Vonage V-Phone

The Vonage V-Phone seemed like the perfect solution for us as a family. The idea behind it is that you have unlimited incoming and outgoing calls as long as you have a high speed connection. This small device fits into your USB slots so very easy to use. It appealed to me because we had just lost our house and were intending on moving out of state so didn’t want to mess with Pacific Bell or having to deal with Cell Phone contracts (we still were using our prepaid cell phone but we were making a lot of calls to get things dealt with so this was becoming expensive).

How I decided on this device

One day I was out shopping at Target and was looking at cell phone service and getting discouraged by the price per minute or the contacts that would need to be signed. When I saw the Vonage V-Phone. It was small and convenient looking. It was $29.99 to buy the phone and then $24.95 a month for unlimited calls (both incoming and outgoing). This sounded good but I wanted to look into it more. So I went home and looked at their site (www.vonage.com). I read everything there to make sure there were no loopholes in their service (will write a review about their actual service if once is available so look for that). I saw that you could use their phone anywhere you can a high speed connection. OK sounds good!

So the next day I went back and bought it.

Getting Started

As usual things aren’t all that simple for Microsoft Vista users (no you can’t use this on a Macintosh of any kind). So to use this on Vista you need to set up a link on your desktop for the drive you use for removable devices), then right click it and check off the option for compatibility and use as administrator. I had to do this every time I turned it on which did become a pain. But you will not actually need to install any software onto your computer.

First thing you will need to do though is go to Vonage.com and register your device. If you don’t do this you won’t be able to use it at all. One their site you will first go to Sign Up. You will also pick the plan you want:

Residential Premium Unlimited Calling: $24.99 a month
Small Business Premium Unlimited Calling: $49.99 a month

Select which plan you want and then that will take you to select your device. Just select that you already have the device. Now you will be asked to enter your MAC code that is on the packaging. Enter this and then you will be asked for a city and state for where you want your number or if you want to transfer your current number. I just received a new number but I think if you have yours transferred you will be given a temporary number so you can start calling right away while your number is transferred. But you would need to ask them for more information.

Once you are all signed up you can get to the SoftPhone and start calling. Just insert the V-Phone into the USB slot and repeat above to start if using Vista. Once it starts you will get your SoftPhone and can start calling.

V-Phone Features

There are many features that come with the V-Phone:
A fully functional Vonage phone on a 256MB USB flash drive
Supports 1 Vonage Phone Line
Fits on your keychain (has a key chain on it)
Detachable Stereo Earpiece Microphone

All software is preloaded into the V-Phone so you will not have any need to install it onto your computer, which is great if you are using rented computers and can’t install software. Great example would be a person who travels a lot can go to the nearest Kinko’s or computer café and use any computer there to call friends and relatives without having to use a cell phone or payphone which could get very expensive. Also can use while travelling from hotel rooms on your laptop and avoid hotel phone fees.

Receiving Calls

This was actually my one complaint about the V-Phone and what eventually made me change devices was that when I received an incoming call there was no ring outside the headphones. Now this is obviously based on the computer itself but to have Vonage plugged in you would have the headphones connected so to hear an incoming call you would need to have the headphones on your ears or the volume really loud if you were sitting next to your computer (doesn’t work well though). So I never knew when a call was received and I would have to check my voicemail constantly. Also, using the V-Phone you would have to leave your computer on all the time. So this method is a not a good choice if you plan on using Vonage as a replacement for your actual phone service, however they do have other devices that work much better for that purpose.

Conclusion

Is a very good idea and works very well for outgoing calls (not great for incoming calls). Very convenient and simple to use though and very inexpensive. Can be used easily while travelling if you have a laptop or stop are internet cafes. I would recommend this device for business people who travel as a way to stay in touch with their offices and their families.

Will do a review of the actual Vonage service in a different review and add the link here but wanted to stay focused on the device alone for this review.