Comments for ooma Telo vs. magicJack

ooma Telo vs. magicJack

2009-02-23T14:48:20Z

Rich met with ooma recently to see their latest wares and hear about their current business model. Recently, ooma ditched the 'P2P voice network' idea where users actually "share" their home landline with others and instead became a traditional VoIP broadband provider. Apparently, the privacy issues were too much to overcome, since users were concerns about fraudulent activity happening on their home landline by outside ooma users. I had my own reservations about the business model as well, since they claimed it would take 2,000 strategicly placed ooma boxes in all the various local exchanges to get good local call coverage for free P2P calls.

Besides becoming a traditional VoIP broadband provider, ooma is now going to start offering high-end media phones, that according to Rich Tehrani will in the future feature a picture frame, in-house sensors and cameras. As for what they offer today, in early January, ooma launched Telo, which offers unlimited, free VoIP-to-PSTN (U.S.) calls over the Internet along with a DECT 6.0 cordless phone that supports call screening, MP3 ringtones, 12-hour talk time, HD voice, speakerphone, two-line support, mobile transfer, and intercom. It supports up to eight phone numbers and six phones

ooma's Telo phone system with DECT 6.0 handset.

The Telo phone system is expected to be available in the first half of 2009. The next question you're probably thinking is "If it's free unlimited U.S. VoIP-to-PSTN calls, how does ooma make any money?" The answer to that is ooma offers ooma Premier, with advanced features that they hope people will opt & pay for. (See: http://www.ooma.com/company/how_we_make_money.php)

Some of the Premiere features include:

Instant Second Line allows you to make or take two simultaneous calls from a single phone number
Blacklists helps you protect your privacy and block telemarketers
Multiring lets you answer calls from your home phone or cell phone
Message Screening allows you to listen in as the caller is leaving their message
Send to Voicemail allows you to transfer a call to your voicemail
Voicemail Forwarding lets you forward voicemail so that you can listen to it from your favorite email program
Do Not Disturb allows you to roll your calls into voicemail without ringing your phone
Personal Numbers allows you to select additional phone numbers in any calling area in the US

The "free" unlimited calling puts them on par with magicJack, but the magicJack is much less expensive (magicJack costs $39.99 1st year, and $19.99/yr in subsequent years). Pricing for Telo has not been announced, but I'm sure it will be much more expensive since the hardware costs so much more. One advantage for Telo is that magicjack requires your PC to be on all the time to make/receive calls over its USB-based dongle. The Telo phone system is a standalone phone that has no such restriction. It's also a multi-line and multi-handset phone platform, so it's more suitable to busy households that require multiple lines or phone handsets.

Check out Rich's post for more on Telo and how the FCC is actually an investor in ooma.

Comment from Luke on 2009-07-05

2009-07-05T04:12:47Z

Really it's no contest... I have had both. The Ooma rocks and the MagicJack is flakey at best.
The Ooma has a bunch of cool features that the MJ lacks...

Kinda like comparing a Dodge Charger to a Winnebago in a drag race... they are both similar in the fact that they are motorized vehicles, but the difference is so vast that they can't be categorized together.

MagicJack and Ooma both let you make VOIP call's, yes. But Ooma is a sleek sports car in a world of VOIP clunkers.

One of the best purchases I have ever made was my first gen Ooma. It's easily paid for itself and I will probably give the Telo as a gift as well as get one for myself.

Comment from Nick on 2009-08-04

2009-08-04T14:38:44Z

They are really different products. Both has advantages and disadvantages. It's like asking if an RV is better than a sport car. The answer depends on what do you plan to do, isn't it ?

I like Ooma but its draw back is that you need to have YOUR internet connection, hooked up to it for it to become functional. Works great at home. The convenience of not needing the PC is one up on Magic Jack for sure.

But if you go out of town, you can't haul your Ooma with you. I went overseas with my magicjack and was able to call home via wifi connection in my hotel room. Now who has the edge ?

Both are great. Get them both, especially if you are on the move a lot, you will find Magic Jack will come in really handy.

