Ooma Product Question
Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Ooma Product Question

  1. #1
    JLS is offline Virtual PC Specialist!!!
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Posts
    3,708

    Ooma Product Question

    I just recently came across the Ooma Telo Free Home Phone Service Device. Does anyone use this product? I was considering cancelling my landline phone and using this device. I was wondering of the phone quality compared to a landline phone. Also, I would like to know any cons from users compared to having a landline phone. Any feedback would be helpful.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2000
    Location
    Friern Barnet, London, England
    Posts
    46,565
    Is this the one?

    http://www.ooma.com/products/ooma-telo

    I can't comment on that particular device, but it appears to be a straightforward VOIP service (with a great deal of added hype ). My experience of VOIP is that it is easily comparable to standard landline quality as long as you have a decent Internet connection. There are several of my neighbours who are now using VOIP in place of a landline, without problems.
    Nick.

  3. #3
    JLS is offline Virtual PC Specialist!!!
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Posts
    3,708
    Hi, Supersparks. Yes it is that particular product.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 1998
    Location
    Toronto
    Posts
    25,426
    I haven't used that product but I've been using VOIP now for about 6 months and find it works just fine. I don't hear a difference between land line and VOIP at all. I started out using it with a 5mb/.8mb connection and that was more than adequate even while surfing and using the phone at the same time (didn't work quite as well when I tried it while downloading a large file at top speed).

    There are lots of sites to test your connection to see if it can support VOIP... http://www.google.ca/search?q=test+f...ient=firefox-a

    The only major down side is if your internet connection goes down you don't have a phone. If you have a mobile phone then it's not really as much of a problem but without one you can't call your ISP from home if you need to contact them to get your connection sorted out.

    My ISP is very reliable.. it's up about 98 percent of the time but my old land line was up 100 percent even during the occasional power outage. If you don't already have one I'd suggest getting a UPS power backup for your modem, router and VOIP interface if you're in an area that has frequent blackouts.

    $249 seems a bit high though at least initially. My linksys VOIP network interface costs around 70-80 dollars but I pay a 20/month fee to my VOIP provider (plus 3 cents/min long distance in Canada/US) and they give me the interface for free as long as I use their service... however if you spread the cost of the ooma product out over a year it's ok... and gets much better the longer you use it.

    Singularly the best thing is that I can link up to my phone interface with my browser which allows me to do all sorts of manipulation with my phone service like forwarding, call waiting, conference, emailing left phone messages, etc but best of all is the ability to block calls that my land line company couldn't do... I almost never get any telemarketing calls any more because I've set up rules using wildcards (!) to stop vast blocks of fake/spoofed phone numbers that used to plague me day and night.

    If Ooma allows you to do that you'll really appreciate it.

    VirtualDr email notices are not working.
    Check back regularly for responses.

    _____________________
    cat lovers click here

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2000
    Location
    Friern Barnet, London, England
    Posts
    46,565
    I didn't notice the price. I agree with Fink, the price seems very high. I paid the equivalent of around $50 for my Linsys adaptor, and my VOIP provider is free to join and receive incoming calls. For outgoing calls I just top up with credit in the same way as a pay-as-you-go mobile phone, and calls a cheap compared to a landline and free between VOIP phones
    Nick.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2000
    Location
    Sheboygan, WI
    Posts
    53,392
    Been using the Comcast Phone for about 5 years now.

    And the one time it did not work, all phone, cell, landlines and cable phones went dead at the same time. All 3 systems were back up in 30 minutes.
    I have no idea of what caused that glitch.

    $45 a month for the modem and Free calls through out the US and Canada. Sure beats ma bell all to pieces!!!

  7. #7
    JLS is offline Virtual PC Specialist!!!
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Posts
    3,708
    I appreciate all your feedback.

    Fink, I have a really good internet connection too. My speeds are 12 mbps download/1 mbps upload. The ooma unit may seem a bit pricey but I would only have to pay the fees and taxes which would run me under $4.00 a month vs. almost $40.00 a month that I am currently paying ma bell. I would recoup the cost of the unit in about 6 months. I can find the unit for about $200 online. I would receive 5000 minutes a month and the calls are free anywhere in the US. They say international rates are very cheap, as well. The ratings on the service appear very good, also. From what I read is that you don't even have to have your computer on to make calls and you can use your regular cordless phone just as you do currently to make calls without paying ma bell.

    Train, you said you have comcast phone and you pay comcast $45 a month for the modem? If I am understanding that correctly, that seems expensive to me. Doesn't ooma sound so much better and cheaper?

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 1998
    Location
    Toronto
    Posts
    25,426
    From what I read is that you don't even have to have your computer on to make calls and you can use your regular cordless phone just as you do currently to make calls without paying ma bell.
    Yes, that's right. Unlike other devices like MagicJack which requires that the computer be running... but you should check the documentation on how many phones it can run. With mine there's a limit that depends on the electrical/power requirements of each individual phone (or answering machine). In my case it will only run 3 phones... which meets my needs.

    You can also use your existing copper phone home wiring to connect phones elsewhere in your home but you'll need to disconnect the wiring from the demark point because any external, regular phone connection can destroy the VOIP interface. ..the demark is where the copper phone lines are all hooked up to your current phone provider.

    VirtualDr email notices are not working.
    Check back regularly for responses.

    _____________________
    cat lovers click here

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2000
    Location
    Sheboygan, WI
    Posts
    53,392
    Modem is $5 and the cost for the viop is 40 for a total of $45 plus taxes.

    Sure beats the $100+ bills I got from ma bell.

  10. #10
    JLS is offline Virtual PC Specialist!!!
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Posts
    3,708
    I still didn't try the Ooma or any other product similar to this one. I just came across another product similar to the Ooma. It is the Obi110 or Obi202. Has anyone have any experience using the Obi and how does it compare to the Ooma? Any info would be helpful.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •