Posted by CopperheadVA on 9/19/11 9:12am
Msg #397857

NetTalk Duo VOIP device

Just over a month ago I bought a NetTalk Duo from walmart.com - http://www.walmart.com/ip/netTALK-Duo-Black-Chrome/15689187 . It’s a VOIP device that works kind of like MagicJack, except you plug it into your router instead of into your computer as MJ does – this means you can still make and receive calls even if your computer is off. One of the things that made me try NetTalk is that it advertised that you can fax with it. I figured that if I bought it from Walmart, then I could at least return it easily at the store (you can only purchase it online, not in their stores). I bought it in early August and tried it out for a month. I was able to choose my area code and prefix, but the last four digits of my new phone number were assigned by NetTalk. (Unfortunately, you cannot port your existing home phone number to the NetTalk device.)

My first attempt with faxing was unsuccessful. After some research, my husband figured out how to make an adjustment on the fax machine to slow down the transmission speed, and I tried faxing again. I faxed 24 pages to my NotaryRotary e-fax number and, although it took about 15 minutes, it was successful! I fortunately don’t have a lot of occasion to fax things, but the other day I was faxing 5 pages to a lender (4-page signed HUD plus cover page) and I had to try it several times before it was successful. Not sure why I had trouble with it that day especially with so few pages, but it did finally go through. If I can scan and email instead of fax, I do that; but sometimes a fax is required.

My husband works from home and has been using the NetTalk for his daily conference calls - he was very skeptical when I first bought it, but now he loves it! We were paying $32 per month for our Verizon landline. After trying NetTalk for a month, we terminated the landline. NetTalk costs $70 to purchase, which includes the first year of service, and the service costs $30 per year after that. You can use it with a traditional answering machine, or you can have NetTalk answer any missed calls and they will email you a voice message in a WAV file. My husband forwards a copy of the VM from his email to mine, so we both receive the voice messages. Unfortunately, you cannot record your own VM greeting at this time. Also, when dialing outbound calls you must dial the area code plus the phone number. This is something I am used to doing with my cell phone and I can live with it in order to save $350 per year.

Some routers have compatibility issues with NetTalk – here is a link to the list of routers that work well and don’t work well with the NetTalk:
http://www.nettalk.co/faq/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=255

We have been very happy with the NetTalk. There is a 5,000 minute limit per month, but even with my husband’s heavy conference call usage, we haven’t even come close to using that many minutes. It may not be a great fit for everyone, but it works well for us (we have Comcast Xfinity internet service) so I wanted to pass the info along. Our $32 Verizon landline bill consisted of $17 per month for the service, plus $3.50 per month to have an unpublished number, plus $11.50 per month in ridiculous taxes and bogus fees. This was for bare-bones service that did not include caller ID, and I paid a separate vendor for long distance service. So glad to get to say goodbye to those fees!

Reply by CopperheadVA on 10/14/11 7:08am
Msg #400486

One more item: Long distance service from VA to CA seems to have a significant delay when using a cordless phone. So much so, that it made it very difficult to hold a conversation. I solved this problem by buying a $10 AT&T TL-210 landline phone from Walmart.com, which I use just for those calls. Local calls on the cordless phone do not experience the delay.