Ooma Core VoIP Phone System
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List Price: Our Price: $170.00 You Save: $79.99 (32%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Ooma Core VoIP Phone System
Customer Review: Ooma vs. Vonage
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been a Vonage user for 5 years. I was more or less happy with the service. However, I decided to try a different VoIP service and give Ooma a try.
Ooma rocks.
Let's compare.
1. Price. O++. Ooma is a much better deal -- run the numbers.
2. Quality of Service. O == V. Both are equal. No one on the other line knows I'm on a VoIP phone.
3. Tech Support. V+. Vonage may be a bit better -- 24/7 service. Ooma is biz hours. I've probably had 10 Vonage glitches over the years (their fault) and the tech person was able to resolve them quickly. On one occasion they had to send me new hardware. I've only had Ooma for 2 weeks and called them 3 times. They were good too.
4. Setup. O == V. Both devices essentially set up the same -- easy peasy.
5. Setup Notes. V+. Both devices recommend setting it up this way:
DSL/cable --> Ooma/Vonage gizmo --> your own router.
The alternate setup (for experts) is this:
DSL/cable --> your router --> Ooma/Vonage gizmo
With a high-end Netgear WNR2000 QoS router, Vonage works fine with either setup. With Ooma, the alternate setup does not work satisfactorily for me -- choppy voice when doing downloads simultaneously. I find this to be a minor drawback w/ Ooma.
UPDATE -- I found out that I was setting up my router's QoS incorrectly. I have a 7Mbps DSL and even when doing heavy bittorrent (700KB/s d/l and 75KB/s u/l) when a call comes in, the router's QoS correctly throttles down the bittorrent and calls come in loud and clear. I setup Skype w/ QoS and works fine too. Setup: DSL --> router --> Ooma.
NOTE: If you set it up as ( DSL --> Ooma --> router ), the bittorrent speed is HORRIBLE!!! The Ooma device just can't handle it.
6. Follow-Me Calling. V+. I setup Vonage so that if I don't answer, it will ring an alternate phone number (my cellphone). It works great. However, there is one catch -- it will ring the primary number only 4 times -- and you can't adjust that. Ooma doesn't offer this feature at all. I wish they did.
7. Simultaneous Ring. O+. Ooma offers simultaneous ringing (Multi-Ring) on your main line and an alternate number w/ the $99/yr Premier subscription (as well as other features).
8. Adjustable Number of Rings. O++. With Ooma you can determine how many rings till voicemail kicks in. With Vonage you can't. I know, I've spoken w/ Vonage. When you have a big house, this matters.
9. Checking Voice Mail. O++. Ooma's gizmo behaves like an answering machine -- press a button to read your messages. With Vonage, you have to check your messages via the website or pick up the phone to call in. Ooma is more convenient.
10. Do Not Disturb. O == V. Ooma's Premier service has this feature. With Vonage it's standard.
11. Side Note -- 808. O++. Ooma offers a Hawaii (808) phone number for $30/yr. Vonage has never offered 808.
Customer Review: You don't have to be an Engineer or Accountant to figure this one out...
Summary: 5 Stars
* Plug and Play - easy to install, anyone can do it. The Quick Start Guide is well organized and very easy to follow.
* Less than half a year payback on your investment AND NO MORE PHONE BILLS. (You don't have to be an accountant to do the math even if you want to replace Vonage).
The system is very simple to use. The User Guide is well organized and very comprehensive.
The hardware has a nice quality feel to it. Both the Hub and Scout have large buttons with big symbols (for my big fingers and bad eyes).
You will see a lot of flashing red lights when the Hub is configuring itself (it worried me, but after several minutes the blue light came on and the installation was complete and the dial tone was there).
The sound quality is amazingly clear.
I noticed it is not necessary to dial a 1 before the area code (similar to cell phones).
INTERNET CONNECTION
We use it in combination with our Comcast Broadband Cable connection.
OPERATING COST
Like some of the other services (Magic Jack), Ooma DOES NOT require a PC to be on all the time which otherwise may cost you $75 - $120/year plus wear and tear.
Based on the transformer rating I estimate the Ooma Hub will cost $5 to $10/year to operate. It is nice and cool (in contrast, the Aaris modem from Comcast is hot as a toaster).
