Technological Advances

We have seen many in the last 5 years. In my own generation there have been numerous advances. Can you beleive we used to survive without the internet or telephone?

Being the infomercial buff that I am, I came across something the other night the really piqued my interest. I suppose what had made it so interesting was the fact that it didn't feature Billy Mays or Ron Popeil! It featured newscasts and coverage/ interviews of users of this product.

The product: Magic Jack. This is a device that plugs into the USB port on your computer, utilizes your broadband internet connection and allows you to make phone calls with a standard home phone. You plug the phone into the device which is plugged into the USB.

Like many other phone companies now, you receive unlimited local and long distance calls. The Magic Jack's limitations are US and Canada (currently). However, if you do call another Magic Jack user in another country the call is free.

I really was interested in this so I began to read reviews. Typically, most reviews read should be taken with a grain of salt. Often upon further indulgene into the review you'll notice that often time it is user error, etc.

However, I noticed very little negativity regarding this product. The main things I did see were miniscule issues of which according to others reviews and Magic Jack's website (www.magicjack.com), appear to have been resolved.

The device is also portable, so if you're traveling you can take it with you. Provided you have an internet connection. Each device comes with it's own phone number, so you can get a couple if you like to have multiple lines.

Okay...so, how it works is this:

You go to the website, there is a 30 day trial. The price with one year of service is $39.95. This includes the price of the device. The following year is $19.95. You do not get any phone bills, just the one-time yearly fee. You are not locked into any contracts, no auto-renewals. When your year is nearing exhaustion, you'll get an email reminder.

You get the MJ, plug it into the computer and in less than 2 minutes, it's installed ready to go. You choose your phone number and area code. Now, currently my state doesn't have any available area codes yet, but they are coming. However, with the almost extinction of long distance these days, not a HUGE issue, considering the savings. But, when they do become available, I'm allowed to change my phone number once (per year I beleive) at no charge. After that is a 10 dollar fee.

Your phone number is assigned to that device. If you're traveling you can take it with you as mentioned earlier. The FAQ portion on the site suggests getting another for travel, yet later says you can take it with you. I'm not sure why the suggestion, maybe to sell another one?

Business can use multiple ones with no interference amongst the same router. Thus, multiple lines.

You cannot choose your own phone number though. So if I wanted like 777-PICS, I'm out of luck.

However, you take the savings you're given and it's more than a wash...it's worth it. The service is a dedicated service to MJ, not a partnership.

It'd be interesting to know how much more this will improve over time or if they will even be around in 5 years. But, home phone service for less than $20/ year whether it be for 10 years or 2, savings are savings.