OBI202 vs OBI203

[deltasigma]

Hi!

I read a lot about these products
OBi202 - 2-phone ports. No analog line. Up to 4-VoIP services. 1-port router.
OBi302 - 2-phone ports. No analog line. Up to 4-VoIP services. 1-port router.

But I'm always confused with the difference. Is it only a firmware difference (202 with GV and 302 without) or do they have a hardware difference?

In fact, I don't intend to use Google voice (GV) because I'm in Canada, but, when the service will be available, I don't want to be stuck with an old box of 202 or stuck with a newer 302, but not compatible?

What should be my best choice?

John

[drgeoff]

Same hardware, same firmware.  Somehow, maybe via a hardwired jumper on the board or via the serial number, the firmware knows not to enable GV on the 300/302.

[Lavarock7]

I have a couple of GoogleVoice accounts for the family and also have Voip.MS and CallCentric accounts.

I am a tinkerer, early adopter and advantage taker (I had 7 free telephone numbers in the U.K. just because I could...)

When I first started playing with Google Voice it was neat because it was free. A free number, free calling and some great options like transcriptions. After a while I started playing with Voip providers like those mentioned above. Some of the options which GV offered were also available with these other providers and in some cases the other providers exceeded GV's capabilities.

When you look at the forums here you see that many, many messages are concerning GoogleVoice. There are issues trying to port numbers from certain services and things Google does that stops calls on occasion.

While I used to encourage people to get GV because it was free, now I just suggest a regular Voip supplier. Compared to free, they end up paying maybe 80 cents a month for a number and less than a penny a minute for call, or just get a monthly plan. Porting telephone numbers in and out is often free and there are some options that are quite useful. Google suggests that their service not be used for business, although many people do, and it is difficult to fix things if something goes wrong because Google doesn't have telephone support.

So while GoogleVoice is fun, I would suggest just considering a regular Voip provider and pay a few dollars. You said you were in Canada, Voip.Ms is a Canadian company with local numbers in many cities and free porting of existing numbers. You can use any of the Obi products with them. You can enable or block calling to certain countries, do all sorts of call treatments and so on. If you have a 202 you can still add GoogleVoice later if you want.

That is just my 2 cents worth (which gets you a few minutes of calling to the U.K. with Voip.Ms)

[crewmanunreal]

You should choose the newest generation: OBi302

[SteveInWA]

You should choose the newest generation: OBi302

NO!  There are two separate ATA product lines.  Both product lines support four independent VoIP service providers.

• The 200 and 202 support Google Voice as a service provider on any of the four SPx configurations, with the difference being that the 202 has two physical telephone interfaces (phone jacks).
• The 300 and 302 do not support Google Voice, but are otherwise identical.  The 30x series is intended for sale to managed service providers, who then sell or give them to their customers for use with their VoIP service.