Other VoIP Reviews

Skype Unlimited World Review: VoIPGo to Site | Back to Chart

Skype's Unlimited World service is a compelling offering and offers a cheap, if somewhat more limited alternative to Vonage World's. At roughly half the price ($12.95 per month), with no extra plan required for the mobile app, it would seem to be a Vonage killer. And it is very good in terms of call quality, interface, and pricing. While it's probably not the total Vonage killer it would like to be, it's a serious competitor in the mobile VoIP space.

Many readers are familiar with Skype's free PC to PC calling service, and may be wondering why anyone should pay $12.95 per month for a service they already use for free. Skype Unlimited World frees you from having to call from PC to PC. You can actually use it to call landlines in over 40 countries, and cell phones in a few. You can use Skype Unlimited World with your PC, a special Skype-enabled phone, or a mobile phone. Apps for the iPhone and Windows Phones make it especially easy. Given the popularity of the iPhone, our review will focus on that app.

The free Skype app itself is beautiful and friendly. It has a tab for your Skype contacts and for your iPhone contacts. You can also have text chats with your Skype contacts right in the app and you can use it to make free Skype-to-Skype calls. We like that Skype allows you to turn off the lock-disable feature in the preferences (something the Vonage app does not), and we would suggest users do this. It's good for your battery and for your security.

Skype's call quality is really pretty nice. Compared to Vonage World Mobile on the iPhone, Skype calls came out clearer and warmer. We placed both domestic and international calls with the iPhone app and found the quality indistinguishable from a computer-based Skype call. Of course, as with all VoIP there are digital artefacts and interruptions. But we didn't experience nearly as much harshness or echo as we did with Vonage World Mobile on the iPhone.

Skype allows calls to landlines (and some mobiles) in 40 countries. This isn't nearly as impressive as Vonage World's 60, however if the country you need is one of those 40, you're in good shape. Skype does allow you to call mobiles in a few countries, but it's largely meant for landlines.

Skype wants you to know that it's not a substitute for your phone. For one thing, you don't get a phone number by default, so you can't accept incoming calls without paying an additional $60.00 annually. Also, there are ample warnings against using it for emergency calls. This is unlike most traditional VoIP services that require that you register your location for emergency services. With Skype, your location is far more virtual.

Unlike Vonage World Mobile, Skype Unlimited World voice calls do not work over 3G. You can use the instant messaging without WiFi, but for calling you'll be out of luck.

So, if it won't replace your phone, and it doesn't work over 3G, is it worth it? For those who make frequent international calls to the countries covered by Skype, we'd have to say so.

Below is the full alphabetical list of countries included in Vonage World. The ** indicates that calls to mobile phones are also included:

Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Canada **
China **
Chile
Colombia
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Guam
Hong Kong **
Hungary
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Korea, Republic of
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Mexico (Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey)
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Russia (Moscow and St. Petersburg only)
Singapore **
Slovakia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand **
United Kingdom
USA **

magicJack Review: VoIPGo to Site | Back to Chart

MagicJack has generated a number of questions from NextAdvisor visitors and so it piqued our interest. We've seen the little money-saving device on infomercials, and even while in line at the drugstore, leading us to wonder if it's the Snuggie of the VoIP world. It's not exactly a substitute for your regular phone service. The magicJack is like Vonage as much as a hang glider is like an airplane: they do basically the same thing, but you'd never use them for the same purpose. If Vonage and its ilk are land line replacements, magicJack is more of a landline or cell phone supplement.

It's a tiny device that plugs into your computer's USB port, something that's technically called a "dongle." It's about the size of a Zippo lighter, but nowhere near as sturdy. It has a plastic chrome body with a clear plastic top that let's you see the magic inside. One end plugs into your USB port on an Internet-connected computer. The other has a standard telephone jack for the phone of your choice. It's highly portable, and it has the magicJack software built in so it can be plugged into almost any computer (Intel-based Macs or PCs running XP, Vista, or Windows 7). MagicJack stores your account information with the device, so you can use the service on multiple computers.

Once connected, the software loads and you begin the setup process. If you ordered your magicJack through the magicJack website then you've already entered your credit card info and you'll be starting your 30-day free trial. You cannot port a pre-existing number over to magicJack; you'll have to use the one they give you.

You dial numbers using either your handset or the magicJack application, a small window that contains a dial pad, call log, and, rather unfortunately, an ever-changing slew of ads for other magicJack products. According to magicJack's terms of service, phone numbers that you call may be analyzed by magicJack's ad software to deliver more relevant ads to you. You cannot close this program and still receive calls, though you can hide the window. It will reappear when you receive a call or dial on your handset.

This is ultimately magicJack's biggest limitation and why it's no substitute for traditional phone or VoIP service. You must have the program open and your computer must be running and Internet connected. MagicJack "solves" this problem by preventing your computer from going to sleep, something you may or may not want. However, if your magicJack is not connected, calls are routed to your magicJack voicemail so you won't lose any calls. Those voicemails are sent right to your email, so you can listen to messages from your mail reader.

The call quality seems to vary. We used a cordless phone to connect to magicJack. Though our call was only across town, our recipient (who was on a landline) said we sounded like we were in another country. It wasn't interference so much as a deadened, far-away sound. A call to a city further away had better performance. When we used a cell phone to call our magicJack phone, we noticed a lot of compression—a problem with using two pieces of voice compression technology. It seems to be like that for magicJack: quality is highly dependent on many conditions.

