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MagicJack just got awesome.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Mar 2003
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My Mom has used MagicJack in the past for her phone, but, due to the big "as seen on TV" message on the box, I always thought it was just some gimmicky device that probably didn't work very well. But regardless of what I previously thought, their newest device sounds awesome! You plug the MagicJack into your computer that is connected to broadband, and it will allow you to use *your cell phone* through your internet connection. Doing this will allow you to use your phone without using your minutes.
According to the article, it basically creates a mini cell-tower in your home, and they claim that it is legal without a licence "because wireless spectrum licenses don't extend into the home."
Anyway, here's the article: MagicJack's next act: disappearing cell phone fees by AP: Yahoo! Tech
It got me thinkng that if all you need is a computer hooked to the internet, you could theoretically just hook it up to your laptop and use any of the free hotspots around the country when you are traveling. No reason to limit it to just your home.
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
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The size of a deck of cards, it plugs into a PC, which needs a broadband Internet connection. The device then detects when a compatible cell phone comes within 8 feet, and places a call to it. The user enters a short code on the phone. The phone is then linked to the magicJack, and as long as it's within range (YMax said it will cover a 3,000-square-foot home) magicJack routes the call itself, over the Internet, rather than going through the carrier's cellular tower. No minutes are subtracted from the user's account with the carrier. Any extra fees for international calls are subtracted from the user's account with magicJack, not the carrier.
I wonder how many phones you can link to one magicjack? Can it handle more than one call at a time?
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Slick shoes?! Are you crazy?!
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Back in the Good Ole US of A
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Originally Posted by Stogieman
I wonder how many phones you can link to one magicjack? Can it handle more than one call at a time?
I'd be impressed if it did.
I bet the wireless carriers will fight this tooth and nail.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Mar 2003
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Originally Posted by Atheist
I bet the wireless carriers will fight this tooth and nail.
Yeah, I'm sure that they already have their lawyers brainstorming about it. The FCC as well.
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Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Feb 2005
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Why can't they make a standalone MagicJack that doesn't nede to plug into a USB port on an always on PC...?
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Houston, TX
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GSM (AT&T/Tmo/Tracphone) only, no CDMA (Vzw/Sprint/Alltell/PCS/US Cellular) support, so it won't work for the majority of cellular subscribers in the US. Brilliant, can't wait to see the return rates.
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Rockville, MD
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Originally Posted by tightsocks
Why can't they make a standalone MagicJack that doesn't nede to plug into a USB port on an always on PC...?
They did, it's called Ooma. I got one recently and it works just as described.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Mar 2003
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Originally Posted by mduell
GSM (AT&T/Tmo/Tracphone) only, no CDMA (Vzw/Sprint/Alltell/PCS/US Cellular) support, so it won't work for the majority of cellular subscribers in the US. Brilliant, can't wait to see the return rates.
I think you are speaking a little too quickly. Their current audience might not be every person in the country, but it is still a very large group of people. I use t-mobile, and a lot of people on this board use AT&T (thanks to the iPhone), so I think that it is a great start. Once they have got past the initial hurdles of the smaller user-base (which is still potentially huge), they can then roll it out to the rest.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: San Diego, CA, USA
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While that does sound cool, between rollover minutes and the obscene number of night/weekend minutes most plans give you, I don't ever find myself running out. Do other people have that problem very often?
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Chuck
___
"Instead of either 'multi-talented' or 'multitalented' use 'bisexual'."
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Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Feb 2005
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Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton
They did, it's called Ooma. I got one recently and it works just as described.
Looks like a pretty big upfront investment compared to MagicJack.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: planning a comeback !
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Originally Posted by tightsocks
Looks like a pretty big upfront investment compared to MagicJack.
But it works 24/7 w/o a computer running. Plus, Ooma offers many more features. You pay one-time, and then it's free for life. MagicJack will charge you each year.
Both have pros and cons.
-t
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Tampa, Florida
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You can get a used netbook for $200 and combine it with the MagicJack.
I would like to see MJ's femtocell go on the market without legal obstacles. I would switch to pre-paid cell-phone service in a heartbeat, and getting one for my office, one for my house.
