Next ‘Magic Jack’ promises free cell phone calls
Even if you’re not a fan of “As Seen on TV” products, you’ve no doubt heard of the Magic Jack by now. Popularized by a year-old informercial, this clever product turns your computer into an inexpensive landline alternative. Now, YMax Corp. has unveiled its next product at CES — and you won’t believe what it can do.
In case you haven’t yet tried the current $40 Magic Jack product (now available in Canada), you simply insert this small thingamajig into an available USB port on your PC, plug in a regular telephone jack into the other end and talk via VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) technology.
It costs $20/year for unlimited calls to Canada and the U.S.
My friends who use it swear by it.
At last week’s 2010 CES in Las Vegas, YMax Corp. introduced the next iteration of the Magic Jack, that also allows for unlimited cell phone calls in the home.
Say, what? Yep, that’s the idea.
The device is said to automatically detect and connect with nearby GSM-based cell phones, intercepting the signal from a local cell phone tower and then rerouting the calls over the Internet (broadband connection required). Voila, no cellular fees.
This is legal, you ask? YMax says it is, because wireless licensing doesn’t extend inside of the home. Um, I expect a few carriers to challenge this claim.
The new Magic Jack will be available in Canada and the U.S. later this year for the same price as the existing one ($40).
Too good to be true? Time will tell.
I LIVE IN CANADA AND I BOUGHT MAGIC JACK ON OCTOBER 5 FROM THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE MAGICJACK.COM, IN THE OPTION THAT SAYS “FREE TRIAL”. IT IS SUPPOSED I WOULDNT BE CHARGED ANYTHING FOR ONE MONTH AND IT WAS FREE OF RISK. I PAID WITH MY VIRTUAL CREDIT CARD FOR THE DEVICE AS WELL AS FOR THE FAST SERVICE OF UPS. BUT WHAT HAPPENED? MAGIC JACK CHARGED ME IMMEDIATELY 43 DOLLARS PLUS 1 DOLLAR TO MY CREDIT CARD AND WHAT IS WORST, THEY NEVER SEND ME ANY DEVICE!!
I HAVE SPEND MORE THAN 15 HOURS IN 2 DIFFERENT DAYS CHATTING ONLINE AND CLAIMING FOR THIS. THEY ALWAYS PROMISE TO REFUND ME THE MONEY , BUT UP TO NOW, NOVEMBER 11, I DIDNT GET ANY REFUND!! CAN SOMEONE HELP ME WITH THIS?? I TRUSTED MAGICJACK AND ALL THE FREE RISK GUARANTEE THEY ANNOUNCE, BUT NOTHING IS TRUE! WHAT CAN I DO NOW?
If you are having problems you should make sure your power supply is a good one.
MJ requires a good current coming from the USB port and that might not happen without a good PS.
I purchased MJ a couple of months ago and I had absolutely no problems with the set up. It worked great , and so I thought I would cancell my land line. Everything was OK .But , and there is always a BUT ,I didnt have the same confidence in it for use my principal home phone . I live in Ontario and I was able to get a local number , but you are unable to cal 1 800 numbers or any 800 combination .Some times the conversations were a bit “choppy” or they had a “lag” and a few times the call just ended .So at this point I called my cable company and got my original service and number re installed.I now have the MJ as a second phone number and think that is the way to go for now. It just isnt at the point where it is reliable enough to be trusted as a main phone provider.It does what is says it will do ,I just dont have one hundred percent faith in it at the moment .You dont really appreciate or understand how much you need a reliable phone provider untill you switch to something else and it makes you think about it.So as a second phone I give it two thumbs up .
I purchased a Majic Jack last week and it works very well.
However, I did notice that if a person tries to use a
“cheap” handset (ex: $5.00 flea market special) the call
quality is just awful. I used a good quality phone that
does NOT draw power from the usb port and the call quality
is very good.
After browsing around the Majic Jack website, I couldn’t help
but wonder who designed their site. It doesn’t look very professional
and it is very hard to find resources offered by Majic Jack. If you want
to log into your account from their website, you have to do some digging
to find the link.
My last concern is the terms of service agreement and I am amazed
that no one has mentioned it. Canadian customers should have a look at it
and pay close attention to section 10.
Canadian terms of use
http://www.magicjack.com/intl/en-ca/tos/index.asp
In the end, the unit works as described and delivers a quality service
at a very reasonable price. I just have a hard time accepting their
privacy policy.
Thanks
Tom
I noted what Thomas has indicated about one year after having used the MJ. I now use it through my media PC rather than my other PC that I use for web searches and to pay bills, etc. I guess that when you are properly informed, the decision is yours. I really like MJ and have found that since my last call to them regarding the non-connectivity of a number of the 1-800#s, when I actually gave them a whole list of numbers that I would use on a regular basis, I now have access to most of them! So, I am impressed with their Customer Service and follow up. I recently went to Mexico and took it with me. It was great to stay in touch for no additional cost (of course I had access to the internet).
I purchased 2 MJ when they first came to market,,2008,,,,I am an Airline Captain travelling all World,,,I am making calls to US & Canada from where ever I am,,,with no problem,,,and no cost,,no time limits,,clear sound,,voice mail,,,the only country it does not work in the Whole World is DUBAI,,, cause they blocked this kind of ports in their systems even Skype doesnt work there,,,but the rest of the world ,,,,Noooooo Problemmm,GREAT PRODUCT,,Keep Barking Magic & Jack !!!! (These are the names of 2 Dogs of the guy who created MAJIC JACK ) Capt.Deniz
Bought some MJ’s for Christmas gifts.. mine works perfectly.
took it on my trip to Europe was able to call home from London Switzerland Rome and Paris , some of the calls were clear as a bell it just depended on the internet connection.. but well worth it for sure.I even recieved a few calls from home while I was there on line I just used the internal mic on my laptop and earphones and dialed right off the keypad on my laptop .. I have dropped my long distance plan since I have gotten home and am using my MJ for all that now … and that is a savings of 100 dollars per year..so way to go MJ I have one for my Mom and daughter too.they have not had the best internet connection to be able to use theirs as well as I have but when they have good internet I am sure they will be just as happy as I am..