Your call quality will be affected by the speed of both your network and your machine. We had less problem with call quality on our dual-processor MacBook Pro, even while simultaneously downloading an MP3 album from eMusic, watching two shows on Hulu, and downloading an HD trailer from Apple (though the latter took a bit of a hit). On our single-processor 2.2GHZ Toshiba PC with 2GB of RAM, we had more trouble with audio, including crashes and interruptions when we tried multi-tasking.

MagicJack is one of those products that's not designed to improve on the quality of an existing technology, but to make that technology cheaper. Next to just about every other VoIP technology, it's the cheapest way to make unlimited phone calls in the US and Canada. MagicJack doesn't have to be great, because it's so cheap:

After the 30-day trial you'll be charged $39.95 for the first year (plus $6.95 for shipping). And that's all you'll pay for unlimited calls inside the United States or Canada. You can renew a single year for $19.95, or five years for $69.95 (meaning you pay about $13 a year). International calls are billed at a discounted rate (their rate-chart is incredibly cryptic, with some countries having 10 or more alternate rates), but you must pre-purchase credits from magicJack.

Should you purchase magicJack? It depends on what your calling habits are and whether or not you can deal with the advertising. We don't think that it will ever be a phone replacement for most people, and your mileage will vary based on your home computer setup. The good thing is that it's pretty risk free to find out. If you don't like magicJack you can return it for a full refund within 30 days. You'll have to pay return shipping charges, of course.

Vonage World Mobile Review: VoIPGo to Site | Back to Chart

Vonage World Mobile is an unlimited VoIP calling plan tailored to iPhone, iPod Touch, and Blackberry users. The technology is pretty much the same as Vonage's normal VoIP service; the only thing that changes is the calling device, and the plan. It's $24.99 per month for unlimited calling to over 60 countries. A $10.00 discount is offered for those who have the regular Vonage World plan.

Anyone who's called internationally from a wireless phone will see the potential for savings. For instance, our first test call to Switzerland had a duration of 16 minutes. At $1.49 per minute on AT&T wireless, we would have already spent $22.35. Another couple of minutes and we would have already paid our monthly Vonage fee.

How does it all work? Calls are made using a free dedicated Vonage app available for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and Blackberry. We tested ours on the iPhone. Once you load it up, it looks and works almost exactly like the iPhone's telephone interface. You get a keypad and direct access to your contacts, as well as one-touch access to your account (via a web-browser launch). It also offers a simple (maybe too simple) Twitter interface. If you use a pay-as-you-go plan, it'll also display your balance. When you're connected to WiFi, you pay no airtime charges (something only available to iPhone and iPod Touch users, sorry Blackberry). When you're on a cellular connection you will use call minutes as normal (with no long distance charges). When using a cellular connection, Vonage will automatically detect non-international outgoing calls and route them through the phone's normal calling function.

The app itself works fine, though we did find one bug: Our iPhone would not auto-lock while the app was running. Assumedly this is to keep the phone from "sleeping" while you make a call, but it should be smart enough to lock when a call is not in session. It's bad for battery life and for security, since many people use a password on the auto-lock.

The call quality was generally rather decent. A call to Germany sounded fine; only a few times was it slightly garbled. A call to Canada was worse, the VoIP technology compounding the poor quality of our recipient's cell phone reception (they sounded much better when we called them back on our landline). VoIP is not particularly forgiving in this way, but it also may be the fault of the iPhone. The people we called had fewer complaints about the quality of the calls than we did.

Yes, there's a bit of a cold, flat tone to the voice, but that's pretty common with all call technology based on digital compression. Local calls were also fine, for the most part. As with all VoIP, call quality will depend on the speed and bandwidth of your network, either WiFi or cellular.

Unfortunately you can't have two devices share the same account, and you can't receive calls on your Vonage app (and hence avoid airtime charges if you're using WiFi). For the frequent international caller who has ditched their home phone entirely, it's a pretty good deal. If you already have Vonage World at your home, you get a $10 monthly discount, meaning you get the mobile service for roughly $15 a month. Many Vonage World customers have complained about having to pay an extra $15 (after the combination discount) for mobile service. We can see their point. In many ways Vonage World Mobile makes more sense as an alternative to Vonage World, than it does a companion to the service.

Below is the full alphabetical list of countries included in Vonage World. The ** indicates that calls to mobile phones are also included:

Andorra
Argentina
Australia (excl. External Territories)
Austria
Bahamas**
Bahrain
Belgium
Brazil
Brunei**
Bulgaria
Canada**
Chile
China**
Colombia
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Dominican Republic
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Guadeloupe
Guam**
Hong Kong**
Hungary
Iceland
India**
Iraq
Ireland
Israel (non Paltel)
Italy
Japan
Jordan
Kenya
Latvia
Luxembourg
Macau**
Macedonia
Malaysia**
Malta
Mexico
Monaco
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Peru
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico**
Romania
Russia
Saipan**
San Marino**
Singapore**
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand**
Turkey
U.S. Virgin Islands**
United Kingdom
Venezuela
Zambia

*With 1-year agreement.
Disclaimer: Excludes certain call types such as calls to non-geographic and premium numbers. Calls to cell phones may be included depending on destination (they're included if they have a ** in our list). Subject to change.