Post by jeffolie on Jan 18, 2012 11:28:36 GMT -6
MagicJack=free calls
My experience with MagicJack. I bought their 5 year deal: 1 st year great, 2nd very good, 3rd not so good.
3rd year... 1/3rd of my calls have echos that breakup the conversations enough that I must ask the other person to repeat what they just said at least once during a phone call.
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Free Calls with MagicJack: Turn iPad into phone
I'm writing this app review from a hotel room in Wellington, New Zealand, as I'm here visiting Weta Digital, the renowned visual effects company responsible for the "movie magic" in flicks such as Avatar, The Lord of the Rings and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
But I found some other magic of my own: an app that lets you place a call anywhere in the U.S. or Canada -- for free -- even from Down Under.
After all, calling home to speak to my wife and kids would cost a pretty penny if I did it with the phone in my hotel room or with my smartphone. Instead, I decided to try out a free app from MagicJack -- from the same folks who sell that small device you plug into your computer to make inexpensive phone calls over the Internet.
Aptly called Free Calls with MagicJack, this free app for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch lets you make free calls to U.S. or Canadian phone numbers. It worked like a charm in Toronto to call elsewhere in North America, but I wanted to see if it could be used to call the U.S. and Canada from overseas, as the app description promises.
I took advantage of my hotel's free Wi-Fi and dialed my home phone, as well as my wife's mobile phone, and not only did it work, but the call quality was quite decent. On the iPad, I tried the tablet's built-in microphone and speaker, as well as an iPhone headphone cable for more discreet conversations.
You can also call phone numbers when you're using 3G (cellular) networks, too, but placing calls over a free Wi-Fi network at a hotel, airport or café ensures you don't have to pay anything.
Note: To download and use this app, you do not need to own one of the MagicJack dongles. It's a separate product altogether, but this app also uses VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology.
While the Skype app has the added benefit of video, you can't call a landline or mobile phone unless you want to pay to "Skype Out" for a few cents a minute. And unlike NetTalk, a similar iOS app that can turn your iPad into a free phone, MagicJack also gives you the option for an incoming number as well. That is, you can make outgoing calls once you download the app and you need not register or anything -- just dial and talk.
But you can also receive a free MagicJack phone number to receive free calls and free voice mail, too. You get a funky-looking number that starts and ends with an asterisk (such as *01234567*), which requires someone to first call a 305 number to reach you (which is also free over Wi-Fi).
The MagicJack app also can import your iPhone's contacts, so you can dial by name.
Free Calls with MagicJack is ideal for turning your iPad into a free phone that lets you call any U.S. or Canadian telephone number for free -- and even receive free incoming calls.
content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2012/01/free-calls-with-magicjack-turn-ipad-into-phone/1
My experience with MagicJack. I bought their 5 year deal: 1 st year great, 2nd very good, 3rd not so good.
3rd year... 1/3rd of my calls have echos that breakup the conversations enough that I must ask the other person to repeat what they just said at least once during a phone call.
======================
Free Calls with MagicJack: Turn iPad into phone
I'm writing this app review from a hotel room in Wellington, New Zealand, as I'm here visiting Weta Digital, the renowned visual effects company responsible for the "movie magic" in flicks such as Avatar, The Lord of the Rings and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
But I found some other magic of my own: an app that lets you place a call anywhere in the U.S. or Canada -- for free -- even from Down Under.
After all, calling home to speak to my wife and kids would cost a pretty penny if I did it with the phone in my hotel room or with my smartphone. Instead, I decided to try out a free app from MagicJack -- from the same folks who sell that small device you plug into your computer to make inexpensive phone calls over the Internet.
Aptly called Free Calls with MagicJack, this free app for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch lets you make free calls to U.S. or Canadian phone numbers. It worked like a charm in Toronto to call elsewhere in North America, but I wanted to see if it could be used to call the U.S. and Canada from overseas, as the app description promises.
I took advantage of my hotel's free Wi-Fi and dialed my home phone, as well as my wife's mobile phone, and not only did it work, but the call quality was quite decent. On the iPad, I tried the tablet's built-in microphone and speaker, as well as an iPhone headphone cable for more discreet conversations.
You can also call phone numbers when you're using 3G (cellular) networks, too, but placing calls over a free Wi-Fi network at a hotel, airport or café ensures you don't have to pay anything.
Note: To download and use this app, you do not need to own one of the MagicJack dongles. It's a separate product altogether, but this app also uses VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology.
While the Skype app has the added benefit of video, you can't call a landline or mobile phone unless you want to pay to "Skype Out" for a few cents a minute. And unlike NetTalk, a similar iOS app that can turn your iPad into a free phone, MagicJack also gives you the option for an incoming number as well. That is, you can make outgoing calls once you download the app and you need not register or anything -- just dial and talk.
But you can also receive a free MagicJack phone number to receive free calls and free voice mail, too. You get a funky-looking number that starts and ends with an asterisk (such as *01234567*), which requires someone to first call a 305 number to reach you (which is also free over Wi-Fi).
The MagicJack app also can import your iPhone's contacts, so you can dial by name.
Free Calls with MagicJack is ideal for turning your iPad into a free phone that lets you call any U.S. or Canadian telephone number for free -- and even receive free incoming calls.
content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2012/01/free-calls-with-magicjack-turn-ipad-into-phone/1