Comment from Bryan on 2009-08-15

2009-08-15T12:10:50Z

RE the previous comment.
You can take Ooma with you and use it anywhere there is a wired broadband Internet connection, just remember your e911 info is not accurate unless you update it.

Comment from Will on 2009-08-23

2009-08-23T19:40:51Z

Nick, You can take the Ooma with you but i agree it wouldn't be practical to pack the Ooma for a vacation to Europe. it would be practical to pack the Ooma if you stay at a vacation home for a month or longer.

Although if I were taking a vacation and needing VoIP I wouldn't choose MagicJack. Why carry more than you need on a vacation. Just use Skype on your laptop instead of carrying a USB MagicJack device that also needs a phone plugged in to it. MJ is not as practical for travel as Skyping from your PC or cellphone Internet connection.

Ooma is the best land line VoIP replacement I have come across. MagicJack is a cheap device with poor call quality that can't compare to Ooma in the home or Skype on the road.

If you are using MagicJack as a landline replacement you will want to keep the thing running full time. It doesn't make sense to have to boot/sleep your computer every time you enter/leave the home just to be able to receive calls. Factor in the additional electricity to run your computer for MagicJack.

An additional 12 hours a day on top of regular computer usage adds up fast. Over a year you will pay $60-$100 per year in additional electricity to keep the average computer running. MagicJack ends up being a lot more expensive than Ooma. MagicJack for some can cost more than Vonage.

Comment from water on 2009-12-07

2009-12-07T16:10:08Z

Question you guys mentioned about similarity and disadvantage. Nick mentioned about Ooma need to be hook up to and internet device in order to work!!! Doesn't MagicJack need internet to work as well? hmmm sorry i though you need internet for the magicjack to work. By the well VoIP mean it need sort of internet connection to work. Sorry if i sound mean I'm nah just trying to get to the bottom of this comparison. I had Vonage which was pretty cool when i was paying $24.99 flat then it then it went up to $37 and change after tax. NYC so i switched to my cable company who offered me a package for $99 dollars triple play TV, internet and phone good deal but only for one year now my bill went up to $157 every month so im looking to cut up my bill and Im thinking of getting the Ooma Telo but looking for review came across this site and started to read this comparison. But I my question is

1-Don't you need to have the computer ON for the MajicJack to work? suck on any case if you want to have your voice-mail set up? you will need to keep your pc Running all day ah?
2-about traveling MajicJack may have advantage over Ooma but if I'm not traveling a lot do i really want MajicJack?

I'm looking to save money even though the MJ its cheaper it may cost me more if i have to keep my PC running all day. I need somebody to explain more in detail how both of this device work and what will i be paying after the 2 year since 1 year may be Lil costly because number porting and other charge.

Comment from Burns Luciano on 2009-12-09

2009-12-09T15:30:41Z

all i want to know is there a delay when talking on this like there is when you talk on magic jack. on magic jack there is a 5 second delay when using it. is it the same way for the ooma telo

Comment from Lynne Fabian on 2009-12-11

2009-12-12T03:46:06Z

Check the terms and conditions on the official Ooma site: http://www.ooma.com/blog/how-oomas-terms-conditions-affect-current-new-ooma-customers/

Basically, $11.75/year for call service with basic voice mail or $9.99/month for Ooma Premier. Ooma Premier allows the following: advanced calling features like three-way calling and a back-line number; enhanced voicemail features like call screening, voicemail forwarding, and "do not disturb" to turn phones off at night; and privacy features like community blacklist and personal blacklist to handle unwanted callers, similar to Microsoft's handling of junk emails, and anonymous call reject which allows dumping of calls that are unwilling to provide caller ID information. The Ooma VOIP router allows you to console in and increase upload bandwidth utilized to improve call quality. Once tuned, the call quality is superb! The Ooma VOIP router provides enough phone line voltage to ring all 9 of my old phones.

