Magic Jack Reviews: The Truth behind the Magic

What is Magic Jack and what is the business proposition?

Magic Jack is a small electronic device that is connected to a user’s computer using an available unused USB port on your PC. When attached, it is possible to attach a traditional analog telephone handset by connecting it to the RJ11 socket that is identical to the one in the wall socket, no additional adapters are needed. Attaching the USB device automatically launches an installation program that is very easy to follow.

Magic Jack makes a simple proposal; that is users of its product and its service can drive down their telephony costs by as much as 66% in the first year and 83% in second and subsequent years. Such a strong business proposition needs immediate attention because the proposed benefits are clear.

The costs for the Magic Jack service are quite clear and Magic Jack reviews detail these, the first year costs $40 USD and the cost is inclusive for most domestic calls to landlines. From the second year, the costs drop to $20 USD included for landline calls. It is really recommended to spend a few moments checking your call user profile, if you have an itemized phone bill from your current provider, check the domestic landline call charges, the calls to cell phones and importantly the calls to international numbers which are itemized and will be charged separately.

As most Magic Jack reviews highlight that there is an important point to bear in mind, as you have your cell phone, traditional landline phone and computer with Magic Jack activated in front of you, decide where you are calling, how long you expect to be on the line and check the tariffs. After a few days with correct research, you will know which service to use.

But this is not a case of doing one check and off you go for eternity, it is strongly recommended that you double check the pricing packages from your telephony service provider at least monthly and take time to visit the review websites, blogs and forums. Be objective and don’t believe all you read in the Magic Jack reviews, not just accept but analyze.

Preparing your user experience

The best user experience comes from you yourself, how did you find Magic Jack? How easy was it to get the information you needed to decide if the valuable business proposition was for you? It could look good but you need some citations from independent users, where should you go? The best tip is to take your web browser search engine and type in “Magic Jack review” and you will be presented with a wealth of information. Now you need to be ready to research and prepare your check list of what is important to you, read the reviews and mark your score card accordingly. Make sure to weigh the results according to your key criteria, below are some guidelines.

Price versus Performance

For a user whose call traffic portfolio is predominantly domestic in the USA or Canada, Magic Jack reaps huge dividends; the 66% savings are realizable even in the first year. However, it is necessary to check the review sites that give useful information and it is recommended to double check. You can check them out by visiting the Magic Jack forum for more details.

Magic Jack is available in Canada but there are certain restrictions that need to be understood. If the user wants to retain a Canadian area code prefix, it will be necessary to pay an additional $10 USD per year in order to retain your area code and avoid questions about where you have moved to (even if you haven’t moved). You will need to be ready to respond, but as Magic Jack gives you the opportunity to chose a Beverly Hills, Chicago or New York address, this should not be a problem.

The key point to bear in mind is that when you move, the Magic Jack number portability is not an option so you will take on a new Magic Jack area code with a supplied phone number to send and more importantly, to receive your phone calls either on your PC or attached phone handset, so the advice is to update your key contacts accordingly. Use your web search engine to find those area codes that are available by simply typing in “Magic Jack area codes” and this produces information on the currently available area codes in the USA or Canada.

It’s important to use the maxim “horses for courses”. As the Magic Jack reviews point out favorably, Magic Jack excels on domestics calls but an alternative voice traffic supplier could be better for heavier international traffic. The user should select the service provider according to their merits, this is no monopoly.

One size fits all does not apply here, Magic Jack does not claim to be a universal panacea and should be used for its strengths but the user has a choice and can use different service providers for their total communication requirements. It is true that there are critical reviews but they need to be put into perspective.

Magic Jack Review cnet and other Reviewers

It has been suggested or claimed that the whole sales proposition of Magic Jack is a Magic Jack scam, that is to take the money and run, this is fundamentally untrue. Reading between the lines on the various posts on Magic Jack reviews, on cnet for example, there are certainly some disgruntled buyers but they need to compare like for like and understand what they get for their money.

Magic Jack has responded precisely to the claims that Magic Jack is a scam in particular for buyers using debit cards who opt for the 30-day free trial. Debit card operators will block a deposit on the potential purchase as a standard practice; this is not a particular Magic Jack scam but a basic practice of the operators. Today, Magic Jack does not offer the free trial to debit card users but rather offers a 30-day money back guarantee if not satisfied so there can be no confusion.

There have been a number of criticisms regarding the customer service from Magic Jack, however unlike its rivals; it is possible to contact Magic Jack to ask for assistance rather than just searching around user forums and blogs looking for possible answers to problems that the user faces.

Overall, it is important that when you are reading a Magic Jack review, you need to understand that the user quality of experience if not satisfactory can be caused by factors totally beyond the control of Magic Jack such as network congestion, too much concurrent load on the user’s PC as well as a host of other issues.