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Ready to hang up on telephone bills?

  September 23, 2007

If e-mail is free on the Internet, why not phone calls?

It hasn't happened yet, unless you use computer-to-computer calling services such as Skype. But who wants to go through the inconvenience of talking on a computer all the time?

This month, however, two Internet phone devices are debuting that do away with monthly charges after you pay for the gizmo. And you use your own, traditional phone.

One of them, Ooma, uses a stylish piece of equipment and has at least the patina of coolness because actor-producer Ashton ("Punk'd") Kutcher holds the title of creative director with the company.

The other, MagicJack, is not as snazzy and has no celebrity endorsements. But the gadget is relatively small and a lot cheaper, at least initially.

Beyond differences in cost and hipness, each has pluses and minuses.

And there's is a third product, PhoneGnome, that's been on the market for more than a year. But it comes with such a big minus that it's useful only for a specific situation.

Here's a look at how these three Internet phone systems stack up.

But first, a caveat.

If you buy into one of these services, you're not just purchasing the equipment, you're also getting use of the company's network. And without the network, there's no service.

So what happens if the company goes out of business? Overnight, the device could become about as useful as a commemorative paperweight.

But why worry? Whoever heard of a tech start-up company failing?

MagicJack: This $40, pocket-size device is smaller and much lighter than a cellphone. On one end is a USB connector that plugs directly into the computer. On the other end is a regular phone jack where you plug in your phone.

And that's it. It's probably the simplest hookup in Internet telecommunications, and it works completely outside the regular phone grid.

When the computer is turned on for the first time with the device plugged in, MagicJack goes into setup mode and puts this message on the PC screen: "One minute of patience for a lifetime of savings."

Well, it's really closer to 10 minutes, but it's still relatively painless. You're asked to enter the address where you'll be using the device and then you're issued a phone number.

One drawback is that all the California numbers available right now are in the northern part of the state. For Southlanders, that means a next-door neighbor calling the phone would be charged for a call to San Francisco or Sacramento. The company says it soon will have local numbers for most of California and the rest of the country. Early adopters of MagicJack will get a free transfer to numbers in their areas, when available. When the setup is done, you can start making calls at no charge anywhere in the U.S. and Canada, directly via the Internet. You get a normal dial tone and use the touch pad on the phone in the regular way. Incoming calls ring the phone as normal too.

News Source : http://www.latimes.com/