the number without a fee. Occasionally I'll get a call with a tiny amount of echo, but the people I talk to using it have never reported any issues. I have a DECT 6.0 wireless 2-handset system connected to it, giving me freedom to move around the house.
You really cannot beat it for the money. I'm buying another unit to ship to a friend in another country, so that he can send and receive calls to me and other friends here in the USA.
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***************
I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We've created life in our own image.
- Stephen Hawking |
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Mactron
el camino Real
Premium
join:2001-12-16
CM94sv
| Not bad at all
I don't use it as my primary phone. I do use it for talking on my laptop at home and traveling. I've had it for about a year now and it works so well I just renewed it for 4 more years for the price of three. 
Sure hope they don't go the way of Sunrocket...
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If only the Verizon CSRs worked this well.  |
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TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
|  Worthless piece of junk if below is true
»blog.isp-planet.com/blog/2008/06···hon.html
I find I cannot do anything else on the PC while using a MagicJack. Computer activity of any kind causes noise on the line. Luckily, I have a work PC and home PC so, for work, I run the business calls on my home PC and take notes on the work PC. When I want to make personal calls, however, I have to not use the PC for anything else. If this description of a limitation is accurate, then the MagicJack is worthless on a PC with something running in the background all the time. Who wants to make calls with a constant noise on the call.
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My BLOG .. .. Internet News .. .. My Web Page |
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TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
| reply to Mactron
Re: Not bad at all
said by Mactron  :Sure hope they don't go the way of Sunrocket... Interesting observation. Here is a comment that has the same worry:
»blog.isp-planet.com/blog/2008/06···hon.html
Update:
I received the following reply on the ISP-Wireless list:
magicjack is a simply an extreme example of a company selling service below cost to drive subscriber base, and therefor their stock value. We operate over 200 VoIP brands. I have a solid understanding of the real costs to provide PSTN termination and origination in the US. Unless Magicjack really is...magic, they are losing money on every customer. Remember Sunrocket? Woo hoo! Unlimited calling for $99 a year!. Fastest growing phone company in the US! Going to kill vonage and packet8 and everyone else and drive the cost down to zero. Well, now they are gone, because once the bean counters and the idiot investors figure out that you are NEVER going to make any money, they pull the plug. Only hope MJ has is that ebay will purchase them for $5 Billion or so.
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My BLOG .. .. Internet News .. .. My Web Page |
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mrsdrgn
join:2007-12-25
Lake Worth, FL | Other alternatives
Why pay for the jack!! There are many other ways to call for free over the internet. Try VOIP Raider. If you are going to call from your computer there is nothing magic about the jack. |
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ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs: | It will be ad supported....
What I don't like is the idea of the MJ scanning the calls I make and targeting ads based on my caling.
Thanks but no thanks. |
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insomniac84
join:2002-01-03
Schererville, IN | reply to TKJunkMail
Re: Not bad at all
If they keep growing the way they are, someone will absolutely buy them out. Google, Microsoft, ATT, or any other big company interested in VoIP or phone service. |
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Jeffrey
too dark too early
Premium
join:2002-12-24
Dix Hills,NY
clubs:
·Optimum Online
·Verizon FIOS
·Vonage
·magicjack.com
| reply to TKJunkMail
Re: Worthless piece of junk if below is true
said by TKJunkMail :» blog.isp-planet.com/blog/2008/06···hon.htmlI find I cannot do anything else on the PC while using a MagicJack. Computer activity of any kind causes noise on the line. Luckily, I have a work PC and home PC so, for work, I run the business calls on my home PC and take notes on the work PC. When I want to make personal calls, however, I have to not use the PC for anything else. If this description of a limitation is accurate, then the MagicJack is worthless on a PC with something running in the background all the time. Who wants to make calls with a constant noise on the call. I have had MJ running on a 3 year old Pentium M 1.6Ghz CPU with 1GB of RAM while using Outlook 2007, Firefox, Trillian, and Excel 2007 open and no problem at all.
On a side note, I find MJ's installation software - and the removal of said software - something to be less than desirable. They need to improve it.
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And so castles made of sand, slip into the sea, eventually.
I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing. |
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Dan the Inventor
@aol.com
| We have been on Market less than 6 months and have profits
Most primary phone services are people's Cell Phone not home service.That is actually a large reason we are doing so well and selling a lot of magicJacks.Their cell phone service does not work well in their house,or their International rates are very high,or people need a phone with 911 on it for their children in their house .Then you have people who travel who save a ton of money with magicJack and other's in this economy who just can't afford Ma Bell,particularly when they do not use their home phone that often.magicJack solves all these problems and more.
As our customer service has gone through large improvements,more Phone numbers became available and word of mouth has taken over,we have actually turned a profit now.This is the first time ever,that a company has made money from acquiring customers as opposed to spending money to get that customer.So although we have less profit,we make up for it by selling many,many units.The bigger the better,or so they say.
