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Phone.com Review: VoIP |
| Visit Phone.com Website | |
| Recommended for great customer service, nice call quality, and web-based faxing | |
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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.]
Phone.com is a service we originally came across when we reviewed virtual phone services. It was actually our top pick for small businesses requiring a virtual phone solution. We liked its interface, customer service, and its pricing. Naturally, we were curious to see how their home VoIP service stacks up. The equipment is pretty standard, a small Linksys router which works between your Internet connection, your phone line, and your computer (or wireless router). Its ports are color coded. Setup was easy, though Phone.com keeps all its documentation online. Because of that, we suggest you load up the PDF version of the manual before you start unplugging your router. We plugged in the router and restarted our cable modem. We had phone service in less than ten minutes. Call quality was clear and crisp. As with many VoIP products, you'll experience a slight delay between dialing and ringing (roughly 4 seconds, compared to the 1 second delay on our analog phone line). Most people are not likely to notice. Everything we liked about Phone.com's virtual phone service carried over to its home phone service. While you won't need the website to make any calls, you will find it useful for turning features on or off, and adjusting settings. For instance, you will want to make sure to set up your local area code, so you won't have to dial an area code for local calls. The user interface also allows you to easily manage your greetings, set up call blocking, upload contacts, send out recorded messages to a group of people, or even send a fax. Yes, you can send a fax straight from your browser. Everything is clear and well-categorized. We liked how we could record new voicemail messages by telling the system to call us. Phone.com offers friendly user-based customer support. It really is a high point of the service. And it's available 24/7. They are there to help, and it's clear that they really want to. If you cancel they will charge you $54.95 for the equipment, a charge that will be refunded when you send it back to them. If you cancel the annual plan early you can receive a refund equal to 75% of the pro-rated amount (i.e. the amount you would have left to pay if you were paying monthly), if you return the equipment. It's not the worst thing in the world, but some other providers have moved towards prorated refunds. The prices are good. Its cheapest plan is $9.88 per month, for free incoming minutes, and 250 outgoing minutes (extra minutes are 3.9¢). This includes calls to Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom, USA. For unlimited calls you can pay $17.88 per month annually (all due at once) or $19.88 paid month-to-month. These are very competitive rates, though its included countries don't match Vonage's. Currently, Phone.com is offering the first month's service free, but you will pay a $29.95 activation fee. International rates with Phone.com are generally 3.9¢ per minute, a bit more than some other providers. However, those who call India should take special note as that's one of the cheaper rates to that country available. Phone.com is a good company, and we think they do a lot of things right. The built-in support for web-based faxing is a really nice touch, and if you need to manage your settings online you'll be hard-pressed to find a better user interface. You certainly won't find better customer service. |
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| Plans: | 250 minutes: $9.88/mo Annual Unlimited: $17.88/mo |
| Setup Fees: | $29.95 activation; Free S&H |
| $ Back Guarantee & Cancel Policy: | No cancellation fee if equipment returned; annual plan has 75% refund |
| Promotions: | Free first month; free number porting; free shipping; discounted annual plan |
| Countries Included: | US, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, UK |
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