Wireless phone jacks.

[Jerry]

I looked it up and it sounds simple enough.  It could solve a problem for me.   The part I don't understand is that it get's it's signal from the satelite receiver.  WHAT SATELITE RECEIVER?

Oh yeah, they say the wall outlet (electricity) must be near the phone jack, but they don't say how near?  In my case it might be 15 feet away. it must be near

[mascot]

There's a unit that plugs into your phone jack in the wall and an electrical outlet.  That sends out a signal to a receiver plugged into another outlet, and your phone is plugged into that.  I'm wondering if "satellite" refers to the remote signal that goes from the base to the receiver instead of the satellite we're all used to thinking (satellite TV, satellite Radio, etc.)

[Mikey]

In the news today:  http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2010/0108/MagicJack-meets-cell-tower-as-femtojack

[Jerry]

Oh Michael , Michael that is great.  I do have trouble understanding it.
Mike, I printed the article


Thanks guys!

[miguynmkoi]

I want to know if anyone has tried the MagicJack for landlines too.  Does it really work?  For the cell phone, it would be great!  I don't get any bars with AT&T in my house. 

[karen J]

I don't have any of this stuff, but I think with the Magic Jack or other VoIP stuff, you need to have an active internet connection ON all the time in order for it to work. With to the Magic Jack, sure it's only 20 bucks a year, but you need an internet connection to be ON all the time for it to work. Reminder that internet connections also cost money.

I don't like that, because I don't want my internet connection on all the time. I'm OK with it on during the day, but it is a security liability. I'd rather pay to have a landline.

Just my 2 cents.

[Mikey]

I don't get any bars with AT&T in my house.

I believe the "Do Walk In" is just down the road from you.....   

[mascot]

I have the Magic Jack, and I do like it.  You can't beat $20 a year for a phone, and since I work from home I can make calls from here rather than use up cell minutes.  I have fiber optic internet (Verizon FiOS) and the Magic Jack is getting better than it used to be by a long shot.  Still, sometimes others say that it sounds static-ey to them, and they ask if I'm on a cell phone.  So they do need to improve the quality on outgoing sound.  I have a decent microphone, but I guess if I try to get a nicer one it may sound better.  I use a USB mic and my PC speakers and it's all hands free.  You have to plug in a land line to recognize it, but you can set it up to come through your PC like I did pretty easily.

And yes, you do have to have an internet connection with this, cable or DSL will work.  The nice thing is that the owner of M-Jack owns his own telecommunications company, so he doesn't buy the signal/airwaves from someone else.  This sure beats Vonage with their "only $24.99 a month"!

Overall, I do like it and I'm sure the outgoing will improve, the sound quality on this end is awesome.

[Jonna]

I have it here in the Yucatan and I like it a lot.  We can call the US or Canada as long and as often as we want for $20 a year, it's hard to beat that.  Plus, it uses any phone so we have a wireless phone plugged into it.  The only restriction is that it must be plugged into the computer which needs to be on and connected to the internet.  For me, that's sometimes a hassle since I only use laptops and I tend to use them all over the house.    I may get an old pc just to plug in the Magic Jack so I don't have to take it around with me.  It's no more dangerous having your pc on at night than in the day and the internet connection, if you have the required broadband, is always on unless you disconnect it completely.    Plus, of course, you can quit Magic Jack and turn off the computer any time you want. 

[Mikey]

The fetching one recently got an Ipod-Touch.  She was out for a walk in our neighborhood last evening and said she was amazed at how many of our neighbors have unsecured WiFi.

[mascot]

One thing (or a couple, rather) that should be mentioned is that even if your computer is off, you still get voicemail (included).  The message goes to my email as an attachment so I can still listen to messages without actually calling me voicemail.  The other thing that is interesting is that a friend of mine had it and went to Thailand.  He brought his laptop and his phone module with him and he called me from Thailand for free.  Since it's tied to recognize his computer and he had a WiFi connection, MJ used his internet connection as if he was here in the states.  So technically, you can call anywhere as long as you bring it with you.  You just can't call a land line in a remote country (Unless they have MJ and an approved internet connection too.

[Jonna]

Yep, that's why expats and travelers like it so much.  It's as if you are in the US and you get to pick the area code you want so it is a local call for your friends.  My friends call me and it is as if I were in Palm Springs but it rings down here in the Yucatan and if it is off I get voice mail.  Pretty cool for $20 a year.

[miguynmkoi]

That is very cool indeed, Jonna.  Will have to see about getting one.

So let me get this straight....do I still need a phone landline service?  OR do I just need a local landline without the international, kill me, phone service?  I know I should look into this but you guys explain it much better here.

[mascot]

no, Annette, you don't need land line service...this is a replacement for it.  You only need an internet connection and they say you need a land line phone, but that's only if you want a handset.  Since I'm using my computer (mic and speakers) as a phone, the only thing I have now is the module plugged into a USB port.  I have a cordless phone with the base plugged in, but if I unplug it the MJ phone still works, so as long as you have a mic and speakers, just use the module and your computer/laptop.

[Jonna]

If you want to use it to call FROM the US to other countries, there is a charge.  I think it is similar to Skype but I haven't done it so I don't know.  What I use it for is to call from Mexico to the US or for people in the US to call me on it like a local call.  In that sense, you don't need a landline but let's say you are calling China, the charge for that is listed somewhere on their web site and you would have to deposit money in your account to cover it.  I don't use it to make calls here within Mexico for that reason.   Best would be if you could get one to your friends or family in the other country, then you could call them as if you were making a local call.

[Roark]

Roark Junior, who is a fanatical Warcraft (online-game) player, is currently "testing" MagicJack for me.    After about 6 months of "testing", its clear that it works as advertised and is indeed a CHEAP way to get an extra, non-critical phone line.  He spends hours on the phone with his "hoard" in cooperative game-play.  He loves it.  I love it.

My only problem with the product, if you read the fine print regarding "privacy", is you HAVE NONE.  They tell you that right up-front.  So not to be a paranoid-type here... if you don't have a problem with that potential "issue", then this is definitely the product for you.  The audio approaches (or is equal to) a "normal" land line telephone.  Setup is brainless and takes less than 3 minutes.  It just flat-out works if you've got a good, solid, fast internet connection.

Roark

[miguynmkoi]

SOLD!    Thanks Mike, Jonna and Roark for the vote of confidence.