Magic Jack ...
I really like my Magic Jack. Works 97% of the time.
It’s all crap. One line might get enough usable speed but -—.Get dsl. If you won’t then ask the neighbors. Good people...
I hate vonage as the caller ID always says Vonage Holdings, which is bad for a business. Packet 8 worked well but doesn’t offer some of the features a business needs.
www.ring9.com has a lot of features for small businesses if you’re looking for ACD, or follow me type features.
Depends on how many lines you need and what kind of image you want to present.
I work with someone who uses magic jack. He attends several on line meetings. All call drop at one hour mark and he must call back in to the meeting.
It only works when your PC is on and working. I’d sure hate to rely on the voice line it provides when getting tech support on the computer to which it is attached.
if you have hi-speed wireless internet... try Skype... if you plan on staying in the office.
I use it with my consulting to a dealer in Phila (I am in Hbg) and it works perfect. And cheap!
More info coming via FReepmail.
Magic Jack is VoIP on a national scale. You will be able to select a phone number from your area code if you wish (or anywhere else) but perhaps not one from your local community. It seems to work fine, I just haven’t used it much as I have VoIP from a local provider already. The key is latency, as most broadband connections will have plenty of bandwidth. Satellite ISPs for example will not work due to the latency from the satellite link. Find a good broadband test site and test your connection for VoIP QoS over a period of several days and you’ll know whether it will work reliably.
OOMA
This is what my manager uses. The device cost $350 but you do not need a computer running to make it work. There are no fees for basic service after buying the box. He really likes it and it sounds great when I talk to him. I think he said that he could keep his local phone number. They also have business upgrades.
I have cell phones and land line! When the power went out last year I still had my land line! No cell phones worked and no cable so no voip worked!
pros:
price
has 911
I can send faxes (haven't tested receiving faxes yet)
voice mail
call waiting
caller id
I like it.
drawbacks:
can't port your old phone number
can't control number of rings(4) before voice-mail
for the money...it's great.
voice-mail is a wave file sent as an email attachment.
I control it by hooking it up to an answering machine that I set to 3 rings.
We had a huge wind storm a couple of years back. Internet and cell phones were useless, but the old AT&T land line worked fine.
I went from thinking MJ was the biggest ripoff of 2008 to thinking it was one of the best buys I have ever made. I paid $99 for 5 years of phone service. The difference was that my USB port was not supplying enough power. I bought an AC powered 4-port USB hub and have not had one problem since.
I have been using SKYPE for over 2 years and I love it. I bought a linksys portable cordless for home use and I use my laptop for travel.
Unlimited long distance for US with voicemail is about $60.00 per year. (u get to select ur own phone #)
I have used my laptop with a headset from airports with no problem and when I travel to China is is $.021 per minute.
My personal selection was Magic Jack. It is faster than a regular phone, has a great addressbook and VoiceMail.
I have been robbed by AT&T the past two months with excessive bills for Internet ($70 a month) Go figure how they can charge double also continuing to charge for an office phone i had disconnected two months ago.
If you have even a modest amount of computer savvy, you will never again need to pay inflated prices for PBX capabilities.
My personal selection was Magic Jack. It is faster than a regular phone, has a great addressbook and VoiceMail.
I have been robbed by AT&T the past two months with excessive bills for Internet ($70 a month) Go figure how they can charge double also continuing to charge for an office phone i had disconnected two months ago.