FAX
I have called to have our regular phone service terminated. I did not call until I had verified that our Fax machine worked. The fax works without any problems when you plug it into a regular phone splitter (they even included one in the box). As an alternative you can connect it to any of the existing phone plugs in the house (which we have connected to the Hub). Don't use a Scout to connect the Fax machine.
Note: We don't use the our fax for incoming faxes; we have them come in via e-mail for $1/month using Faxaway.com
By the way all your existing phones in the house will work after you connect it to the Hub (in other words you don't need the Scout(s)). However then you don't benefit from the Scout's simple user interface and features.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Some of the cable modems are equipped with a backup battery (ours was no exception) unplugging it will not reset the modem. In other words these modems will not find your Ooma Hub upon power up.
Solution:
You simply have to press the Reset button on the back of the modem for the Ooma Hub to communicate with the modem. Subsequently the Ooma Hub will configure itself automatically after you turn the PC on.
THIS PRODUCT IS A WINNER; THE TEAM AT OOMA HAS DONE A GREAT JOB.
UPDATE...Feb 16, 2009
We have now terminated our Comcast phone service. They replaced the Aaris modem with a new RCA DCM425. It is cool (cold to the touch = low engergy consumption).
NOTE: You have to press the reset button for 15 sec on the modem AFTER power has been turned off (or else it will not find the Hub).
Customer Review: My initial experience with Ooma
Summary: 5 Stars
Just happened to stumble across the Telo product on a website last week, and was immediately drawn to it. For many years we've been tired of paying for two landlines to our home (~$60/month), and this looked pretty good. After reading comments here and elsewhere, we bought a Telo from the local Fry's here in Oregon.
Setup was very clean, and the audio sounded nice. But after digging a bit deeper we discovered that this Telo is a single-line replacement, although with the Premium service one can temporarily call up a second line. But we had two lines in the house we wanted to replace, one for personal and one for business.
Turns out the slightly-older Hub could do exactly what we wanted, when paired up with a Scout. Back to Fry's we went, and they fortunately had what we were looking for (they're discontinued, and getting harder to find).
I have to admit, the Hub setup instructions seemed baffling to me, what with all the various options and diagrams. All we wanted was to kill our landline service and splice Ooma in place, but some negative reviews gave the impression that you needed a Scout for every phone in the house. Not so. They need to re-write the instructions, but now with it discontinued I guess that point is moot. We won't be using the voicemail feature.
Incidentally, Ooma suggests putting the box just after your broadband modem and in front of the router/WiFi box for the house, so that if there is ever a contention for traffic your VOIP data will prevail. I elected instead to just plug the Ooma ethernet cable into one of the empty slots on our D-Link router. Absolutely no quality issues, even when downloading in parallel with using the phone. Oh, I have the router set up for MAC filtering, so we did have to load the MAC address, but that took all of one minute.
Incidentally, for any location that has "E911" service (apparently pretty much everywhere these days) then Ooma works like a regular 911 service. If you dial 911 Ooma automatically forwards your name and address to the 911 center.
Anyway, we are now on the schedule to port over our two numbers to Ooma, and we will still use DSL (a "dry line") to deliver 1.5Mbit service to the house. We'll see how it goes, but so far it's looking great. Break-even should be in about 5 months, then just $10/month afterwards for two lines. Sweet.
UPDATE 25 Feb 2010:
My two numbers ported over to Ooma earlier today. The landlines went dead for incoming calls this morning, and the numbers showed up on the Ooma boxes about 4 hours later. Voice quality is excellent, everything appears to be perfectly normal, and if it continues I'll be pocketing $60/mo, so breakeven in about 5 months, then gravy.
UPDATE 10 Mar 2010:
Both phone lines in constant use, along with our computers. Everything works fine, voice quality appears to be same as POTS, saving $60 a month.
Customer Review: VERY disappointed with porting and customer service
Summary: 2 Stars
*** UPDATE: Port is complete, and so far so good. I have a feeling I will like the service at least as much as I liked Vonage. The porting problem was a poor first impression, but I'm optimistic that things will be good from here on. ***
Buying an Ooma device means switching to Ooma as a service provider. This review reflects my poor experience with the Ooma service so far. It remains to be seen whether the device itself lives up to its promise.
