"They don't offer telephone support."

Ironic for a company that sells a telephone service. ;-)

I've read several reviews of Magic Jack, and there are a good number of people who rave about it. VoIP solutions can be rocky, and the quality is largely dependent on your home internet upload speed and what else is going on with your web connection. Anyone who relies heavily on VoIP services should install a router with decent QoS (quality of service) traffic shaping features. This will help prioritize voice packets over other types of traffic.

I see your argument on area codes, but in reality, the entire concept of the area code is becoming less important every day. Since phone numbers became portable, many folks are opting to keep old numbers in new areas. Also, more and more people are relying on cell plans or all you can eat phone plans, which means things like local toll and domestic long distance charges is fading into memory.

It seems to me that MJ isn't yet a viable replacement for all your telephony needs, and it's only real benefit is that you can use a regular telephone with it. If you don't need a phone, I'd look into Skype's calling packages. It's more expensive than 10 bucks a year, but it doesn't require a computer to be on if you pick up a special Skype phone (waste less power), and the quality is usually pretty good.

If you don't need to use it while travelling, and only need a home replacement, Ooma may be worth a look. http://www.ooma.com

Mind Over Matt'er - Technology musings, opinion, and more straight from TechLore's head geek.

The MSRP for Ooma is $249, and there's a $40 one-time fee to port an existing phone number. Their basic calling service is free, and includes unlimited (well, 3000 according to the fine print) free domestic inbound/outbound calls and voicemail. You get a free trial of their advanced calling suite for, which carries a monthly of $12.99 or $99.99 per year.

Mind Over Matt'er - Technology musings, opinion, and more straight from TechLore's head geek.

MagicJack is truly a second line...at best! Constant and consistent problems with the line and resetting Never EVER has fixed the problem. Basically mine is plugged in just to occupy and keep a usb slot warm! LOL

CherryBoo to the Rescue!

I have had MJ for about 1.5 years. It is has been great for me. I have two really good stories that MJ was a God send.

1. My sister-in-law is a single lady with little means of support. So, I had set her up with a (the hotel 1/2 block away was wonderful to agree to this) wireless dongle to connect to the hotel. Through this I have connected her TV's to her computer (like a second monitor), to watch hulu, abc, cbs, ect and spent great time instructing her how to use it for everything she needed. When this was first setup MJ was not around yet, and I contracted vonage (portable dongle) - CONSTANT PROBLEMS with connection, getting it replaced, dropped calls, not getting her calls ect - every week I was on the phone with vonage to fix my sister-in-laws phone problems. Then I got her MJ - no problems, no calls dropped, it just works (now for 1 year) - God Send.

2. My nephew was sent to Iraq. As long as the number was set up in the USA, his laptop with the US Military internet system can call his Mom and Dad as often and as long as he likes, and it calls all the numbers (cell phone ect that skype wants extra money for) - and it worked PERFECTLY, he got to talk to his new baby boy on it. He is back now, but will keep his MJ.

I use mine for faxing, for my cell does everything else and the MJ number is forwarded to my cell phone. But, when in my office and not wanting to use my cell phone minutes - I call out on it all the time with NO problems. I have naked DSL (that is DSL with no phone assignment) - ANYTHING to save some money.

I was on a job (I am a computer tech) and my cell phone died, put my MJ on my computer (it connects via verizon air card) and was able to call and recieve calls to complete the job I was on. There is no way you can beat this for 10 bucks a year !
My faxes go through my computer fax modem not a seperate machine - and magicjack does great.

Hollyecho Montgomery
http://hollyecho.com

I'm rather surprised at the problems folks seem to have with MJ. I've had it for a few months now and have had almost no problems at all. No problems with AC assignment and only one problem with clarity. Come to find out, after a little experimenting on my own, it was the hyperactive firewall software that I used that caused the signal to break up. I just shut it off and now I don't have any problems whatsoever with call clarity. My ISP is Clearwire, which is approximately DSL speed from what I have been told, so I couldn't tell you why anyone has a problem using MJ on DSL. (shrug)

We have had some bad luck last year with the work share and the bad economy and we searched for an alternative to our phone line (vonage) to save some cash. We found skype but we didn't want to buy the expensive skype phone and were stuck to our computer headphones when we make a call. Then my husband discovered MJ and decided it was worth a try. We have it for almost a year now, we have cable, yes it does have some problems sometimes (poor voice quality) but most of the time it works great! We don't have a land line but we do have cellphones. Our friends do not have problems calling our number, and when we are home, we use MJ a lot to save our cellphone minutes. Imagine not having to worry paying a phone line every month! One less bill to pay every month!

In this economy, MJ is a lifesaver. I think that everyone should try it if they have cable and if their computer is on most of the time (like ours).

Have a MJ and it works fine as long as the puter is on. Every time you fire your computer off, MJ takes quite a while to get going. You sit and watch your puter screen and wait for the puter it as it takes longer for MJ and puter to work up to speed if you try to multitask while MJ reprograms itself. All the while MJ blinks on screen "In just 1 min MJ will be with you". 3 to 5 mins later, MJ and puter are good to go. Sheesh! Why doesnt it stay on the HD like civilized programs do? I turn my puter off when done with it to keep the "Green Meanies" out of it while Im not there. But when working, it works great.