Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Product is great (it's the reviews that stink)
By TucsonShopper
I can't understand how people thought this was the right place to complain about a vendor (Sams) not even associated with Amazon or this product. Please, don't be confused (and, stop encouraging them). This is a good product. The Telo Box tends to go for $120-$140 here at Amazon ($99 at BF pricing) and the wireless USB device goes for $50. Thus, the "correct" price is $190 or less. After that, the savings and service is great (it's currently $184 at Costco with taxes and $210 here at Amazon).I had everything setup fairly quickly except for the wireless adapter. I spent an hour with Ooma Tech Support and was eventually sent another wireless unit. It showed up in 2 days with a rinse and repeat. The third one showed up in 2 days and still it didn't work. I moved over a NETGEAR WNCE2001 Universal WiFi Internet Adapter - Manufacturer Refurbished (for $30 instead of $50) and it worked no problem. Another way to have gone, that I hadn't thought of at the time, would have been to hardwire the main telo and remote the phone cord connection with a Ooma Linx VoIP Phone and Device. I return mine and bought a plain Telo.Otherwise, Ooma service is the best in the VOIP market (the over lit display, however, is quite the nightlight). How do they do it for free?Well, the business model is based on a large number (about a third) of purchasers choosing to additionally get the $10 a month premier service. Some of my very favorite Premier features are anonymous call rejection and community call spam filtering. Basically, if you get a call from an anonymous number, one where there's no caller ID, or where the Ooma users have collectively decided was spam, the Ooma won't disturb you by ringing your phones. You can choose to give the caller an opportunity to leave a message, and then the Ooma will email that message to you (especially useful in the recent election season). Plus, Google Voice support makes this the best way to use GV (see online reviews - but, it's even easier with more recent update). Now, Google voice can be controlled by my Sprint cellphone and some of the Premier features come with the free (for now) GV.While Ooma "free" is not free - it is still widely recognized as the best buy in e-telephony. Vonage provided poor voice quality, disconnections, was more expensive, and canceling was a nightmare (with fees)... don't get me started. I've used Skype for my home phones (using Yealink B2K RJ11 to Skype Adapter). And, while I found their freer "free" very cool, I again found it unreliable (and the compression that allows Skype to work even over a dial up connection kills FAX use - yes, unlike other VOIP solutions, Ooma supports faxing). But, I still prefer Skype for calls from my computer. MagicJack Plus (MJ plain requires a PC like Skype) is cheaper but voice quality is the worst and MJ+ cannot change the 4 rings to voicemail to longer, has poor customer support (like Skype), and doesn't work with many routers.Some real options: Obihai's products let you bridge a call from one service to another to, say, get a free call from India to the US. It supports disabling call wiating per call, allows over 3 on a party, and With free Google Voice support, it can be cheaper (without 911 support). NetTalk doesn't let you pick your new number, but provides emailed messages with additional cost as well as free 411.But in the end, Ooma is the only acceptable voice quality (by throttling down other network traffice during a phone call) and provides the best tech support but call them instead of emailing. I have my Ooma powered by a APC BE550G Back-UPS ES 8 Outlet 550VA 120V so that it should still work despite a power failure (cooler cable underground is more reliable than hot power on poles). Ooma "free" allows me to finally not feel I'm missing something from the standard (and very expensive) Cox phone line and I feel that I (and the technology) have finally come fully into this century. Here is a general cost breakout:ITP (better than Vonage to me and others)Free AdapterBasic Plan $10/month500 minutes outgoingExisting number transferred for freeVoicemail, Caller ID, 3 way, etcNo annual contractsVirtual FAX for $10/month more1 year - $120 (assuming no rate increases)2 years - $2403 years - $3604 years - $4805 years - $600Ooma (better than Obi110 and NetTalk to me and others)Adapter - typically $130 (without wireless)Basic Plan Free 1st year - then $4/month (half is for 911 support) See first comment5000 minutestransfer number for $40 (free with Premier)Voicemail, Caller ID, 3 way, etcNo annual contractsUnlike Skype and other VOIP, can use to FAXPremier has dozens of upgrades including Google voice1 year - $170 (assuming no rate increases)2 years - $2183 years - $2664 years - $3145 years - $362 ($238 total savings over ITP)
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
FANTASTIC product...TERRIBLE price!
By Sheryl S
The Ooma is a wonderful product! We live overseas in Quito, Ecuador, and this year we switched from a Magic Jack to the Ooma--and it's been a good change! We liked the Magic Jack, but with our slower (3.6 M) internet connection we had a lot of audio issues at times with the Magic Jack. Also, with the kids using the computer that the Magic Jack was connected to, the program often was "clicked" off or the computer re-started and we then temporarily lost our connection (until we started getting e-mails from our kids in the States saying "Mom, the Magic Jack isn't working"...). I know there is now an adaptor for the Magic Jack which allows it to be used without being connected to a computer.However, the Ooma does not have to go through a computer--it is just hooked up directly to our modem and then the wifi router comes after the Ooma. It was pretty easy to set up and get working, and the device also can be used for voicemail.We have a slight delay, although sometimes it is so slight we don't notice it at all; other times it can be 1/3 of a second maybe? Pretty good considering that we have lots of computer users here at the house and our connection is not very fast.But we LOVE it--we pay $3.77/month for CO taxes (the area code we chose) and it allows us to talk to our family and friends in the U.S. for free--in fact, when dialing a 719 (CO) area code phone number, we don't have to dial "1-710" then the number--just the 7 digit number, and when people call us from a "719" number then just dial our 7 digits--easier! We have unlimited minutes--it's AMAZING! The audio is clear and easy to understand.We are thinking about getting one with a WIFI adaptor for our daughter to use in her dorm room at college so that she won't have to use her cell phone minutes to call us.We do not need the Premier service, but it is a nice option for those who could use the services.HOWEVER, $500 is WAY too much to pay for this unit when it is supposed to retail for $199...so look around to find the best deal!
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Good product. Overpriced at Sams
By kmichel
This product works great. I have been using it for about 1.5 years now, and the quality is good on a good broadband internet connection. If the internet connection gets slowed down (ie: I've had some issues on my 1.5M DSL once in a while) you can get some noisy connections for 15-30 seconds on first connect, but it clears up right away. There is also a typical "voip delay" on connection, where people will not hear you say "hello" when you first answer - you have to wait 5-10 seconds. Overall, the service is excellent for 2 phone numbers on 1 phone line, simultaneous use of the same line, all for roughly $4/mo. But beware of the price. Sam's selling it for almost $500 is a ripoff. The unit is $209 directly from Ooma and other sellers on Amazon, and the wireless is $49. The Premier service, if you want it, is $119 a year. So even if you add that up, Sam's is getting way too much.
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