For my own personal situation, I need to keep my current phone number. Ooma charges $40 to port a number to them. Or, if you pay for a year of their "premium" service for $100, they will port your number for free. I decided I might as well take the big step and pay the $100 for the year of service. They promise a 4-5 day turnaround to let you know the status of the number porting, which might then take another month or so to actually take place. That's all fine. Here's the problem: After following their instructions precisely, including e-mailing them a scanned copy of a phone bill, and my signed letter of authorization (LOA), I received an e-mail saying they received my request, and they'd be getting back to me in a few business days to give me an estimation of the porting date. I patiently waited...a MONTH...hearing nothing back from them about the port. Finally, I called customer service. After roughly 30 minutes on the phone, the representative said that they never received one of the documents I sent (keep in mind...both were attached to the same e-mail). She further claimed that they had e-mailed me to tell me about this. But my e-mail (gmail) account had nothing. And even if I had deleted said e-mail, it would still linger in my gmail trash. I've got nothing from them. She asked me to re-send the phone bill, which I did, along with my request that they please e-mail me back to confirm they received it, and asking them to let me know the status. Another week goes by, and still no update on the status.
SO...I called again. New customer service rep...he told me that the port is scheduled for the end of September, roughly seven weeks after my initial request...seven weeks after paying them for a year of their "premium" service. I asked if I could be credited with a month of service due to the fact that their service was useless to me during the time they dragged their feet (or, perhaps tripped over their own feet) with the number porting. The answer was "no". Roughly blaming me for the problem, the rep said that my circumstances are not their problem.
I still have no idea how well the device is. Until I get my number ported, I need to continue using Vonage. I am optimistic that once the number is ported, and this poor customer service incident is behind me, I will like the device. But for now, I would hesitate to recommend this device to anyone hoping for a smooth number porting process.
Customer Review: Works for My Kind of Lifestyle
Summary: 4 Stars
UPDATE: October 12, 2010
Ive been using Ooma's services for more than 2 years. Its absolutely ABSOLUTELY worth-it. DSL, Cable and Satellite are ubiquitous so there's no 'speed value' to sacrifice. I can use my regular internet and have my phone at the same time.
The quality is good. The price and service is definitely unbeatable. SO worth it!
Usage Duration : Approximately 8 months
Purpose : Home use while retaining old phone number
Set-up : 1 hr. because of my wireless/router set-up
Verdict : WORTH IT!
Tech Lifestyle : Cellphone family plan with T-mobile with bluetooth headset
Previously, I was with Verizon with our family's OLD phone number. Then I switched and stayed with Vonage for a year. I heard about Ooma and was skeptical because I'd like to know the catch.
My decision was based on home phone usage + internet subscription. Since we pay for more than $50 internet and we only use our phone for our voicemail, why pay more???
I being realistic here. All my family and friends can call my cell phone if they want me. Our OLd home phone number is for telemarketers, some friends and old folks. So I decided to transfer my phone number to Ooma.
Its been 8 months and its WORTH IT!!! I still have my old phone number, I can use our equipment to retrieve voicemail and I can make phone calls IF I feel lazy to pick up my cell.
Ooma's voice quality is good. I'd say it also depends on your internet juice or bandwidth. I can make decent phone calls, meaning I can hear the person very well. BUT I'm too lazy to hold the phone so I opt to transferring them to my cellphone because of my wireless bluetooth.
Ooma works for me! hehehe no bills for more than 8 months now. Well, who cares to count the bills when you're not receiving anything.
My fave feature -- retain OLD phone number.
Bye bye Vonage and Verizon. Thank you Ooma and Skype (free online).
;->
UPDATE - UPDATE
ive been using ooma for more than a year now. It saves me tons of telephone bills. Not bad at all.
ALL i can say--it suits my lifestyle. People can still call with my original verizon phone number, leave a message in my voicemail etc...
i also use international phone calls so i buy credits at ooma's website.
the only glitch (not sure if i wrote about it) is when my Time W. cable has problems. No internet-- no phone service.
HEY---at least i have my cellphone.
I'm NOT WORKING so im financially free from phone bills. My husband didnt like the idea at first....now he's not complain. Why would he? he doesnt need to pay 40 dollars more per month.
***** i can write this long because im not working and I'm ONE HAPPY CUSTOMER.