Ooma Core VoIP Phone System by ooma
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List Price: Our Price: $170.00 You Save: $79.99 (32%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Ooma Core VoIP Phone System
Digital camera Review: 8+ Months of use and Loving It. Details below
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
01/20/2009
QUICK NOTE: Jason M. Page has a great review above my review...you should read it also.
UPDATED 12/17/2008
We dropped DSL and moved OOMA's to Cable Modem Service...
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
Hello All,
I bought an OOMA about 8+ months ago with one scout (added a 2nd system later on). Here is our setup.
1. NO LANDLINE required.
2. Using with Cable Broadband on Comcast.
3. Two OOMA Hubs (personal and business) and 2 OOMA Scouts.
4. 2 x 2 Line Panasonic Cordless system to use dual line capabilities.
5. Wired into home wiring so as to avoid unsightly clutter of hardware.
FIRST SYSTEM (Personal Use):
The OOMA hub is plugged in to our Apple Extreme Basetation, out of sight out of mind. Gave the OOMA internet access through the router and voila...phone service is live. NO land line is required. I know OOMA says you can use your existing land line, but it is not a necessity to use this system. They will issue you a new number or port your number over if you do not have or want a land line.
We took line one of the OOMA hub (marked home) and wired it into our home wiring (line 1 - our home is wired for 2 lines)....again very easy and no problem - the phones in the house starting working at once.
Challenge - we have a 2line phone system - so how can you use OOMA with a two line system and use the 2 line features of OOMA.
Since line one was wired and working we needed to get line 2 wired. I took the line 2 out of the ooma hub (marked WALL), wired into home wiring (line 2 jack in the basement), and used the ooma scout to complete the phone line network this system creates.
Line one was already going into the panasonic, so the scout now allowed us to plug in line 2. Voila - 2 lines on a 2 line system with one scout and one telephone number. Its like call waiting on steroids.
NOTE: You can also get multiple numbers with different ring patterns to make this more effective.
The panasonic system has 4 handsets - so now no matter where we are we have a 2 line phone system without the need for more scouts.
The scout itself does everything the OOMA hub does in a small package....so its easy to put in the kitchen and or bedroom and have it look somewhat decent.
SECOND SYSTEM:
Simply used near a telephone in the basement/home office...no fancy setup...works great with a 2 line Panasonic System.
I hope this helps you in deciding to purchase this system. Please let it be known that I am a consumer...not affiliated with OOMA....I simply LOVE this product. I no longer have monthly bills and thus we have recovered the cost of this system already.
UPDATE 12/17/08
Still going strong. WE now have two ooma hubs and two scouts at home. One for personal use and one for business. Works great...no complaints yet. Our broadband is now all cable - about 10-12mbps down (comcast) and 1.5mbps up...sometimes more on down/up in burst mode.
OOMA has also added a bunch of new features for people on the premier plan...ie. community black lists. Basically a GREAT feature.....they have created a blacklist that is shared by all members so that we can all contribute to block useless telemarketing calls etc.....you send them directly to voicemail or block them all together. AWESOME!.
People have emailed me and asked if this system works for faxing....I dont know that I can answer that since I have not really tried sending/receiving faxes with it. Please do chime in and let us all know if it works.
I have also had questions about what I think of OOMA and the business model...while I do not know the specifics, I am not afraid of using it as there seems to be enough people contacting me about purchasing it...I feel that it will be around long enough for everyone to recover the cost of the system.
If you have specific questions, feel free to ask me via email at tchachra@yahoo.com. I will try and help....and just to be clear..I am not affiliated with OOMA at all....just a consumer via AMAZON!
QUICK NOTE: (THANKS DAVE)
It is important to understand that you should disconnect the wiring from the local telephone company coming into your house before you wire any VOIP device into your home wiring. Basically the phone company wiring carries current into your house and OOMA also outputs some level of current to your phone lines....too much could cause an issue.
Digital camera Review: 99% reliable - (you will notice the 1% though)
Summary: 5 Stars
Enough free features for a basic phone user.
Easy to set up.
Same quality and ease of use as a land line with reliable service 99% of the time. You will notice the 1% of the time when it hiccups and your phone doesn't work, because that sucks and you remember things that suck. When it happens though try to remind yourself that the last 2 months of calls you made were free and you'll feel a lot better.
Digital camera Review: A Big Disappointment in Our House
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought the Ooma system as a Christmas present for my mother, hoping I could save her the high cost of phone service. We were both disappointed. Here's why:
1. Installation was easy enough, but the quality of the calls were such that the people I called complained. One said that I sounded like I was calling from overseas with a vacuum cleaner running in the background. She terminated the call after just a few minutes because it was so difficult to listen.
2. The Scout line was impossible. The line was so filled with static that it was completely unusable. The problem may have come about because of a conflict with the wiring in the house, but whatever the reason, the call quality was simply unacceptable.
I'm very disappointed because all the great reviews led me to expect more. . . much more. I have returned the Ooma . . . sadly.
One star
Digital camera Review: A Cheap and Simple Exodus from Monthly Bills
Summary: 5 Stars
I have waited quite a long time to make the jump from a corded home phone to VOIP. When I learned about the Ooma system which allows 1) a simple fixed amount with no additional fee and 2) the means to port my existing telephone number (because I didn't feel like changing it *again*, I decided this was the finally the chance.
I am extremely impressed with the easy installation, the simplicity in porting my previous home number (albeit lengthy process--this is not a fault that can be helped), and the ability to set up AND USE my Ooma voicemail with my existing landline while waiting for porting to complete. You can also add a fax line on this hub if you wish if you use the second line. I may decide to do this later on, but I like the basic services you receive with the device and am willing to live without extra stuff I don't use very frequently for in exchange for no more phone bill.
I am now a believer. Don't hesitate to purchase this product. Now I know what my family members will be getting for Christmas this year.
Digital camera Review: A No Brainer!
Summary: 5 Stars
A member of Gen-Y, I can scarecely remember a time where I had a landline...maybe college? Anyway, my wife is about to launch a business from home and I knew that it would be extremely costly to add enough minutes to our cell phone plan to cover the time she'd be spending on the phone, not to mention battery life issues, reception, dropped calls, etc.
We did some preliminary research on landline costs and were stunned! Unlimited calling plans ranged from $25 introductory offers all the way to nearly $70 per month! Ouch! We then looked at magic jack, which was appealing but since we run on laptops, we knew there might be issues if the computers were to go on standby.
Enter Ooma to the rescue. One time fee for the unit!? Gosh, for the cost of 6 months of conventional landline service, this unit pays for itself! Better still, the voice quality is is as clear, if not more so than traditional phones!
I find the design of the ooma pleasing, with soft red and blue lights, a simple, easy to understand design, and pleasing ringtones. The online features are a bonus, but the average user probably doesn't even need the *optional* subscriber options for $99/yr. The unit was incredibly easy to set up, and really helps us cut costs as a small home business owner. In this economy, we need more innovations like this to help us reduce our monthly bills!