After Consumer Reports gave MagicJack (MJ) its semi-seal of approval, I figured I'd give it a try as my primary home phone. If it works I save a couple of hundred bucks on my phone bill. If it doesn't work I'm only out 40 bucks. Overall, I've found that MJ is passable, but you get what you pay for.
When MJ works, it's great. However it takes a perfect storm to get the best results. For the sake of brevity, I've listed the quirks below. Take them like a Seventeen magazine quiz to see if MJ is right for you.
-MJ needs a reliable Internet connection. Since VOIP uses UDP to make calls, lost data is lost forever and cannot be recovered or rebuilt. Thus make sure you have a high speed connection and don't use WiFi.
-The hardware is cheap at best. If you have an older laptop, you may need a high power USB hub to power the MJ to use a regular phone. If you're using a computer headset, you won't have this problem.
- Since the hardware is cheap, only certain phones will work with it. It seems older phones work best. I wanted a multiple handset model and i had to try two before i got one that worked.
- The MJ service only has certain area codes available for you assigned number. In my case they didn't have a 603 code. Make sure you run a quick google search for MJ and your area code to see if it is available.
- The call volume for me is low. I'm not sure what the cause is but even on the highest volume setting, I still have trouble hearing people sometimes.
If you can get the right setup, MJ is great. Like I said earlier, if you don't like it, you're only out 40 bucks. If you want a little more assurance, try Skype or have a cell phone for a backup. There are also some good support forums as well. All in all, MJ is nothing special,but it's saved me a ton of cash so far.
Godspeed
