 |
Vonage Review: VoIP |
Website: |
Go to Site |
Rating: |
 |
| Unlimited calling to 60+ countries w/ Vonage World, great quality, no set-up fees; Just $9.99/mo.* for Vonage Lite | |
|
[Editor's Note: Vonage has set up an exclusive 800 number where NextAdvisor.com visitors can speak to a Vonage representative to ask questions and order by phone. If you'd rather order by phone than online or just have more questions, please call: 1-800-910-8108. (Please note that the $9.99 Vonage Lite plan is only available for purchase online.) ]
The Vonage World plan helps put Vonage a notch above other VoIP providers. With the first month free, and then $25.99 per month afterwards* (with 1 year agreement plus fees & taxes), Vonage World includes unlimited calling to anywhere in the U.S. and over 60 other countries (see list at the bottom of this review). Not only that, but Vonage World has some unique and useful features. Vonage's welcome package comes in a very Apple-esque box which unfolds to reveal your Vonage adapter, ethernet cable, power supply, and two guides, one of which is designed to get you up and running quickly. And it really does too. We had no problems with the installation. All the ports on the adapter are color coded and labeled. The adapter itself is pretty neat. It's a little retro; its black body with orange stripe make it look like it came from the 80s, but it's far and away better than any of the adapters offered by other companies. After a frustrating experience with a competitor's adapter, it was nice to see the Vonage adapter tell us exactly what it was doing in the setup process. Once it's powered on, little LCD icons tell you if there's a phone, Internet, and computer connection. It also provides access to important Network information, should you need to diagnose any problems. We had no real complaints about Vonage call quality. Everything was pretty clear. When tested with the same phone against the analog line, neither us nor our callers could distinguish any big difference. VoIP, in general, may sound a bit colder than a normal landline, but in an age of cell phones we doubt anyone will really notice. From a customer service standpoint, Vonage is ok. When calling the billing line there's a voice-recognition system to get you to the appropriate place. It can be a bit of a maze. The support itself is outsourced and a bit scripted, but generally helpful. The Vonage World plan also adds some incredibly useful and cool new voicemail features that further cement its position as the VoIP leader. Users of Apple's iPhone will immediately understand the huge benefits of Vonage Visual Voicemail. Rather than having to call up a number and listen to each voicemail individually, users can simply log into their Vonage account and see who called, when and the length of the message. This can be an incredible time-saver for heavy voicemail users. The other extremely useful feature that Vonage World has is free text transcription of all your voicemails. So you can have the text (and of course the audio as well) of any new voicemail emailed to you as soon as it arrives. This service is particularly good for highly mobile people and enables you to get your voicemails in places you normally couldn't. While the transcriptions aren't always perfect, they almost always give you a clear understanding of the message. Despite the inclusion of calls to over 60 countries and its nice voicemail features, the Vonage World plan still comes in at a reasonable price of $25.99/mo (plus fees & taxes), especially considering they are currently running a promotion with the first month free (w/ one year agreement). The service includes free activation and a free V-Portal adapter with free shipping. With the addition of the free international calling, we believe Vonage World will now save many people not just hundreds, but thousands of dollars a year compared to traditional phone service. Also, Vonage is the only VoIP provider we recommend that does not require you to use a credit card (you can pay from your checking account instead). Vonage also recently added a low-priced plan, Vonage Lite, that includes 200 outbound minutes to the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico and charges just 5 cents for additional minutes. Like Vonage World, Vonage Lite comes with free activation, shipping and a free Vonage adapter (with 1 year agreement). It also includes all the same great 25+ features as Vonage World such as caller id, call waiting and voicemail, except it lacks visual voicemail and unlimited free directory assistance. At just $9.99* per month plus fees & taxes, it's a great bargain. Vonage does still have its 500 minute plan priced at $17.99 per month, but it does not include unlimited calling to the 60+ countries or the new voicemail features, and the set-up fees are not waived. Users of this plan can, however, get a free reconditioned adapter. While this plan could still make sense for some users, Vonage Lite will probably make more sense for most lower volume callers. Vonage is free to cancel within 30 days. After that it's a year contract. Even though you pay monthly, if you decide to cancel you'll incur a $39.99 disconnect fee, and an additional $35.00 rebate recovery fee for the adapter. This is actually lower than the rebate recovery fees charged by many of its competitors. 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 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. *With 1-year agreement. Rates exclude Internet service, surcharges, fees and taxes. Limited time offer; new lines only. See Vonage.com for complete details. High-speed Internet required. Unlimited calling subject to normal residential use. Vonage 911 service operates differently than traditional 911. See www.vonage.com/911 for details. Alarms, TTY and other systems may not be compatible. |
Service Details:
| Plans: | World Unlimited: 1 month free, then $25.99/mo* (w/ 1 yr. agmt + fees&taxes) Lite:$9.99/mo* (+fees & taxes) |
| Setup Fees: | None - free activation, shipping & Vonage phone adapter* (w/ 1 yr. agmt.) |
| $ Back Guarantee & Cancel Policy: | Free to cancel within 30 days or $39.99 after 30 days but before 1 year† |
| Promotions: | 1 month free, no set-up fees (w/ 1 yr. agmt + fees&taxes) |
| Countries Included: | Over 60 - see review for full list |
NextAdvisor VoIP Blog Headlines
Q: Do I have to leave my computer on for MagicJack to work?
The following is an actual user-submitted question: Q: Do I have to leave my computer on for MagicJack to work? A: Yes, you do. Alas, the MagicJack is not really magic at all (though it is a jack, so they're half right). While the MagicJack uses VoIP (Voice of Internet Protocol) technology, it's different from [...]
Can I still use my fax machine with Vonage?
The following is an actual user-submitted question: Q: Can I still use my fax machine with Vonage? A: Yes, you can use your fax machine with Vonage. Once you've signed up for Vonage, you'll receive the Vonage V-Portal in the mail. If you have a single Vonage line, just plug your fax machine into Phone [...]
Does Vonage bypass/operate independently of your Personal Computer?
The following is an actual user-submitted question: Q: Does Vonage bypass/operate independently of your Personal Computer? Example: With 'Magic Jack' if the PC is setup for auto updates and reboots after update, phone service is shut down until you log back on to the system at which time Magic Jack restarts. A: Yes, Vonage is [...]
Can we get separate Vonage accounts with different phone numbers on the same ...
The following is an actual-user submitted question: Q: My mom and I live at the same address and use the same cable connection for broadband internet service. Can we get separate Vonage accounts with different phone numbers? Will it be separate phones or will it be like a party line where if she is on [...]
