Dumped my Century Link Telephone and DSL, and added Cox Cable Internet. A Magic Jack Plus will be on it's way soon. Saving about fifty bucks a month, kept Direct TV but may dump that soon for an antenna and Net flix.
Although I got double the connection speed, the cable is at least 3 to 4 times more efficient and faster than the DSL seemed to be. I am only on 3 megs down yet my DSL was purported to be 1.5 megs down, and the difference is astounding. In fact my Sister in law had Cox cable at 1 meg down and it was snappier than my DSL.
I've got a bonded T1 in here... 3 Mb up, 3 Mb down, consistent. Thats the fastest I can get back here... another 50 feet to the main road, I can get 60 Mb for a fraction of what I'm paying now. And it will be years before they roll the fiber out here... unless, of course, I wanna foot the bill. No thanks.
Magic Jack Plus is up and running, cut my phone bill from near a grand a year to $69.95 the first year and $29.95 after the first year. It plugs into my router, the computer can be off and the thing still runs. I have my fax machine, telephone and faxing capability from my office computer hooked up to it and they all work. Too cool
Keep us posted on how the magic jack performs after a few months. If you still like it, I may give it a shot. :)
What comes with the Magic Jack? Do you get features like Call Waiting, Voice Mail, etc.? Does 911 work? Is it free for long distance calling?
Looks to me like the main negative is that you have to have your internet up and running.
(Say, if all you have to do is plug it in to a router, does that mean you can plug it in to ANY router? For example, my tablet has a full-sized USB port, if I'm in some place with free Wi-Fi, could I plug it into the tablet and still use the service?)
:)
[Edit: Sorry about all those questions Dave! I didn't realize how many I stuck in until after I posted!]
CraigBert — Dec 18, 2011What comes with the Magic Jack? Do you get features like Call Waiting, Voice Mail, etc.? Does 911 work? Is it free for long distance calling?
Looks to me like the main negative is that you have to have your internet up and running.
(Say, if all you have to do is plug it in to a router, does that mean you can plug it in to ANY router? For example, my tablet has a full-sized USB port, if I'm in some place with free Wi-Fi, could I plug it into the tablet and still use the service?)
I have the Magic Jack Plus which runs without the computer being on. It plugs into the router. Now that said, you can use it with a laptop and wi-fi. All you do is plug it into your laptop USB Port and it automatically downloads the Soft Phone applet. (Which you have to do first off anyways to get the thing authorized by MJ). The original Magic Jack needed a computer but the plus hooks up either way. Call waiting and voice mail and other features as well, like call forwarding. Since I do not intend to use much of the features except voice mail and call waiting I did not really look into the rest. Check out the FAQ's here http://www.magicjack.com/techchat/ It either plugs right into the router using a standard network cable (included) and a USB to AC adapter also included. Or directly into USB without those two accessories needed. You will need the Soft Phone applet to dial out etc. when plugged into the computer. When using it through the router you can use a standard phone set. Long Distance to USA and territories, and Canada is included at no long distance charges. I have mine set up outside in my climate controlled shed with the Base handset out there and the second handset in the house. I also have my computer modem for faxing and my fax machine hooked up to it. I gotta send some faxes out tomorrow to my old boss and see if they receive well at his office. Some fax machines/modems work with it others do not.