Anyway, I jumped on Google to dig up as much info as I could to see what I was in for. The two things I noticed were the lack of Mac-only reviews and assistance, and the polarized reviews -- some hated MagicJack, others loved it.
I'm very skeptical of user reviews, as I know of companies who make their employees write glowing reviews of their own products and/or slam competitors. That's why I started this blog: to get my unbiased view out there to "cut through the clutter" and help other Mac users.
Anyway, during my Google research, some major issues popped up that interested users should definitely know about:
911 Service: This scared me at first, but after the fine print, I felt a little better -- namely because I live in a town with Enhanced 911. I'd probably feel much different if I didn't. Read the fine print here and come to your own conclusions.
I've always been leery of 911 over VOIP -- namely should the power and/or internet go out, I'm screwed. But in retrospect, my broadband connection (with Comcast) has only gone down on me a few times in the past year, each lasting less than a day. In addition, since my land line phones are cordless, they wouldn't work anyway if my power went out.
Area code and phone number: This was dumb of me, but I didn't realize that some area code phone numbers aren't available right away via MagicJack. Fortunately, mine (708) is available, according to MagicJack's official list as of today. Anyway, since I wanted this as a replacement to my land line, I definitely want a "local" number so that people calling me weren't racking up long-distance bills.
I'll let you know whether I actually receive a local number, but one of the "small print" things that bothered me was that you don't actually "own" your phone number -- MagicJack does. MagicJack with written notice can change your phone number whenever it wants, and your only recourse is to cancel the service. Still, I couldn't find a case of this actually happening to someone, so I'm not going to lose sleep over it just yet.
Computer always on: On the one hand, it's cool that if your computer is off, incoming calls go straight to voicemail. However, since emergency calls can come in any time of day or night, you'll need to keep your computer always on just in case.
For me, this isn't a problem. My computer is always on -- my real interest is if the Mac will "wake up" for an incoming call if it's in sleep mode.
Advertising and business model: The software that you must use with MagicJack includes space for a banner. Well, if ads in the software will help keep my yearly cost down, advertise away. But I'll wait to find out how obnoxious it really is before making a final judgment.
What worries me is that I have no idea how this company is making money selling phone service for so cheap. Will they jack up prices once you're hooked in? Will they go belly up? Will they barrage you with annoying ads?
Mac bugs and beta: I read that some features such as Caller ID aren't fully working as you'd expect. Even worse, MagicJack's customer care page still lists the Mac software as "in beta" -- but they don't mention this on the sign-up page! Personally, I think an icon that shows "works with Intel Macs" shouldn't be used when beta software is involved ... but I'll reserve final judgment for when I actually start using it.
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