Skype, AIM TotalTalk, Free - Page 2

xmailer · 19 May 2006, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by kaptitsky
Personally, I moved to lower Manhattan and got a 917 area code number.

I found my new address on Google.

I had "googled" too, but apparently not well enough or persistently enough. So how is Manhattan this time of year? Getting warmer by now, I'd imagine...

kaptitsky · 22 May 2006, 07:28 AM

OnNetzero PrivatePhone @ http://PrivatePhone.com

- I got a local number,

- I can set it to forward messages to my regular email (though I have to delete before 10 messages fill up in the Netzero Box),

- I can set a PIN to configure greetings and listen to voicemail on the phone (hit * during greeting and enter PIN #)

It's nice, but I'm not sure they want free users to have all these features. They may go pay someday.

You need a Netzero username to sign up, but who doesn't have one of those?

And some people like http://lycos.globe7.com/ which also has a local inbound number for free, but since it's another dang download, I haven't tried it

kaptitsky · 22 May 2006, 10:03 PM

http://www.voicestick.com/

Free plan with free incoming calls to a free US or UK number (and prepaid outgoing calls), but they support standard SIP devices. You can use their softphone (and they offer one on a memory stick, hence the name,) or any open SIP device you may own.

Seems to have voicemail capacity with delivery to email and access via your phone number.

You do need to give them your credit card to register, even though there is no charge.

**Gankaku** · 23 May 2006, 09:55 PM

Hey guys,

Did any of you actually TRY making a free Skype-to-phone call? I did. I called my sister. There was a lot of echoing, static and the quality was just not good. I think they'd better pay ME to make calls from Skype-to-landphone. I guess I thought it would work as well as Skype-to-Skype calls, which are super clear.

I've been suggested to look into Sunrocket by a friend too. I just haven't found myself going the way of VoIP for my main phone service. The only thing I can see is that it's $8 a month for two years (if we get in on this deal), instead of whatever we pay for our current phone service.

We mostly make international calls; would I lose my capability to use one of the exchanges like WorldExchange or other 1010 numbers to make international calls? I rotate through a few of those 1010 numbers sometimes when we can't get connected, or we use a calling card. Or use OneSuite. Can we still use these things on VoIP? Or are we stuck with using their international rates?

kaptitsky · 23 May 2006, 10:24 PM

There have been lots of people who think SkypeOut is not the best VOIP experience ever.

I'm using the 2.5 beta, which is supposed to be a bit better, and my sister and I did OK, but I can't say I use it a lot.

The unlimted SunRocket comes with $3 of free international calling per month, which can be 100 minutes to many destinations.

I assume 1010 calling codes can be used, but I have never tried. You might want to call technical support.

FMRocks · 24 May 2006, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Gankaku
Hey guys,

Did any of you actually TRY making a free Skype-to-phone call? I did. I called my sister. There was a lot of echoing, static and the quality was just not good.

Wow, my experience has been the complete opposite. I regularly use Skype Out, and it works like a charm every time. I use it for making regular phone calls and conference calls.

mister · 24 May 2006, 01:16 AM

Don't like Skype try www.jajah.com

usf · 30 May 2006, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mister
Don't like Skype try www.jajah.com

I think Jajah has a nice feature that is without download install software; directly call between 2 phone sets . It provide 5 min trial time per each phone line.
I try call between Hongkong & Singapore, no echo, voice is quite clear.
But my friend trial call between China & Hong kong, his feed back : voice is no clear, noise.

kaptitsky · 31 May 2006, 11:47 PM

NetZero Private Phone allows a personal greeting, but the automated instructions that follow now include a tagline: "For your own free voicemail, visit PrivatePhone.com"

Free is free, but it sounds kinda tacky.

Edit: Now, after personal greeting, "Please leave your message for this PrivatePhone.com subscriber after the tone."

Better, I guess.

mister · 1 Jun 2006, 03:17 AM

I thought Privatephone was neat.The only thing I've seen like it was Qrio.I wonder how long it will last.

usf · 1 Jun 2006, 07:00 PM

Private Phone just provide voice mail box. For call in or call out , someone must also subscribe Net zero voice 100 plan (or other plan).
for example, <Net zero voice 100> price is USD3.95 per month (limited 100 mins)=> USD 0.0395/min.
Cost is higher than Jajah< USD 0.0171 per min.>
Jajah also works as IDD in Singapore. I would like it.

I also got a USA phone number from aimphoneline.com.
Trial call from USA (phone) to Singapore (PC, headphone ). sound quality is good, no echo, low noise, voice no intermitance.
unlimited call for USD 9.95 /mon with free phone number. I also recommend Aimphoneline.com, too.

