When I was up in New England two week age I was killing some TV time watching CNN and catching up on the current election news. I normally do not watch CNN but I could not find Fox News on the local cable system. One of the featured stories I was watching had to do with current technological toys you can buy for your computer. They were featuring a device called ‘magicJack’ and everything they were talking about sounded like an info-commercial for ‘magicJack’ and far too good to be true.

So, what is ‘magicJack’ and why am I writing an article about it? ‘magicJack’ is a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) device you plug into your computer’s USB port, plug a standard telephone into the device and make all of the local and long distance phone calls you wish for a very, very small annual fee. After doing quite a lot of research on this device, I did not read one bad review or negative comment about ‘magicJack’. Based on the initial purchase cost of $39.95 plus shipping and handling I thought I’d give it a try. Going to their web site (www.magicjack.com) I made the purchase, selected to receive their first year’s free service, typed in my credit card info and clicked…SEND! Shortly thereafter I received an email with an invoice along with a shipment tracking number. Four day later this package was delivered to my street mailbox and within five minutes I was making my first phone call using my PC and cable internet service.

Every phone call I made through ‘magicJack’ (local and long distance) was as crystal clear as my home or cell phone. In addition, every call I received through ‘magicJack’ was as easy as picking up the phone and saying…HELLO! Unlike other VoIP services I’ve had (Packet8) there was no echo or voice bounce back and the system is in full duplex (meaning two or more voices can talk at one time). Having spent most of the afternoon making and receiving calls I was convinced that this little device was well worth every asking penny.

The financial breakdown goes like this;
Purchase Price: $39.95 + SH
First Years Service Fee: FREE
Annual Fee thereafter: $19.95

The biggest draw back with ‘magicJack’ is the lack of available area codes to choose from. In total there is only about 14 area codes you can select from and fewer local prefixes to choose from. With our son Scott living in Austin, TX, I selected that area code and prefix so he would be able to call us as if it was a local call for him. One of the biggest advantages of ‘magicJack’ is the ability to use this device on any PC that is connected to the internet (WiFi or better connection) anywhere in the world. Way too cool!

If you have ever wanted an affordable VoIP (digital phone service) with high voice quality and loaded with tons of additional free services (free voice mail, three way calling, caller ID, call forwarding, etc) I would strongly suggest you consider ‘magicJack’. This is one of those devices that works and works well, right out of the box!

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