jackinfl wrote:Just to finish the discussion that I started - I felt so bad that I might not have given my Ooma a fair chance I unpacked the unit (I must admit the "presentation" is at least a 12 on a scale of 1 to 10). Hooked all back up and still had "issues".
Main "issue" was the Ooma would not release my phone line from my fax after faxing (I was able to fax) so I could make voice calls. Needed to pick up and replace receiver handset a couple of times to cause it to "release". No big deal but a another step in making calls. Tried to call the "crack" customer service folks from my desk at 10 the other day - and they do not open to 11. OK I waited till after 11 and tried calling (from my Ooma to Ooma) for 45 minutes and got a busy every time (no less than 10-12 times). Again no bid deal - but my problem still not resolved.
So I packed all and returned the unit.
Went and bought another MJ (second one in my possession between my two homes) and from the start all was perfect - no "issues" in any way.
I did some quick figuring and it would take me 13.3 years to break even with Ooma (if I take advantage of MJ's offer to pre-pay for 5 years at $59.95). I am quite happy with the MJ and the fact a computer needs to be on 24/7 for it to work is a non-issue in my situation.
The fact that I am not able to have a "local" number on the MJ is also a non-issue in my case (this is the other thing that might be an issue with some folks).
All in all the Ooma looked like a good product (and I am still impressed with the packaging) and would recommend it to anyone that needed a stand alone device.
Just was not for me - and as I have learned "life goes on".
Hmmm... I'm fairly certain that any conspiracy theorist worth his salt would have noticed that jackinfl has not denied being the MJ mole.
Aside from that I also question some of his logic. First, based on my experiences with MJ, faxing documents is not possible... it simply does not work with fax, whether incoming or outgoing.
Second... what two line system? Only one MJ can be used with each computer at any one given time. So, in order to have a true two line system, two computers would need to be in fairly close proximity. On the plus side, MJ is portable, so one has the option of taking it to his second home... so don't need a second unit.
Third, the math might be off. There definitely is a cost to running a computer 24/7 (assuming one want's the convenience of 24/7 telephone service. Granted there is debate over just how much cost must be factored in, but there seems to be no denying that there is an added cost.
See,
http://www.dslreports.com/faq/2404Assuming for the sake of discussion only that one wanted 24/7 phone service for a single line at a single location, ooma can be obtained for about $40 per year amortized over 5 years (excluding shipping cost) or $20 per year over ten years (plus some nominal amount for the electricity to run the box). MJ over five years would cost $100* (excluding shipping) plus the cost of electricity to run the computer. Over ten years it would cost $175** plus juice.
Assuming further for the sake of this discussion only, that it cost only $7.50 per month (or $0.25 per day) to leave the computer on continuiously (as opposed to say... 8 hours per day), the total cost of the single line MJ system would be $100 plus additional electricity cost of $450 or $550 over the five year period which comes out to $110 per year.
O.K. you say... what about the electricity cost for the ooma Hub? I have assumed it is negligible, but even if one were to reduce the marginal cost for electricity to $0.10 per day to run the PC as opposed to the ooma Hub, the MJ would still cost 100 plus additional electricity costs of $36 per year or $280.00 over the five years or $56 per year.
That would put the break even at approximately 3.5 years.
But wait... there is more. The ooma system is a huge improvement over the MJ.
* The five year plan for MJ actually results in the user getting an additional 4 years only for the $59.95... so $15 per year.
** Assumes the rate of $15 per year applies beyond the fifth year.
P.S. If you look over your shoulder and don't see anyone following you, kindly disregard this post.