P.S.
I just call and find out
Aimphoneline, free incoming call does not working anymore . Only privide free voicemail. ( June 4-2006)

xbot · 6 Jun 2006, 02:27 PM

*dusts off account, and pushes away spiders*

I'm a happy Skype customer, actually. Both me and my grandmother have it, and really went all out - including two USB phones, two VoSKY call centers (awesome), and of course SkypeIN, SkypeOUT, which both included voicemail.

By the end of it, well more than $100 spent, but you can't put a price on making a call while someone else on a regular phone like takes one, and then talking right next to eachother. 'Tis a prideful feeling to be a nerd ^_^.

The only scuff about Skype? I have a pretty decent computer, but I run a LOT of stuff on it. I know I should figure out how to reduce what programs I use, but I shouldn't have to - however, Skype has a terrible voice quality - my voice goes out perfectly, but incoming people's voices trail off, become robotic-like, etc. That's why I've been running it on my Dual P3 server, which works fantastic as long as I don't do anything with it.

A few notes:

The VoSKY call center isn't all that different from the VoSKY internet phone wizard - the difference is that you can call up from anywhere else and use Skype, even if you're in a hotel somewhere in Guatemala. But then again, if you can make calls from Guatemala to your house in the US, then you would probably be better off just sticking to the basic phone in Guatemala

The other beef I had with Skype, well, OK, not skype, but with the two pieces of hardware I got - the Cyberphone K and the VoSKY Call Center - would not work together. The Call Center sets itself up as the microphone and speakers. Not a big deal if you're using a dedicated Skype Machine (like I was). But I wanted to use both, because I often forget to charge my phone and I'm out of luck. That didn't work, because the Cyberphone K also sets itself up as a microphone/speaker. It was awkward, to say the least.

When I saw that Skype was offering calls to any phone in the US for free, I was tossing out number signs and exclaimation points, because I still have SkypeOUT credit. Now it's just sitting htere. MENACINGLY!

-Xbot

mike1977 · 18 Jun 2006, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kaptitsky
NetZero Private Phone allows a personal greeting, but the automated instructions that follow now include a tagline: "For your own free voicemail, visit PrivatePhone.com"

Free is free, but it sounds kinda tacky.

Yeah, I signed up just to try it out. A couple of times that I called to check on it I heard a message saying it's not a working number. So I guess I would have to say if they hear that to hang up and try again (like I did). Nice...

xbot · 18 Jun 2006, 11:00 PM

Sunrocket appears to have a father's day deal of $199 for two years.

usf · 19 Jun 2006, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mike1977
Yeah, I signed up just to try it out. A couple of times that I called to check on it I heard a message saying it's not a working number. So I guess I would have to say if they hear that to hang up and try again (like I did). Nice...

You can say something then log in to your voice box to listen (play) it.
your voice box also include an email box feature. mail box size is 1G, webbased.

sign to below link with your privatephone ID and password.
http://www.netzero.net/

22 May 2006, 10:03 PM	#18
kaptitsky The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,186	VoiceStick.com http://www.voicestick.com/ Free plan with free incoming calls to a free US or UK number (and prepaid outgoing calls), but they support standard SIP devices. You can use their softphone (and they offer one on a memory stick, hence the name,) or any open SIP device you may own. Seems to have voicemail capacity with delivery to email and access via your phone number. You do need to give them your credit card to register, even though there is no charge. Last edited by kaptitsky : 22 May 2006 at 11:07 PM.

31 May 2006, 11:47 PM	#24
kaptitsky The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,186	NetZero Private Phone allows a personal greeting, but the automated instructions that follow now include a tagline: "For your own free voicemail, visit PrivatePhone.com" Free is free, but it sounds kinda tacky. Edit: Now, after personal greeting, "Please leave your message for this PrivatePhone.com subscriber after the tone." Better, I guess. Last edited by kaptitsky : 5 Jul 2006 at 10:08 AM.

1 Jun 2006, 07:00 PM	#26
usf Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Singapore Posts: 610	Private Phone just provide voice mail box. For call in or call out , someone must also subscribe Net zero voice 100 plan (or other plan). for example, <Net zero voice 100> price is USD3.95 per month (limited 100 mins)=> USD 0.0395/min. Cost is higher than Jajah< USD 0.0171 per min.> Jajah also works as IDD in Singapore. I would like it. I also got a USA phone number from aimphoneline.com. Trial call from USA (phone) to Singapore (PC, headphone ). sound quality is good, no echo, low noise, voice no intermitance. unlimited call for USD 9.95 /mon with free phone number. I also recommend Aimphoneline.com, too. P.S. I just call and find out Aimphoneline, free incoming call does not working anymore . Only privide free voicemail. ( June 4-2006) Last edited by usf : 4 Jun 2006 at 01:25 PM.