Google thought THEY were revolutionizing the phone industry. They were wrong.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: planning a comeback !
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Originally Posted by The Godfather
You can get a used netbook for $200 and combine it with the MagicJack.
Then you might as well get Ooma for $200 and no future fees.
-t
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Tampa, Florida
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Originally Posted by turtle777
Then you might as well get Ooma for $200 and no future fees.
-t
The Ooma is $250, so yeah.
(
Last edited by The Godfather; Jan 9, 2010 at 08:40 PM.
)
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: planning a comeback !
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Originally Posted by The Godfather
The Ooma is $250, so yeah.
The older version is sold regularly for under $200.
Costco had it for $ 180.
-t
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Rockville, MD
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Also, Ooma is the Apple of VOIP options. It was clearly designed with the user in mind, not the programmer. It looks and acts like a phone service, not like a Windows peripheral. To me, the elegance of not having my phone dangle off a netbook is worth something, and that's a big part of why I use Macs too.
I will point out though, it will cost $12 a year in phone taxes. I don't know how MagicJack deals with that, if at all, but rumor is that if you get the "hub + scout" version of Ooma, you won't have to pay the tax (Ooma will pay for you). Mine was the "hub" only, and I will have to pay (starting next year).
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Milwaukee, WI
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My aunt just got MagicJack not too long ago, and I just couldn't get it to work for some reason. I don't know what I was doing wrong with it. I gave up eventually and I think she returned it. If I knew we could get "free" minutes from it for cell phones in my house, I would convince my mom to lower our monthly amount. Would be helpful...by the way, first post here
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Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Somewhere
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Originally Posted by torsoboy
According to the article, it basically creates a mini cell-tower in your home, and they claim that it is legal without a licence "because wireless spectrum licenses don't extend into the home."
Unless you live inside a Faraday cage, radio waves are pretty good at extending out of the home where FCC spectrum licenses do apply...
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Houston, TX
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Unless you fail math, that whole distance cubed thing adds up pretty quickly.
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: yes
Status:
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While having these sort of options is a great thing, is there a reason to use this over Skype and a headset? I guess the advantage is free domestic calling, whereas Skype costs money? You'd have to make a *lot* of calls to both use up your minutes and justify paying for Ooma though. I guess this is where MagicJack would come in?
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: planning a comeback !
Status:
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Originally Posted by besson3c
While having these sort of options is a great thing, is there a reason to use this over Skype and a headset?
Using handsfree telephones that extend to multiple rooms in your home ?
-t
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Mar 2003
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Originally Posted by besson3c
While having these sort of options is a great thing, is there a reason to use this over Skype and a headset? I guess the advantage is free domestic calling, whereas Skype costs money? You'd have to make a *lot* of calls to both use up your minutes and justify paying for Ooma though. I guess this is where MagicJack would come in?
I think the advantage is that it doesn't require additional phone hardware, and you get to keep your number. Also, with MagicJack you still use your same cell phone, it just makes it so that no minutes are counted against your plan. With Ooma, one big advantage is that you aren't tied to a computer, and the quality of the call is supposedly much better, and it offers more features than Skype (911 capabilities being a big one, IMO).
So far I haven't been willing to drop my regular line for a voip number. I just don't trust my internet providers' infrastructure as much as the telephone company's. I lose my internet connection *way* more than I lose my land line connection (never). I use Skpe for long distance, but I can always fall back to the land line if my internet is down for some reason.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Mar 2003
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Clinically Insane
Join Date: Dec 1999
Status:
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Originally Posted by mduell
GSM (AT&T/Tmo/Tracphone) only, no CDMA (Vzw/Sprint/Alltell/PCS/US Cellular) support, so it won't work for the majority of cellular subscribers in the US. Brilliant, can't wait to see the return rates.
You can't use a CDMA phone on someone else's network. It's designed for vendor lockin. Why are you so surprised?
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"…I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than
you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods,
you will understand why I dismiss yours." - Stephen F. Roberts
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hayesk
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Originally Posted by tightsocks
Looks like a pretty big upfront investment compared to MagicJack.
Of course. It includes an embedded computer. Surely you don't expect that to be free.
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