Comments on: Ooma now for sale: Is it worth it?

How's $399 for all the domestic phone calls you can make for three years sound to you?

[mratner]

What a hassle. And seems like nothing but trouble

Vonage is $15-$25/month. I've had it for 3+ years and it's been reasonable/adequate.

Ooma seems like way too much hassle to save $10/month.

Have starbucks 26x instead of 28x a month and there's your $10 bucks.

[jerrystroud]

OOma looks alot betterdeal than Vonage. I got a Majicjack that was $40 and it works great for me, especially since I can easily carry it with me (about the size of a thumb drive) for domestic and international calling. We have family in the Philippines and sent them a Majicjack so we can call each other for free. I do not pay for broadband service. We have free municipal wireless in our area.

[mratner]

Sounds like a hassle

Vonage is $15-$25/month. I've had it for 3+ years and it's been reasonable/adequate.

Ooma seems like way too much hassle to save $10/month.

Have starbucks 26x instead of 28x a month and there's your $10 bucks.

[map-maker]

ooma security problems

The press releases don't ever mention a very serious problem with "distributed termination". In a nutshell, it means that one subscriber's call uses another subscriber's land-line. As a result:

1. Some other subscriber can listen in on your conversation, in the safety of their own home, using rather simple electronic circuitry. Ooma claims to have a "proprietary solution" to prevent this, but it is technically impossible to detect and prevent eavesdropping of this type.

2. If someone else uses your line to make illegal phone calls (bomb threat, drug deal), the police can trace it back to your phone and you will be in trouble. Ooma says that their phone records will show where the call really came from, which might get you out of trouble, but it won't keep you out of trouble in the first place.

Ooma has not been honest about these problems, and in fact, threatened legal action against a web site I created to detail them.

Mike P.

[sweetskye82]

One of the last to get a free ooma device...

And no matter what I try, I can't get it to work!
Could you kindly tell me how you hooked it up w/o a landline? I've been trying for hours & I just get the buttons lit up red because it's looking for a landline.

[martybrown]

I received ooma about a week ago and the installation was a snap. I'm a Sunrocket victim, errrrr survivor, so I kind of already knew where the box should plug in, in my vast array of cables, wires, power adapters et. al. under my wife's computer. I had the whole thing up and making phone calls in less than 10 minutes.

I think the alleged security issues have been touched on in a number of other internet forums - they're pretty much bogus fears from people who feel that they must defend Skype or Vonage or some other voip product.

The call quality is just a small notch under that of traditional landline connections, if there really is such a thing as a landline connection anymore. I've made several calls and unless I ask the other party if they hear any difference, they don't say anything. The call quality is vastly superior to Skype, which I love, but is very sketchy. I'd categorize the ooma call quality as something like a really really good cell phone connection - no drops, static, echos, latency, or anyother detectable deficiency. It's just a little bit 'thinner' than a traditional call.

Cost-wise, it is a bit deceptive to call this "free". But ooma says on their website that they predict there will be no cost for at least three years. Taken at their word, this works out to $11.11 per month for unlimited prepaid US calling. I only occasionally call overseas, so I can either use Skype for that or use ooma's very low international call rates. The biggest risk is that ooma doesn't survive for three years. For the excellence of call quality I'm receiving under my 60 day trial, I'm taking that risk.

I just about signed up with Vonage a month ago and had given them my credit card info and shipping address under a special "Try us free for TWO months" deal they were having. But at the very end of the call, Vonage disclosed a $39.95 disconnect charge if I leave them before two years. Yikes! It costs $40 to STOP being a customer? No thanks Vonage, but I still think your commercials are clever.

I'm glad I waited for ooma. The installation was easy, I trust that their engineers have designed a secure system and the call quality is very good.

[skellener]

Lots of inaccuracies in the article. Look here for the FAQ:

http://www.ooma.com/learn/ooma_faq.php

- Your one-time ooma purchase eliminates monthly charges for unlimited US calling.

Where did the three year thing come from? NO MONTHLY CHARGES!
Period. There are additional features available for a service fee, but only if you want them.

- The ooma system is flexible enough to work with or without a basic landline. All you need is a high-speed Internet connection and a regular home phone.

Having a landline is an option - but is NOT required.

Price is now $249 and comes with both an Ooma hub and one scout. I have no idea where they got the $599 figure for 2008. Electronics always go down in price not up.

Most of the reviews I have read have given the sound quality as BETTER than landline.

This is the second review I have read on CNET that has completely wrong information on it.