Lower Phone Bills with Magic Jack
So, I want to talk about this product I have seen on TV called MagicJack – it’s a Voice Over IP (VOIP) device that allows you to make free local calls and free long distance calls from your computer using the Internet. Like tons of you, I’m sure, I have been thinking about how to lower my phone bills but I don’t want to rely solely on a cell phone, and I am looking into various options.
Now, I have been thinking about this off and on, and then yesterday I was reading this article on CNN.com about a couple who wound up with an $8000 cell phone bill after the wife went to Indonesia – they almost missed a mortgage payment because of it! $8000? She could have flown her husband to Indonesia and talked to him in person for that! Well, anyway, the article mentions some alternatives to bringing your domestic cell phone internationally, and one of them was a Voice Over IP (VOIP) device. It plugs into your computer’s USB port and allows you to make phone calls using the Internet.
Magic Jack was a PC magazine Editor’s Choice in 2008 and will top $100 million in sales this year – pretty good for a product that only costs $1.67 month ($19.95/year), and you can even get the first year of MagicJack service free. Obviously, for this type of device a broadband or other high-speed connection is desirable, but if you don’t have one it might be worth investigating – in all likelihood it will pay for itself with the amount you save on phone bills. Have any teenagers or college students? When have they ever stayed within the minutes on those ridiculous cell phone “family plans?” Now, for less than $20 a year they can call to ask for more money without costing you more money, and keep the cell for texts and true emergencies.
The CNN article also mentions an American businessman whose plan racked up minutes at international rates, although he was in a Detroit hotel room, because his phone was accruing roaming charges from Canada. The problem with disputing these charges is the fact that whether he realized it or not, he was still using the services. With Magic Jack he could have just used his laptop and the hotel’s wifi and would have been able to avoid roaming charges all together.
In a time when the cost of everything is going up and the amount of money we have is going down, it makes sense to invest in products that are going to save you money not only now but also in the long run. Every college student, traveler, couple in a long-distance relationship or family with members living internationally would benefit from a product like Magic-Jack.