What is MagicJack?

Chris Pirillo — Wed, 06 May 2009 09:52:06 +0000

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What do you currently use for your phone service? Do you use a traditional land-line company, or something like Vonage? I’ve been using Vonage in my home for a couple of years now. Lately, though, some people were asking me what I thought about MagicJack, so I decided to try it out.

I figured we’d set it up together in this video. After all, the package promises “60 seconds to a lifetime of savings!”. It also talks about having free voice mail, free International calling, and even free local and long-distance. All you need is a phone and a broadband connection.

I actually had to go buy a cheap corded phone, because all of the phones in my house were cordless! I plugged the MagicJack in, and it instantly opened. The little interface told me to click a button to start calling – even while everything was downloading.

Within about 30 seconds, I was ready to register. I entered my email and a password into the program. I was told that following activation I would receive a confirmation email to finish the process. Then, it asked me my name, and approximate location for proper 911 services. After this step, it gave me the option of which area code I wanted to go with for where I live. Then, I could choose any number I wanted. Heck, I could’ve even chosen a number and area code back in Iowa!

I then had to of course agree to the Terms of Service. Don’t do as I did – or didn’t do. Always read your Terms of Service before agreeing! After doing that, I had my very own MagicJack phone number. I didn’t like the giant banner ad in the middle of the dialer though. I guess that’s what we get for having free phone service though.

I plugged the phone it, picked it up and dialed. It went through! That quickly, I called myself! I even answered myself. The sound was pretty clear, as well. I was impressed at this point, for sure. It took no time to set up, and it works!

If you shut down the MagicJack application on your computer, you cannot receive incoming calls. So – keep that in mind! Oh! Cool! There’s a call log! However, I don’t like that the address book cannot coordinate with my address book within my operating system. That would rock! Maybe they can work on that with a future release.

Well, there you go. There’s my opinion on MagicJack. It’s free, it’s simple, and it works. Try it for yourself. You may want to consider this as an alternative to a traditional land-line phone.

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What is MagicJack?

Chris Pirillo » magicjack

What is MagicJack?