BajaNomad

vonnage

batman - 4-26-2006 at 10:13 AM

I would like information on the vonnage phone system in the Ensenada area (punta Banda).How it works,cost etc..Thanks

villadelfin - 4-26-2006 at 10:31 AM

US address, credit card, have the stuff mailed to the US address, bring it down, plug it in to existing ADSL router, make and receive calls.
$30 start fee, rates start at $15 per month, early termination fee of $79.

[Edited on 4-26-2006 by villadelfin]

bajalou - 4-26-2006 at 01:43 PM

Quite a bit compared to Skype - free ov svc charges - about 2 cents a min to US

bajabound2005 - 4-26-2006 at 04:25 PM

The advantage I think with Vonage is that you people calling you or those you are calling don't need to have computer - you have an actual phone number (and it can be a number from the US). Talk to Carlos and Norma at UPS next the Fruiteria in the Cantu. They can direct you.

bajalou - 4-26-2006 at 04:43 PM

You can set the same thing up with Skype - pick the area code for your US (or Candadian or Japaneese or EU) phone no.

Pescador - 4-26-2006 at 06:09 PM

I used Crystal Voice all last winter in Baja and it works very well. You sign up and pre-pay a certain amount. Then you sign on with the computer and have unlimited phone calls at about 2.5 cents a minute. When you get low on minutes you just use your credit card and recharge. You call any number in the US or Canada for that low rate. If you are using Satellite hookup there is a small lag in time, but if you are hooked up with the Mexican internet over your phone line there is no lag time.
I have several friends who do the exact same thing with Skype and it basically works the same way.
When I went on the Vonnage site, I was a curious why anybody (except for good advertising) would pay a monthly fee to do the same thing.

vonage

Shimmer - 4-26-2006 at 07:19 PM

I have used Skype in Baja... then I was informed by a friends web professionals that Skype opens one's system up to major invasive threats. I researched Gizmo and found it to have rave reviews by Wired Magazine and to be technically configured in a way as to be safer. The informed professionals looked into it and said... yes, it was 60 times safer than skpye. I now use gizmo and it has all the extras that they all seem to get together to be competitive with each other. Vonage I am told uses more band width but is easier to use as it is more like the conventional phones we are used to using... and it cost more. Research Gizmo.com

S

bajalou - 4-26-2006 at 07:31 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Shimmer
I have used Skype in Baja... then I was informed by a friends web professionals that Skype opens one's system up to major invasive threats.

S


Can you give some specifics of these threats???

I've used Skype for 1 1/2 years with no problems/invasions/etc.

Any specifics would be appreciated.

(I know that early on if you downloaded from Napster and some other sites you also got spyware - but not if you got it direct from Skype)

vonage

Shimmer - 4-27-2006 at 01:28 AM

Here is a copy of the pertinet parts of the email i recieved back from my friend who has the web professionals on her staff...

"Subject: Re: Question about Gizmo"

"Just read the security report on Gizmo, it runs on UDP port 1887 only which
means the worst that can happen is some hacker can listen in on your phone
call. Unlike skype, it does not need 60 ports open , so as far as safety
goes this is 60 times safer than skype. Besides they are working on full
portability across carriers and platforms, Meaning this might well become
the standard for internet telephony."

I am getting it for my MAC & PC.


that is the word... and is coming from two people who told her not to use skype.

I hope it helps you out.

PJC - 4-27-2006 at 07:06 AM

The large difference between Skype or Gizmo and Vonage (and clones) is that Vonage offers a more traditional phone experience where you have a telephone as an device instead of a headset and a PC.

This may change soon as Skype/Ebay has released their codec and protocol info so that third party manufactuers can build converters to their spec.

BCSTech - 5-1-2006 at 08:27 AM

PJC is correct. Vonage, Sipura, Packet8 and others allow you to plug in regular wired or wireless telephones, and/or fax or answering machines. You can even run extensions to every room like normal phones. They use a separate ATA router device that does not require a PC to be turned on or even connected. You just need a good broadband connection.

CrystalVoice and other "Soft phones" need a computer and headset to work. Net2Phone and Skype now offer both Soft Phone and ATA router options. Note that some soft phones do not have a Mac version. Soft phones make more sense when travelling with laptops.