WE have some very exciting things coming out over the next few weeks and we just released a large upgrade in the network this week.
Inventor
Dan Borislow |
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dbmaven
There's no shortage
Premium,Mod
join:1999-10-26
Sty in Sky
clubs:
·VOIPo
·magicjack.com
·Optimum Online
Host:
Filesharing Software
No, I Will Not Fix..
Road Runner
Bright House Netwo..
Computer Hardware ..
| reply to TKJunkMail
Re: Not bad at all
The difference between MJ and "those other services like SunRocket" is that they have their own "phone company" - YMAX Communications. Thus, they collect interconnect fees for inbound call termination/switching - which none (or few) of the other VoIP companies do.
As for "noise on the line" when anything is being done on the computer - that's a PC issue and not something commonly complained about (although there are plenty of other complaints). I've used MJ on an older Athlon XP1800 based computer with 256MB of RAM, with BOINC Rosetta@Home running in the background, and have never had any noise on the line during calls.
I'd never use it as a full home phone line replacement - but it makes an outstanding 2nd line - for kids who spend hours on end on the phone, people who travel, or people who make lots of long distance calls. For $50/year (first year, $20/year afterwards at current pricing) - you get unlimited US/Canada long distance - lots of people can run that up in 2 weeks using a tradition POTS service, and even the other "name" VoIP services will cost 6-7 times that for a year in most cases.
It ain't perfect - but if you use it as part of a telephony portfolio approach, it's hard to beat.
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If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?
Living in "an optimized state of temporary chaos" |
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Nanoprobe
Crunching in subspace
Premium
join:2003-05-11
Crab Nebula
clubs:
·Skype
·magicjack.com
 ·AT&T Southeast
1 edit | reply to ptrowski
Re: It will be ad supported....
I tried it and I found that it didn't work for me. Consistently dropped calls and would not complete long distance calls most of the time. Friends that used it with cable modems had huge issues a peak demand times, especially nights and weekends. It also seems to work better if you have at least 768K upload. I like the idea but it has a long way to go.
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Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe. Albert Einstein |
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mod_wastrel
join:2008-03-28 | reply to TKJunkMail
Re: Not bad at all
Isn't MJ subsidized to some extent by ads? (Which might make it fit right in with a Google purchase. "MagicCentral" anyone? ) |
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ebubman
join:2002-01-17
Enola, PA
·Comcast
·Vonage
| sounds too good to be true
$40 for an entire year sounds too good 2 b true. with my luck i'll send them the $40 & they'll declare chapter 13 the next day. btw, anytime a company wants to take your money but fails to provide a physical address or phone #, one had better be prepared to lose the moolah. bub |
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK | I'm sure MJ is in danger of being "Network Managed"...
Wonder how long before "Network Management" kicks in on MagicJack.... |
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Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL |  Is MagicJack a Pyramid scheme?
Is MagicJack to good to be true? I hope that in the future, customers do not find themselves being jacked off, without aural stimulation! |
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patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY | scam
Scam, service is free for 1 year only. And the service is partly funded by popups on the computer application and targeted telemarketing. |
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Nanoprobe
Crunching in subspace
Premium
join:2003-05-11
Crab Nebula
clubs:
·Skype
·magicjack.com
·AT&T Southeast
| said by patcat88 :Scam, service is free for 1 year only. And the service is partly funded by popups on the computer application and targeted telemarketing. Just for the record, the service is not free. It's $40 for the first year and $20 per year afterward. Pop-ups are not an issue with FF and I never answer the phone if I don't recognize the number.
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Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe. Albert Einstein |
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sjr
join:2006-08-27
Osseo, MN
| Best $20 a year phone service I have used
I bought one of these about 5 months ago and have been very happy with it. I do not make many calls so I have not run it through extensive high volume testing but what I do call and receive it is good. I was only using my cell phone for my home phone but in my place the signal would tend to bounce around even going out a few times. I figured for the $46.90 I paid for the first year, which includes the first year of service and the Magic Jack itself, I could try getting it as that is about 1 months cost for a regular phone from Qwest around here.
As far as the actual service I think on 2 or 3 calls I have heard a bit of an echo on my side but it was still better than what I usually got on the cell phone and on the other end no one has noticed anything off, most figured I just got a new regular phone line when I said I had a new home phone. I suppose the only real negative for most is that your pc has to be on in order to use it but for me that is not a issue as I have a htpc I run 24/7. I do not notice anything when the pc is running something intensive, plus I run Seti on it all the time plus if it is recording a show that eats a fair bit of cpu as well and doing both it has no effect on the phone. But unlike most of the other posters saying what they are running I am using a quad core cpu. |
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