Magic Jack

There is a new Magic Jack out and I think this one is a good idea..

I have had a Magic Jack for 2 years now .. I don't use it all that much but there are reasons for that : I use my cell phone more often and the Magic Jack does not have this local prefix 641 "yet" I am hoping they will get one soon so I had to go with a 515 number.  Overall it works great you plug it in to the computer then plug in a normal phone to it.  When you use it a dial window comes up that tells you who is calling and has an ad which is okay its 20 dollars a year who can argue about ads with a price like that.

 I marked over the private information of course but this is what  you get when you call someone or if someone calls you. This interface allows you to make changes look at calling history and even a contacts list. You can set it up for a headset through the computer or through a normal house phone.  The one huge complaint I have seen online and have been asked by customers is "do you have to have the computer on for it to work..."  yes you do, you have to have the computer on to make calls and to receive calls but you don't have to keep it on cause it does have voice mail.

another thing about it is.. its portable, meaning you can pack this up and take it with you anywhere and once you are at a hotel or place that has internet you can use it like you are at home its the same number where ever you are.  If you are like some people who have relatives overseas in different countries you can buy a Magic Jack here in the USA register it and pay for it then send it overseas for that person to use it. this way they can make all the calls to you as they want and it does not cost a penny more than if they were here in the USA


Today I learned about a new Magic Jack device which sounds like an even better idea. This new Magic Jack allows you to plug the device into the wall for power and then connect directly to your internet and to your house phone, the computer does not have to be on. This does cost a bit more but you don't have the ads running in this little window while making calls so I can see why its more expensive.

The costs for Magic Jack:

1. Original Magic Jack 40 dollars "this includes the first year for free"
then its 20 dollars a year after that ... even cheaper if you pay for multiple years ahead of time.

2. The new Magic Jack Plus 70 dollars "first year included"
then its 30 dollars a year after that and I am going to assume that they would have a similar deal
if you pay for mulitiple years ahead of time

I have been talking to customers around here when I help them out with getting DSL internet and have been finding that most people are paying 40 dollars a month which is 480 a year.... thats 450 dollars in savings
per year by switching over to a Magic Jack.


PS. there are people who complain that you need power to make a phone call in case of an emergency like say a tornado had wiped out your part of town... if you think about it most phones now days or at least within the past 20 years have been cordless phones that need power to operate anyway and besides I don't think the local phone lines would be up anyway for you to make that call.