Big Dan's Corner

Last week I ordered the Magic Jack with tax and shipping it came to just under $50 for the device and one year of service. For those of you that don’t know Magic Jack is a VOIP (computer-telephone) service much like Skype or even Yahoo voice except with the added bonus that you can plug a regular phone in this magic jack so that you can use it just like regular phone service. The only downfall which I knew before ordering is that the magic jack needs to be plugged in to a computer that’s turned on in order to make and receive phone calls. We have a computer in the living room that can stay on all the time. I plan on replacing that computer over the next year or so, since it doesn’t do much but play simple games I’ll probably go for a low power net-top.

The best thing about magic jack is it’s $20 a year for phone service. We’re currently paying $60 a month! A buddy of mine has magic jack so I’ve used the service before which is pretty slick. The program that pops up when you plugin the magic jack is nice. You can dial phone calls from it,then pick up the phone connected to the jack or use your computer’s microphone and speakers to make the call just like Skype. You are also able pick up the phone and dial like normal phone service. The application has call history and contact list functions. The only bad thing about the app is there’s Magic Jack ads on the left hand side all the time. It’s not really a problem just slightly annoying.

At first I plugged the Magic Jack into my Mac Mini to get a phone number and complete registration. The app worked but the registration button didn’t work so I plugged it into my Windows computer and registration went off without a hitch. During the whole registration process there are constant upsells, $10 for a vanity number, buy another year of service for $20, buy 5 years of service for $70 which isn’t bad at all and I can forgive them for trying to upsell me as the service is so cheap. It took me less then 5 minutes to register my 911 address and get a phone number; no complaints.

Here’s a screen shot of the app in action, click for full size:

For now I have it hooked up to an old corded phone just to test it out. It works great I called the house phone from the Magic Jack and talked to mom for a few minutes call quality was clear as a bell, no delays or anything as I’ve experienced with Skype in the past. The only minor  pitfall is you have to dial 1 and the area code before any number even local numbers. It’s not a big deal but it will take a bit of getting used to for mom.

I plan on setting up the contact list with all our friends and family so that mom can just double click and pick up the phone to call someone which would save her from looking through her disorganized phone book.

Of course with VOIP there’s some downfalls: If the power goes out you have no phone service because you computer is off and if the internet goes down there’s no phone service either but we have cell phones in the house in case of emergency and truth be told we use the phone probably less then 3 hours per week.

My first impressions of the Magic Jack are that it’s awesome. I am considering buying a second one for my business line and dropping my Skype Subscription which is basically the same thing but costs $60 per year. We’ll see how the Magic Jack fairs in real world usages for a month or so before we cancel our phone service with the phone company.