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Has anyone used the magic jack? (Phone service through your computer) Free 30-day trial ends today.

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1Hippiechick Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-15-08 01:00 PM
Original message
Has anyone used the magic jack? (Phone service through your computer) Free 30-day trial ends today.
Edited on Sat Nov-15-08 01:35 PM by 1Hippiechick
I have cable telephone service, and am so pleased, but antsy to go with the magic jack.

added to add link AND to note that you can try the product free for 30 days, but that offer ends today. Gonna do it!
http://www.magicjack.com/9/index.asp
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OwnedByFerrets Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-15-08 01:06 PM
Response to Original message
1. Im not sure what you mean by "magic jack" but I use
Packet 8 and love it. I would never go back to land lines.
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1Hippiechick Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-15-08 01:07 PM
Response to Reply #1
3. Never heard ot it. How does it work?
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OwnedByFerrets Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-15-08 01:16 PM
Response to Reply #3
7. ...
http://www.packet8.net/ ss, should have included in first post
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Davis_X_Machina Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-15-08 01:07 PM
Response to Original message
2. How does it differ from Skype? n/t
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1Hippiechick Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-15-08 01:11 PM
Response to Reply #2
4. Not familiar w/skype, either. Have just seen it advertised repeatedly on tv
Just found this review on e-bay. And, I also just found videos on YouTube on installion. The review from ebay mentions Skype, so you may find that interesting. I will have to read up.

http://reviews.ebay.com/Magic-Jack-Internet-Phone-Pros-and-Cons-I-love-mine_W0QQugidZ10000000008360175
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originalpckelly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-15-08 01:12 PM
Response to Original message
5. MagicJack, the most disappointing product in history.
:spank:
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Idealism Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-15-08 01:14 PM
Response to Original message
6. My friends dad helped make it, it seemed to work pretty good
the guy is loaded now living in vegas lol i guess its selling quite a bit
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snappyturtle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-15-08 01:22 PM
Response to Original message
8. I have it. Works great! It's wonderful being able to call long distance
Edited on Sat Nov-15-08 01:26 PM by snappyturtle
for absolutely next to nothing. Occasionally, I have a bad connection but I'm in the boonies. I just call back and that typically fixes it. All in all, a great deal and it's mobile with a lap top which I think makes it even better.

www.magicjack.com


My husband has Skype and loves it too!
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FedUpWithIt All Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-15-08 02:25 PM
Response to Reply #8
13. Do you get service for a year by paying the purchase price? Or does it include a lot of other fees?
:hi:
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snappyturtle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-16-08 02:12 PM
Response to Reply #13
18. My husband bought the thing...let's see, it was seventy and some odd
dollars which included the magic jack and shipping and TWO years service. No other fees involved. Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner...life got in the way!
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dkofos Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-15-08 01:23 PM
Response to Original message
9. Interesting concept.
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Lasher Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-15-08 01:35 PM
Response to Original message
10. I have Skype.
Calls to other Skype users are free. You can call others on regular phones but you have to pay for that. I use it for international calls, which I schedule ahead of time via email. But just for everyday use I prefer a regular my land line. I think you can buy a phone that's made to work with Skype, instead of using your PC/headset. That might do a better job of replicating conventional phones.
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elocs Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-15-08 01:54 PM
Response to Original message
11. Google is your friend. Check out this person's opinion at the RipOff Report:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/320/RipOff0320581.htm


Lets start off by saying Please save yourself the head ache DONT BUY this product. The entire infomercial looks and sounds great but they dont tell you upfront is that its really not a 30 day trial but rather a 15 day trial cause after 15 days they charge your credit card like they did mine.

They don't tell you that if you ever have a problem you WILL NEVER speak to a live representative, cause the company does not have a telephone.

They don't tell you that they are going to redistribute your personal information to other customers in their database like they did mine

They don't tell you that if you wish to send your product back it will take them 45 days to issue you a refund.

They dont tell you up front that in order to have 24/7 phone access your computer can not go into hibernation or be shut off, imagine if you have an emergency at night time when your computer is usually off and dont have access to a phone,? or if you have a burglar and need to contact the police?

When you do call 911 they dont tell you that your actually speaking with a internet computer and not that of your local police department which by the way you have to be sure you give them all kinds of information Home address, name, phone #,etc) before they even dispatch anyone out to your home.(I dont know about you guys but I have small children, who are to young to memorize this information, and trust them to know that in a hectic situation/emergency thay are going to be able to assist this internet operator to get some help in time? I mean what if something ever happened to mommy or daddy and they needed the police but didnt know the information because their to young 5,yrs old?

