Today I’m going to show off a product that I’ll describe as “sounds too good to be true”. In the world of gadgets, many products do indeed turn out to be just that. But not MagicJack.

MagicJack is a small (matchbox size) USB adapter with a nifty clear cover (lets you see the “magic chip” inside). There are two things that make MagicJack special in my opinion:

It only costs $39.95 for the device and one year of unlimited domestic US phone calls, and the device has a real phone jack built right in.

The best part of the device itself, is that it has the VOIP adapter AND software inside the device. You don’t need a CD and you don’t need to download drivers before you can use it. Just plug it in, and let it install. One feature that really makes this product suitable for business travelers is that no software is actually installed onto your PC; this means that it’s perfectly safe to run on your work laptop which is often locked down or audited for user installed programs.

The setup was finished in around 2 minutes, I selected a (local) number and was immediately able to make a call. During the installation I was able to enter my home address for 911. If you plan to use the device on the road, don’t enter an address, or 911 calls made from your hotel room will send the fire department to your house. Thankfully Magicjack anticipated that you won’t always be using it at home, so you can enter more than one 911 address, and can simply select the right one for the location you are at.

You can make a call using a connected landline phone, or a headset hooked up to your PC. If you have a compatible Bluetooth headphone (one that shows up as a headset on your PC) then you can even use that. In my case, my first test call was with my Plantronics Voyager 855 headset. Calls are incredibly clear, certainly better than what I’m used to through Skype, and on par with my Vonage line. The next test calls were made through my home cordless phones and once again, quality was just fine.

I then decided to have a little fun and plugged the MagicJack into my notebook, and connected to my wireless broadband service (Sprint). Amazingly it worked just fine, though there was a slight delay in the call it wasn’t that bad (MagicJack > laptop > Sprint Phone > EVDO). Technology is a sweet thing.

The best part about VOIP is that it will work pretty much anywhere you have access to the Internet. So, like most other VOIP services you can bring your Magicjack along with you wherever your trips take you. To use a VOIP service abroad you’ll need a speedy connection and an ISP that doesn’t block the services. Some ISP’s that are owned by the phone company don’t like the idea of you making cheap phone calls, so they make block VOIP in their county. Because your voice “packets” are broken into little chunks on their way to the US you may not get the same quality of phone call as back home.

Extra features

MagicJack comes with a full assortment of features; voicemail, Directory assistance (FREE!), CallerID, International calling, a do not disturb function, call waiting and call forwarding. Features are configured through the MagicJack website.

Voicemail works as it should - incoming calls are diverted to voicemail when you are unavailable or when you reject it though the application. Voicemail messages are displayed in the MagicJack application, on your taskbar and arrive as an email message with .wav attachment. The .wav file is a very common format which means you should be able to retrieve and listen to the message through your PDA or mobile phone which is great if you receive it when abroad.

MagicJack even has an Outlook plug-in, which makes calling your contacts extremely easy; you simply select a contact within Outlook, pick business, mobile or home and click dial.

When you purchase a MagicJack, it comes prepaid for domestic calling within the United States. International calls are not included and have to be paid for separately (using a major credit card you add $5 or $10 to your account). The international rates are extremely competitive, certainly cheaper than most landline and VOIP providers. For many countries it’s even cheaper than Skype! A full list of countries and the calling rates can be found here.

CallerID on the MagicJack device is great; you get full call logs through the program AND callerID on any phone hooked up to the phone port (if it supports CallerID of course). Only the caller number is shown.

There are some similar products out there, I’ve picked 2 that are well known; Skype and the Vonage Vphone.

1. Incoming US numbers (SkypeIn) are $60/year or $10/year on SkypePro
2. Voicemail on Skype is free with a (paid) incoming number
3. Includes any up-front equipment costs
4. Vonage calls to 11 European countries are free on their $24.95 unlimited plan. The price quoted in this chart is based on the 500 minute plan.
5. Skype calls within the United states are free when on the $3/month Skype Pro plan
6. CallerID is only available through the application running on your PC.
7. Several companies make Skype landline adapters for around $80.

When you purchase the MagicJack you can pick a one year ($39.95), or 2 year ($59.90) plan. After that prepaid period, you can renew the subscription for just $19.95 a year.

Normally when I review something I try and find some pros and some cons; but in the case of MagicJack I really only can find pros; there is simply nothing to complain about. It works exactly as advertised, the call quality is great, the hardware is well designed and all the included services functioned every time I used them. But what impressed me most is the price; $39.95 makes this product even cheaper than Skype (when configured with similar services), and that is just in the first year; after the initial year you only pay $19.95 for a full year of service, which brings it under half what Skype charge for their Pro and SkypeIn service (which is what you need for unlimited US calls and an incoming number).

MagicJack offer a full 30 day trial, and don’t charge anything up front till the trial is over. If you are on the road a lot (or just want a second line for back home) I highly recommend heading over to their site and ordering a MagicJack.