BajaNomad - vonage versus skype

vonage versus skype

sylens - 1-25-2008 at 05:55 PM

anyone,

pretty please? :?:

a comparison of skype and vonage in terms of monthly cost to use, sound quality, ease of use, special equipment needs, etc.

thanks much in advance

Hook - 1-25-2008 at 06:10 PM

I'd swear there was a post about this real recently.

CaboRon - 1-25-2008 at 07:12 PM

I would like to help you out , but, I only use skype.

CaboRon

Ken Cooke - 1-25-2008 at 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CaboRon
I would like to help you out , but, I only use skype.

CaboRon

bajadedom - 1-25-2008 at 11:28 PM

Skype is so cheap and easy (US - Mexico experience)I can't imagine anything better....clean and efficient(2.1 cents a minute) I have my contacts e-mail me from the US if they want to talk to me and then I Skype 'em back....It's free if they have skype too...I use a microphone and laptop and don't need a phone at all....WiFi easy to access free if you look around....

CaboRon - 1-26-2008 at 08:29 PM

I was talking to the guy at the end of our road today, and he says Vonage is so good because it is a flat rate..... When I asked him what the rate was he said fourty five dollars a month..... I don't spend anywhere near that amount with skype..... at that rate I would have to talk for almost 36 HOURS a month to the states... and that's if no one I talk to had skype...... sounds very expensive to me.

CaboRon

try www.magicjack.com

Keri - 1-26-2008 at 08:36 PM

. I love mine. It's another option for you to check out. ,k :yes:

CaboRon - 1-26-2008 at 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Keri
. I love mine. It's another option for you to check out. ,k :yes:

Mine what ?

Ken Cooke - 1-26-2008 at 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CaboRon
When I asked him what the rate was he said fourty five dollars a month.....

I'm running up a bill of roughly $12 per week on Skype. Not enough to really justify changing calling plans...

CaboRon - 1-26-2008 at 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Cooke

Quote:

Originally posted by CaboRon
When I asked him what the rate was he said fourty five dollars a month.....

I'm running up a bill of roughly $12 per week on Skype. Not enough to really justify changing calling plans...

Ken,

You have got to get your fiancee to download skype, then you will be paying nothing for those calls to Columbia.

CaboRon

Ken Cooke - 1-26-2008 at 09:04 PM

Yikes! It costs nearly DOUBLE for me to call my friends in Tijuana vs. my gf down in Colombia!?! .09/min vs. .05 - that's a big difference. Big enough to justify Vonage if I were to call Tijuana regularly.

Ken Cooke - 1-26-2008 at 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CaboRon

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Cooke

Quote:

Originally posted by CaboRon
When I asked him what the rate was he said fourty five dollars a month.....

I'm running up a bill of roughly $12 per week on Skype. Not enough to really justify changing calling plans...

Ken,

You have got to get your fiancee to download skype, then you will be paying nothing for those calls to Columbia.

CaboRon

The Internet cafe just up the street from her house has Skype. I told her to use it instead of Yahoo! since it has the webcam feature and we could at least view each other while typing (really romantic). As for a computer at home, her familia is too poor to afford a system w/dial up or DSL.

CaboRon - 1-26-2008 at 09:28 PM

Nevermind !

Rosan Rosana Dana ...

Sallysouth - 1-27-2008 at 01:13 AM

Ah Geez,She was just the best of all, that Rosan Rosana Dana. Gilda, awesome woman. :bounce:

cabo ron. I love my magicjack.

Keri - 1-27-2008 at 01:32 AM

I have skype also but I like the portability of the magicjack .I can take it with me and use it on my laptop or an internet cafe so anywhere I have internet I have my own phone. It gives you your own number in area code of your choice it also has a free answering service . It is $39.95 for first YEAR and $19.95 a year thereafter. Ken , Thats better than vonage's monthly charges. There is a charge for international calls from the US but I use it from Baja to the US and there is no charge. My family likes being able to call a 619 number rather than my Mexico number, much cheaper for them also,k :yes:

CaboRon - 1-27-2008 at 05:50 AM

Keri,

That sounds cool, and especially the voice mail option.

Then you don't have to have the computer on all the time to answer calls.