22 May 2006, 07:28 AM	#17
kaptitsky The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,186	OnNetzero PrivatePhone @ http://PrivatePhone.com - I got a local number, - I can set it to forward messages to my regular email (though I have to delete before 10 messages fill up in the Netzero Box), - I can set a PIN to configure greetings and listen to voicemail on the phone (hit * during greeting and enter PIN #) It's nice, but I'm not sure they want free users to have all these features. They may go pay someday. You need a Netzero username to sign up, but who doesn't have one of those? And some people like http://lycos.globe7.com/ which also has a local inbound number for free, but since it's another dang download, I haven't tried it

23 May 2006, 09:55 PM	#19
Gankaku Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Virginia, USA Posts: 3,265	Hey guys, Did any of you actually TRY making a free Skype-to-phone call? I did. I called my sister. There was a lot of echoing, static and the quality was just not good. I think they'd better pay ME to make calls from Skype-to-landphone. I guess I thought it would work as well as Skype-to-Skype calls, which are super clear. I've been suggested to look into Sunrocket by a friend too. I just haven't found myself going the way of VoIP for my main phone service. The only thing I can see is that it's $8 a month for two years (if we get in on this deal), instead of whatever we pay for our current phone service. We mostly make international calls; would I lose my capability to use one of the exchanges like WorldExchange or other 1010 numbers to make international calls? I rotate through a few of those 1010 numbers sometimes when we can't get connected, or we use a calling card. Or use OneSuite. Can we still use these things on VoIP? Or are we stuck with using their international rates?

23 May 2006, 10:24 PM	#20
kaptitsky The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,186	There have been lots of people who think SkypeOut is not the best VOIP experience ever. I'm using the 2.5 beta, which is supposed to be a bit better, and my sister and I did OK, but I can't say I use it a lot. The unlimted SunRocket comes with $3 of free international calling per month, which can be 100 minutes to many destinations. I assume 1010 calling codes can be used, but I have never tried. You might want to call technical support.

24 May 2006, 01:16 AM	#22
mister Essential Contributor Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 387	Don't like Skype try www.jajah.com

1 Jun 2006, 03:17 AM	#25
mister Essential Contributor Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 387	I thought Privatephone was neat.The only thing I've seen like it was Qrio.I wonder how long it will last.

6 Jun 2006, 02:27 PM	#27
xbot Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Michigan Posts: 922 Representative of: xxos.us	dusts off account, and pushes away spiders I'm a happy Skype customer, actually. Both me and my grandmother have it, and really went all out - including two USB phones, two VoSKY call centers (awesome), and of course SkypeIN, SkypeOUT, which both included voicemail. By the end of it, well more than $100 spent, but you can't put a price on making a call while someone else on a regular phone like takes one, and then talking right next to eachother. 'Tis a prideful feeling to be a nerd ^_^. The only scuff about Skype? I have a pretty decent computer, but I run a LOT of stuff on it. I know I should figure out how to reduce what programs I use, but I shouldn't have to - however, Skype has a terrible voice quality - my voice goes out perfectly, but incoming people's voices trail off, become robotic-like, etc. That's why I've been running it on my Dual P3 server, which works fantastic as long as I don't do anything with it. A few notes: The VoSKY call center isn't all that different from the VoSKY internet phone wizard - the difference is that you can call up from anywhere else and use Skype, even if you're in a hotel somewhere in Guatemala. But then again, if you can make calls from Guatemala to your house in the US, then you would probably be better off just sticking to the basic phone in Guatemala The other beef I had with Skype, well, OK, not skype, but with the two pieces of hardware I got - the Cyberphone K and the VoSKY Call Center - would not work together. The Call Center sets itself up as the microphone and speakers. Not a big deal if you're using a dedicated Skype Machine (like I was). But I wanted to use both, because I often forget to charge my phone and I'm out of luck. That didn't work, because the Cyberphone K also sets itself up as a microphone/speaker. It was awkward, to say the least. When I saw that Skype was offering calls to any phone in the US for free, I was tossing out number signs and exclaimation points, because I still have SkypeOUT credit. Now it's just sitting htere. MENACINGLY! -Xbot

18 Jun 2006, 11:00 PM	#29
xbot Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Michigan Posts: 922 Representative of: xxos.us	Sunrocket appears to have a father's day deal of $199 for two years.