They dont tell you that you can not make any phone calls that require you to input #s such as if you call your bank and have to input your ss# good luck because every number you press is multiplied by 2 try inputing your account # ssi# or anthing that is requiring verification data of you, sorry you can't so if the company your calling does not have a customer service rep wgile peek hours your out of luck.

They dont tell you that you have to dial your area code to make phone calls within your own city, so to call your next door neighbor you must first dial your area code.

They don't tell you that you can not be on your computer doing work because every time someone in your house picks up the phone or a call comes in a box pops up which you have to minimize, and yes you have to minimize it for every call going out or coming in , trust me its a pain especially when your spouse work is done primarily on the pc, try writing a word,power point,excel, while every 10 seconds you have a box popping up on your working screen, now you can take care of this problem by simply unplugging your phone, thus eliminating anyone in the home using the phone, or receiving calls, but hey atleast you get your work done without any annoying boxes interupting you.

They don't tell you that once you connect the magic jack to your computer, your going to be using up your systems resources, & have to update all your pc's direct x functions, so if your not a computer garu your in trouble, or you can just call their tech support and speak with someone who can walk you through the process.... oh no wait sorry they have no live person you can talk to if you need any customer assistance or tech support you have to go online and chat with them. by the way good luck getting someone to log in to the chat area to assit you, lets just say that if its less then 2 minutes your one of the lucky ones.


More at the link. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
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1Hippiechick Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-15-08 02:05 PM
Response to Reply #11
12. I did read comments, but I am especially grateful for the link to Rippoff Report! Thanks!
Edited on Sat Nov-15-08 02:37 PM by 1Hippiechick
Actually, we have cell phones, but still maintain what used to be a "land line" through the internet, so I see this service as an alternative to abandoning the phone number that we have had for almost 40 years.

Edited to correct spelling.
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elocs Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-15-08 03:10 PM
Response to Reply #12
17. I use my phone little and so I decided to stop spending $30 a month for phone service
when I finally got rid of dialup this past summer and got broadband internet. I went with a VoiP phone and got HipTel for a $7.95 a month fee plus 1.9 cents a minute for all calls. So far I've been spending about $10 a month so I am saving $20 over my old phone bill which did not include long distance. I got a new number because I was sick of waiting months for my old phone company, CenturyTel, to port my old number. The upside has been no telemarketers or election season calls or innumerable wrong numbers (my old number ended in 4900 which was close to the number of area businesses, especially Pizza Hut and I got so many wrong numbers for them that I was tempted to take an order).

I am just naturally suspicious of anything that sounds too good to be true.
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snappyturtle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Nov-16-08 02:30 PM
Response to Reply #11
19. Look I have a Magic Jack and have had it for several months. I do not agree
Edited on Sun Nov-16-08 02:32 PM by snappyturtle
with ripoff whatever's view on the set up. If you can plug in a phone you can use the product. There was a little download as I recall...nothing complicated or I could not have done it.

As far as the 9/11 thing...hey, it doesn't take a genius to figure out if your computer is down or napping, the magic jack isn't going to be quickly accessible. We still have a stand land line. MJ is marvelous for absolutely elminating long distance charges.

I also disagree with the pop up screen "problem". It loads when you turn your computer on...period...quick...it's done. When you dial, a screen (small) comes up and your can dial on it or on the actual handset. One little click and it's gone. Really whoever wrote the ripoff piece is probably heavily invested in AT&T or something.

You can list favorites...automatic dial...so what's the big deal with the area code for local numbers. If you call them frequently you just click on them.

Our credit card was not charged until the thirty day trial was up.

When I read sentences like this one in the above:'.....the police but didnt know the information because their to young 5,yrs old?" I have to wonder if this person has the brains to use a MJ.

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LaPera Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-15-08 02:35 PM
Response to Original message
14. I have a few innovative products I can make a bundle on, didn't know I could sell them on DU...
Edited on Sat Nov-15-08 02:45 PM by LaPera
This is great, I'll just put my ads on the DU forums offering people a free 30 day trial....it seems to be working....thanks for the tip!!
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1Hippiechick Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-15-08 02:41 PM
Response to Reply #14
15. You forgot your sarcasm thingy.
I knew when I updated the post to mention 30-day free trial that SOMEone would be offended. I'm not selling anything. I asked a question about the Magic Jack. So, create a post about a product and ask questions. If that is illegal, it will get deleted, as will mine if it violates policy here. I've seen others post here, asking questions about products. Has no one asked a question about a problem that you could respond with a recommendation about what you use, including something you have created?
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LaPera Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Nov-15-08 02:42 PM
Response to Reply #15
16. You obviously missed it, Skippy!!
Edited on Sat Nov-15-08 02:45 PM by LaPera
:puke:
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