Having heard so much about the Magic Jack and being tired of paying almost $60 a month to Comcast I decided to try it out.  Magic Jack has ups and downs but let me start out by saying this "You can replace your home phone with the Magic Jack, but it isn't for everyone."

Right now Magic Jack is offering a free 30 trail offer on the website, you can also pick one up at your local Walmart. I choose to order on the internet because I needed to really test it out before committing to the Magic Jack. I just ordered 1 and paid the extra $3.95 for faster shipping, I had heard it still is fast without but I didn't want to wait. Something to remember is that your trial starts from the time your order it not when you get or activate it.

Installation was very easy:

1. Plug it in
2. Wait a few minutes
3. Choose and area code
4. Your ready!
   

The user interface is pretty straight forward to use. On the right is a list of calls made, received and missed. The dial pad is in the middle to allow you to use a headset connected to your computer instead of the telephone. Of course the ads on the left which is supposed to help keep cost down. My only complaint is that interface pops up when you receive or make a call, kind of annoying but worth it for only $20 a year.

Magic Jack offers a lot of competitive features such as:

1. Call Waiting
2. Voice Mail
3. Caller ID
4. Free Directory Assistance

The only real problem I found is there is no way to disable call waiting or voice mail. I kinda found a work around with the call waiting:

Once you are on a call you can right click the Magic Jack icon in you task bar and put yourself into "do not disturb" mode. This won't give callers a busy signal, just send them straight to voice mail, but you won't hear the disturbing beep that comes with call waiting. Just remember to disable "do not disturb" mode when you are done or you won't receive calls.

***UPDATE 06/10/2009***
I can no longer find the "Do Not Disturb" option. Maybe a software update? I will be looking into this soon and update.

***UPDATE***
Seems an upgrade from Magic Jack has removed this feature.  Why?  I have no idea, but find this one less reason to buy a Magic Jack.

I have been told that the Magic Jack has call quality better than a cell phone. This is mostly true, but I have had a few problems with the quality of calls. There is about a 1 second delay between conversation, which is not usually noticeable but it is there. Sometimes while talking I will hear what sounds like someone pressing the keys on the phone, but this rarely happens. Also there is occaisonaly light static on the line, but it usually only last a few seconds. I would like to think that these small issues will be taken care of soon.

While the Magic Jack is a great gadget for the average home user it still needs work for professional use.  If you are looking for a great VOIP for your business maybe you should try Vonage... Magic Jack just isn't there yet.