So I’ve been living in Taiwan for about 8 years. For the first 5 or 6 years, I was using a MagicJack. It was alright. Call quality wasn’t great, but it worked and was cheap.
Then I discovered OBi. OBiTalk devices plug into your internet and can be setup with Google Voice to call internationally for just the price of the device. Call quality was outstanding, the device was cheap, and it worked amazingly well. I love it, and have been using it for about 2-3 years.
Recently, however, my OBi stopped working. Not sure why; I’m still troubleshooting and have asked on the forums for some help. Until I get that figured out, I have no cheap, reliable way to call back to America/anywhere else except for my Taiwan landline.
So, what are your solutions to calling abroad/back home? What have you got set up, how much did it cost, and how pleased are you with the service? I didn’t see any other threads about this topic, so I’d like to open it for discussion and offer some help for newbies.
So I’ve been living in Taiwan for about 8 years. For the first 5 or 6 years, I was using a MagicJack. It was alright. Call quality wasn’t great, but it worked and was cheap.
Then I discovered OBi. OBiTalk devices plug into your internet and can be setup with Google Voice to call internationally for just the price of the device. Call quality was outstanding, the device was cheap, and it worked amazingly well. I love it, and have been using it for about 2-3 years.
Recently, however, my OBi stopped working. Not sure why; I’m still troubleshooting and have asked on the forums for some help. Until I get that figured out, I have no cheap, reliable way to call back to America/anywhere else except for my Taiwan landline.
So, what are your solutions to calling abroad/back home? What have you got set up, how much did it cost, and how pleased are you with the service? I didn’t see any other threads about this topic, so I’d like to open it for discussion and offer some help for newbies.[/quote]
Can’t you use Google Voice through your Gmail account? I’ve been able to make free calls to the US using Google Voice through the Gmail website, but lately I’ve had to use the Chrome browser due to some kind of plugin issues with Firefox that I’m too lazy to try and resolve.
By the way, let us know if you get your OBiTalk issues resolved. I’d love to be able to make calls through a phone and not having to use the computer.
Just download the Magicjack app if you have a smartphone with data plan, there is no monthly fee and you can call the US unlimited. Quality kind of poor but its free.
As i mentioned in another thread, i’ve been using Sonetel for some NA and Asia service lately - their rates for international calls are very low, and they offer numbers in many countries. sonetel.com/en/
You can use any VoIP service via an application on your smartphone or computer (softphone) or via a regular telephone connected to the internet via a small device like a Grandstream HT 701 (or 702/704 if you need more than one line) that you can buy at Amazon.