if you are in the US, for sure you have heard of magicJack, it's heavily advertised and widely available in the supermarkets. magicJack is a VOIP telephone service where you connect this magicJack gadget into your computer USB and then connect your telephone to the mahicJack. the driver will load and you are ready to call anyone in the US and canada for free.
well, not entirely free but almost free - the magicJack costs $39.95 for the first year, included shipping and for succeeding years you pay $19.95 per year. you can make all the calls you want, in the philippine context you can make unlimited calls to any number in the US and Canada at no cost.
the good news - this works in the philippines, too!we have been using the magicJack in the philippines to call folks in the US on a regular basis. it's used often - an hour or so almost every day and it works just fine. the voice quality is very clear. at times it gets garbled and with an echo but it rarely happens. if that happens, just hang up and call again. it's recommended that no other computer uses the DSL connection when you are using the magicJack as there is at times some interference.
these are really very minor problems. the amount of hours we have been spending using the magicJack to call the US is very much worth the annual fee and the occasional problems.
the magicJack is actually available locally. there is a local company that sells the unit but it is not worth buying from them as it is more than double the cost of getting it from the US while the annual fee is more than triple the cost in the US.
what is the go around on this horrendous local cost? ask your friends and relatives from the US to buy the magicJack in the US and ask them to have the unit shipped to you in the philippines. once it arrives to your philippine home by courier, you can immediately use it. of course your friend in the US will need to shoulder the initial cost of it. you will probably need a credit card to continue the service after the first year.
a marketing note : the local company selling the magicJack in the philippines unfortunately is just like many other local companies in the philippines - they are terribly profit hungry. just like many other local companies that engage in services or products from the US, this company is too greedy in pricing the product and service twice to three times the cost in the US. but that is another topic.
mount pinatubo erupts shooting ashes several kilometers high, then floating to blanket many other towns hundreds of kilometers away
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