Firmware update - Jan 30, 2012 2675
Stewart:
Quote from: everest1 on February 08, 2012, 08:21:59 pm
I called a calling card (408-385-0100) to make international calls tonight ...
IMO, a calling card is rarely a good value. You can almost always get better quality and reliability and/or a lower price from a VoIP provider (that's what the OBi is for!). In addition, you avoid the hassle of two-stage dialing and get faster call setup.
I'll try to suggest better alternatives. Who is the calling card company? What countries are you calling? Landlines or cellular? Approximate monthly minutes usage?
everest1:
Well, I totally agree. That's likely to be the last calling card. I bought OBiTalk 110 less than a month ago.
I may go with Google Voice's international long distance. Before I do that, I need to use all (or most) minutes on that card.
The calling card is still needed for my cell phones.
The calling card costs 1.5 cents/min to China, which is slightly better than GV's 2 cents/min.
Stewart:
Quote from: everest1 on February 08, 2012, 09:56:54 pm
The calling card is still needed for my cell phones.
Most VoIP providers include calling card access. For those that don't, you can call the OBi from your cell phone, then use the auto-attendant to call out on another service.
The ratings below are my personal opinion. Prices to China are in US cents per minute, billing is 60/60 unless otherwise noted.
Tops in quality, reliability and support are Anveo (1.3 - 1.6, 30/6 billing) and Callcentric (1.32). Either of these also recommended for 911 service. Callcentric includes calling card. I believe that Anveo offers a few minutes free trial.
Voxbeam (Premium route) (0.77 - 0.91, 1/1 billling) is high quality, but lower reliability. Only practical for heavy use; minimum payment of $50 expires after one year. $1 free trial.
Localphone (1.0 - 1.2) and Rebtel (1.9), in addition to VoIP access, allow you to dial a local number for each contact, which rings them directly. Rebtel has access in China, so your contacts can easily call you. They also have a scheme where the called party hangs up and calls back the local number displayed; there are then no charges by Rebtel (though your contact may have to pay for the local call). Both offer a few minutes free trial.
CallWithUs, Future-Nine and VoIP.ms allow choice of multiple routes, at different price/quality levels, some less than one cent. CWU and F9 include calling card access.
Bottom of the barrel, try Betamax http://backsla.sh/betamax . Some offer "free" calls, but those come with complex rules and may not be a good deal. Some offer straightforward calling at 0.5 cents. All have calling card access (including from China), but some have a surcharge for non-VoIP calls. Some offer a few minutes free trial.
Rick:
Today I rec'd a voicemail, and the indicator lit up on the phone. I deleted the message online on GV, and minnutes later the indicator on the phone turned off. So it appears to be working fine for me.
everest1:
Thank you so much, Stewart.
It's very helpful!
Quote from: Stewart on February 08, 2012, 11:09:14 pm
Most VoIP providers include calling card access. For those that don't, you can call the OBi from your cell phone, then use the auto-attendant to call out on another service.
The ratings below are my personal opinion. Prices to China are in US cents per minute, billing is 60/60 unless otherwise noted.
Tops in quality, reliability and support are Anveo (1.3 - 1.6, 30/6 billing) and Callcentric (1.32). Either of these also recommended for 911 service. Callcentric includes calling card. I believe that Anveo offers a few minutes free trial.
Voxbeam (Premium route) (0.77 - 0.91, 1/1 billling) is high quality, but lower reliability. Only practical for heavy use; minimum payment of $50 expires after one year. $1 free trial.
Localphone (1.0 - 1.2) and Rebtel (1.9), in addition to VoIP access, allow you to dial a local number for each contact, which rings them directly. Rebtel has access in China, so your contacts can easily call you. They also have a scheme where the called party hangs up and calls back the local number displayed; there are then no charges by Rebtel (though your contact may have to pay for the local call). Both offer a few minutes free trial.
CallWithUs, Future-Nine and VoIP.ms allow choice of multiple routes, at different price/quality levels, some less than one cent. CWU and F9 include calling card access.
Bottom of the barrel, try Betamax http://backsla.sh/betamax . Some offer "free" calls, but those come with complex rules and may not be a good deal. Some offer straightforward calling at 0.5 cents. All have calling card access (including from China), but some have a surcharge for non-VoIP calls. Some offer a few minutes free trial.
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