Ooma wants you to have free VoIP landlines -- for a price

Vonage has something new to worry about: free. Since everybody hates paying for anything internet, Ooma's jumping on the free-subscription bandwagon with reverse razor / blade model: shell out crazy cash ($400) for a sexy little Ooma Hub with lifetime free local and long distance service. The Hub plugs into your network or internet connection and, if you've got it, landline; it can route calls over the net where possible, but still reserves the ability to use your home number, and direct 911 calls over your hard, analog phone line (unlike Vonage, for example). You can also extend Ooma to other parts of the house via $40 Ooma Scouts (shown above), but there's a caveat: Ooma goes Skype on you, using spare bandwidth to route other Ooma users' calls and cut costs for the company providing you free service. Is it all worth it? Hopefully we'll get our hands on one soon to give it a try, but most of us will have to wait until September to snag one.

Read - Ooma's page
Read - Mossberg's review

Gallery: Ooma wants you to have free VoIP landlines -- for a price

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[Bachus @ Jul 19th 2007 12:45AM]

while any innovation is good innovation in my book this pales in comparison to T-Mobile's recent voip offerings since they'll give you free in home service along with your regular mobile bill and it's all in one handset.

[coffeepot64 @ Jul 19th 2007 3:56AM]

Really? Tell me more...

[James @ Jul 19th 2007 7:20AM]

I don't think bachus knows what he's talking about -- T-Mo offers "Hotspot at Home", where they sell (a very limited selection of) wifi-capable cell phones, and special routers that support the protocol, then charge you extra for a service where if your phone is in range of a wifi signal, it will place the call using a VoIP protocol (for "free") rather than over GSM using up minutes. Not exactly the same thing.

[Iara @ Jul 20th 2007 10:01AM]

How is paying $10 a month free?

[munboy @ Jul 19th 2007 12:50AM]

So what happens when this company pulls a Sunrocket?

[George @ Jul 19th 2007 12:59AM]

What is up with Ashton Kutcher being listed as Creative Director... this is going to bad quick...

[dragen @ Jul 19th 2007 1:52AM]

You just got PUNK'D!

[Alvin @ Jul 19th 2007 1:59AM]

Every purchase of Ooma comes with a free trucker hat.

[Ryhan @ Jul 19th 2007 1:07AM]

Ooh...that device is pretty in all of its simplicity!

[RijilV @ Jul 19th 2007 1:31AM]

It would be much more interesting if there was a statement regarding the openness of their protocol and a commitment towards interoperability.

"... reinvent the way they [consumers] use their home phone with an ooma system."

With a statement like that it is hard to imagine how it would be possible using closed protocols. However nothing on their website suggests they are anything other than a proprietary system, not unlike our current telephone system, with the exception they are leaching their infrastructure off of the open and free protocols that define our Internet.

[gerbick @ Jul 19th 2007 5:17AM]

As much as I'd like this to be an awesome option in all things VoIP... the fact that it will become part of a supernode - think: Skype - and it's not something you can/can not turn off, which in Skype, you can turn it off via the registry or other settings... the price of admission is too great on the hardware.

[Nick Gyles @ Jul 19th 2007 7:44AM]

So does this mean I can listen in on people's calls when they use my land line? It's just analog voice going through copper wire running across my carpet, and I do own the service ;-)

[Chuckles McGee @ Jul 19th 2007 8:54AM]

I like the free part, it's just the price I can't afford.

[Dan @ Jul 19th 2007 9:24AM]

Does anyone else think these phones look way too much like the B&O phones you can pick up for way too much money? Is B&O in on this deal or could there be a lawsuit in the future?

[az1324 @ Jul 19th 2007 11:10AM]

Isn't this very similar to what magicjack is doing minus the landline integration? Why don't u guys look into them since they are currently shipping?

[fareal @ Jul 20th 2007 1:19PM]

Corded phones??? C'mon!

[Dave "Tex" Cho @ Jul 21st 2007 5:46PM]

FYI re T-Mobile's HotSpot@Home - I started using this service this week. The router (Linksys version) was easy to set up, as are most routers these days, but, when I tried the VoIP service I kept getting dropped calls (I was receiving calls from a friend who offered to help me test the service). The good news is that the quality on the receiving end was outstanding, and the bad news there was lot of hiss or static on my end of call, but, I don't know if that was due to the VoIP service or the handset (Nokia 6086). But, I did get 3 warning beeps before the call dropped. Ironically, when I called T-Mobile tech support to report my experience, I had 2 calls dropped and on the 3rd call the rep called me back on a land line. I have a little over a week before I can return everything without any charges or penalties (I hope).

I did take it to a Starbucks and it connected easily to the T-Mobile HotSpot, but, I didn't get to talk to anyone, just their answering machines.

I'll give it a few more days, but, so far, not real impressed.

[Tech Untangled @ Jul 28th 2007 5:23PM]

Here's a comparison of OOma and Skype
Why Skype is Better than Ooma

[Tech Untangled @ Jul 28th 2007 5:23PM]

Here's a look at Skype vs. Ooma http://techuntangled.com/why-skype-is-better-than-ooma

[andre @ Sep 28th 2007 7:05PM]

I am a White Rabbit, and am very satisfied with the reliability and the quality of the service so far. I use Skype too, and I can tell you that the voice quality on Skype (with a microphone and the system's speakers) is not quite as good as ooma's. But the most important aspect though is that ooma, unlike Skype, can be used as any regular phone: no need to start the computer, be tied to the computer, or wait for someone to get online to talk to them. Comparing Skype and ooma is really comparing apples and oranges.

[yed @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:30PM]

Aren't those phones identical copies of Bang & Olufsen VERY expensive phones?

http://www.bang-olufsen.com/page.asp?id=184
http://www.bang-olufsen.com/page.asp?id=47

[Average Phone User @ Sep 17th 2007 4:09PM]

So, I guess this thing has pretty much died on the vine, huh?

I participated in the White Rabbit program, but my box died less than a week into the trial, and I have been trying to get a replacement ever since.

There is certainly some fine print to using this service..........the changes they make can be charged for by your local phone company. that much is a given. In my case, I was charged $10.80 to add CF-B to my line, which is an additional $1.75 a month. Then, when my Ooma box broke, I didn't have VM for 2 weeks. So, after no signs of getting a new box in the mail, I pleaded w/ Ooma to add my VM back until I get a new box. So, they do, which adds an additional $10.80 charge to my phone bill. To add insult to injury, the customer care reps w/ Ooma had the audacity to tell me that they never removed my VM to begin with, and moreover, that my phone company stated that I never had VM w/ my service. Someone must have been giving it to me for free for the last 2 years then.........please!

So far Ooma has cost me $23.35 and w/ Unlimited LD only costing $5 more a month, I could have gotten more usage out of my money by upgrading my account w/ my local carrier; 4 monhts of US domestic calling versus 2 days.