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Phone.com Review: Virtual Phone & Virtual Office |
| Sign up for Phone.com | |
Rating: |
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| Extra minutes, iPhone app, and simple setup and interface make this a top choice | |
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[Editor's Note: Phone.com is offering an exclusive deal to NextAdvisor.com readers. Simply click any Phone.com link on NextAdvisor.com. Then enter coupon code HPP10 for 10% off six months of Home/Residential Phone Service Plus.]
Introduction When you test new services as often as we do, things can get complicated. Each one has its own way of functioning and we have to learn our way around them rather quickly. As soon as we figure out one, we have to switch to another and we find a whole new way of doing things. Some services though are so intuitive that it feels like we've been using them for years. The aptly named Phone.com falls squarely into this category. Simple, intuitive, yet highly robust, we would almost say that we love it. Interface and Setup Phone.com's interface is clean, simple, and well organized. Options are intuitively grouped and controls are large and clickable. It's particularly fun to operate the sliders that set your business hours (see screen shot at left). Recording your own announcement for the auto-attendant is as easy as telling the system to call you. You can also enter your own text for the robo-answering system, and select a number of different voices (more on that later). Assigning different behaviors to telephone keys is incredibly easy, and with Phone.com it actually makes sense. It also has the easiest call queue assignment mechanism we've seen, making it easy for you to deal with multiple incoming calls. We also liked Phone.com's setup procedure. It takes you through all the essential steps after sign-up, including an option to import your Gmail or Outlook contacts, so you'll be ready to go with all the essential features. Service and Features Phone.com's call quality was on par with the other services we used. Between two desk phones, the quality was absolutely fine. Most users will not notice any difference between Phone.com's call quality and that of traditional phone service. Phone.com bundles a number of compelling features into its virtual phone offering. There's built-in support for faxing, and there's a capable little iPhone app to help you make outbound calls (see screen shot at left). There is a one-time charge of $3.88 for each iPhone extension, however, but we think it's probably worth it. Phone.com offers an assortment of hold-music options. While none are great, they're not terrible, and it's nice to have a choice. We mentioned above that Phone.com offers a number of different voices for your robo-answering service, should you decide not to record your own greeting. There are over a dozen voices, some of them rather comical, most of them sounding fairly robotic, although we did enjoy an irate voice named Shouty. You can also add sound effects, from howling monkeys to burps. If you own a novelty joke shop, you've found your virtual phone service. On a more serious and relevant note, a brief mention should also be made for their round-the-clock US-based customer support. It was helpful, friendly, and actually pleasant. It almost made us wish we had an issue with the service. Pricing and Minutes Sure, at $9.95 per month (with a one-year contract), it's about in the middle price-wise. But you get 300 free minutes per month; the only service that comes close is the pricier eVoice. You can upgrade, of course. For $19.88 you get 2 virtual phone numbers and 600 minutes, $34.88 gets you 3 numbers and 1000 minutes, while $69.88 ups the minutes to 2500. Additional minutes start at 4.9¢, but get cheaper (down to 3.9¢) on the upgraded plans. Conclusion Any complaints? Not really. The sign-up process felt clumsy, but it was all smooth sailing after that. Everything with Phone.com just makes sense, including the price. Additionally, the first month of regular service is free (though you'll pay for any additional minutes you use over your allotment) so it won't cost you anything to decide if you like the service. We really think that you will. Sign up for Phone.com | Compare to Other Virtual Phone Services |
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| Annual Plan Price: | $9.88/mo |
| Free Trial: | 30-day free trial |
| Domestic Minutes: | 300/mo |
| Extensions: | Unlimited |
| Faxing: | Send & receive |
| Additional Minutes: | 4.9¢ |
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