CaboRon

durrelllrobert - 1-27-2008 at 06:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by sylens
anyone,

pretty please? :?:

a comparison of skype and vonage in terms of monthly cost to use, sound quality, ease of use, special equipment needs, etc.

thanks much in advance

Vonage is great because you can use it with a cordless phone anywhere within 100 ft or so from your computer, rather than being tied to computer. The initial cost for Vonage modem was $50 last year @ Radio Shack and you got a $50 rebate check after 2 months service.
I have the basic service which is $15.45/ month for 500 minutes which = 3 cents/ min. You can pick any area code in the US for your number and callers to you from that area code are just local calls. Lastly, I understand that Skype is a UK company and you need to deposit funds in Euros

CaboRon - 1-27-2008 at 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by durrelllrobert

Quote:

Originally posted by sylens
anyone,

pretty please? :?:

a comparison of skype and vonage in terms of monthly cost to use, sound quality, ease of use, special equipment needs, etc.

thanks much in advance

No, you deposit in us dollars.

CaboRon

sylens - 1-27-2008 at 05:48 PM

thanks, guys, for all the good info.

i thought we might be missing something with vonage, but am now convinced it is best for us with the monthly rate for all calls to the u.s., and the fact it is free from steve's headquarters (minneapolis), making his working down here (telecommuting) possible.

also, i use it for long distance within mexico, because, at 2 cents a minute, it's a lot cheaper than carlos slim's rates :lol:

calls to london were also 2 cents a minute.
priceless :spingrin:

most of our calls are not to folks who have skype, so i guess that's another benefit of vonage for us over skype.

again, thanks for all the help.

Roberto - 1-27-2008 at 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CaboRon
I was talking to the guy at the end of our road today, and he says Vonage is so good because it is a flat rate..... When I asked him what the rate was he said fourty five dollars a month..... I don't spend anywhere near that amount with skype..... at that rate I would have to talk for almost 36 HOURS a month to the states... and that's if no one I talk to had skype...... sounds very expensive to me.

CaboRon

Except, that's not true. $19/month is more like it. That would include calls to the U.S. only.

BCSTech - 1-29-2008 at 11:14 PM

We use both, for different reasons:

Vonage - because you can connect a regular telephone/answer machine or fax to the adaptor, you don't need a computer for it to work, and we can connect customers' Dish Network satellite receivers to the telephone line so they can call the Mother Ship in the US every now and then.

Skype - because of the Skype to Skype free calls, the ability to get both a US and a Mexican SkypeIn number for others to call, and I can take and make calls from my laptop when I travel.

governor - 2-2-2008 at 02:55 PM

I use Viatalk (VOIP). I took it with me when I moved from LA to TJ. It works great with telnor DLS, calls are clear. Only problem is about 1 month after I moved down to TJ they cut off my access to dial mexico numbers. When I called they said they can tell I am in Mex and they dont allow that. So while I can still call the US and receive calls from anywhere I cannot dial into mex. I signed up a year ago and got 1 year free so this is the free year but I will def. look at changing when the free year runs out. My GF calls her mom in Mex all the time so I had to get telnor unlimited plan for 100/month inlcuded DSL and unlimited landline calls in Mex.

BCSTech - 2-6-2008 at 06:38 AM

I should add the Skype generally works better than Vonage over satellite. Vonage likes a lot of bandwidth and doesn't like the delay on satellite.

But both may have trouble holding a decent voice connection on the basic satellite service levels or during peak user times (mornings and late afternoons).

eastcapebabe - 2-22-2008 at 01:28 PM

Anyone using any of these in a rural location in Baja where there are no phone lines? We will be able to get a satellite connection for television, but I'm looking for a communication device for calls from Baja to U.S.
In the U.S. we use Direct Tv. I waiting for the slingbox to upgrade for HDtv, but I'm not sure that I would be able to get that in Rural Baja without a phone line. Kinda new at all this and technology is constantly evolving.......hard to keep up! Oh yes, needs to apple compatible. Any suggestions?

BCSTech - 2-22-2008 at 09:23 PM

Interesting to see if the remote Slingbox connection will work over satellite. They list the minimum upstream bandwidth needed but that's for the sender unit. I don't think the remote PC would need a lot of upstream bandwidth to support the streaming but...???

Methinks the main problems would be the latency over satellite and the FAP download limits imposed by the satellite Internet companies. You would hit your donload FAP pretty quickly each day by downloading streaming video. Even with minimum bandwidth, I'd think you would reach the download FAP in less than an hour; certainly not long enough to watch a movie or sports event...