Comment from Lile Byte on 2010-01-01

2010-01-01T15:12:36Z

VoIP gives me more freedom of choices for audio-video communications for less money. Depend of what I want to do to solve my problem. There is not a universal solution, and there is not an universal tool. After searching on line for more than one year I decided to get Skype. Skype is very handy, cheap and gives you Audio-Video communication but the investment is not cheap. For this purpose I bought a new laptop, web-cam incorporated, 4GB RAM, dual core Processor and more. It cost me $400 in Black Friday Sale. You can download Skype for free and talk to anybody who has installed Skye, has a powerful PC and is on line. You can make direct landline calls, for a fee, which I declined to do.
Today a got an Ooma Telo which I’m trying to set up. It will save me $40 per month with the phone company. My point is that Skype and Ooma Telo, eliminates magic Jack and phone companies. Consider $2 prepaid phone cards, if selected properly gives you freedom from phone companies in very particular cases.

Comment from FRED RICH on 2010-01-23

2010-01-23T21:28:20Z

COULD IT BE USED TO FAX?

Comment from Lynne Fabian on 2010-01-25

2010-01-25T15:40:13Z

Ooma fax capabilities have worked for me. I have used it several times and it has worked each time.

Comment from Bearabull on 2010-01-31

2010-01-31T15:21:41Z

How do you set up Ooma to both receive and send faxes using a fax program. I have Vista and bought RKS Rax which works great.

Comment from Keith croover on 2010-04-26

2010-04-26T05:40:56Z

I got MJ two years ago, and they have promised that we can port our numbers soon. I can not get a straight answer when this will happen. Any help? I am about ready to throw it away and get an ooma.

Comment from Dave on 2010-04-26

2010-04-26T14:57:40Z

What Nick is saying is that you need to have access to a Lan connection in order to use the Ooma and Magic Jack simply plugs into your laptop so it does not require a Lan connection, you can use WiFi, which lets face it, how many places are going to make a Lan connection available to you everywhere you go, answer almost none. I've had Magic Jack for over a year now, and it works flawlessly with crystal clear calls so for those saying it is not good, maybe you should look at your shoddy internet connection or slow pc. The Ooma is practical for your home, not for travel. To those saying just use Skype when you travel, Tons of people hate Skype. Buy them both, Ooma for your house, this way your computer is not running all the time, and the Magic Jack for time away from home.

Do not let others reviews of Ooma and Magic Jack ruin it for you. Both are excellent products offering unlimited calls. With Ooma you pay monthly taxes, mines $3.47, and Magic Jack I pay $19.99 per year. The $19.99 is allot cheaper, but leaves my pc running all the time.
If you have a slow internet connection don't waste your time with either, then you end up like these guys above sounding like they are salesmen for a certain product line trying discredit a products because you have a slow internet connection and simply do not understand how things work.

Comment from Ernie on 2010-05-25

2010-05-25T18:56:01Z

A lot of you are saying that with MJ you need your computer running all the time. True, however, you can put it to sleep and MJ still works. Even if your computer is at sleep mode, MJ is still able to make an receive calls. MJ is a much more amazing and cost-effective product than Ooma. MJ has voicemail that you can access anywhere using any phone, it's got call waiting, call-forwarding, conference calls for free, free long-distance call in US and Canada. The only thing that it doesn't have that Ooma has is 911 and you can port your existing #. For 911 you have to use a cell phone with MJ. As far as cost, initial cost for MJ is $39 and $19.99/year after that. Ooma is so expensive with an initial cost of $200+ and $3.47/month for taxes and other fees equivalent to $41.64/year.

Comment from Eric on 2010-08-16

2010-08-16T06:35:49Z

The Ooma Telo and magicJack are both useful products for someone who wants to save on their phone bills. Which one is better for you really depends on your lifestyle.

If you spend a lot of time at home or at the office (wherever you plan to use the VoIP system) then the Ooma is probably the better choice. It's very convenient because it functions like a traditional phone, even including an answering machine, and isn't dependent on a computer.

If your on the road a lot, then obviously you could put the magicJack to good use.

Comment from jiba on 2010-09-24

2010-09-24T17:09:29Z

I would have to say cost wise Majic Jack far exceeds Ooma.
If anyone knows anything about routers and Cable Modems.
then you know some have usb ports and I use my majic jack
that way.
So its not true that you have to keep your pc on all day for MJ to work