Trying to figure out how Mobile app would be useful

[Agent99]

Let's say I have a pay as you go cell plan in Canada (Speakout) that does not provide roaming in USA.
In past when we have gone to USA for 2-3 months, we have bought an AT&T pay as you go plan.
Alternatively we may use a Knowroaming SIM in USA.
Either way, we can call anywhere in USA and receive calls. Cost 13-25c/min to call. Less to receive.

We have Oooma Basic at home.

We have an Android phone.

How could the Mobile app be of help to us?

Would we still need an active SIM in the phone for it to work on wifi?

If we used wifi, calls would be free. But if we use data (not available on AT&T prepaid), on KnowRoaming it would cost US$0.10 per megabyte. How would cost of using the mobile app with data compare with the 0.13c/min rate?

Sorry for all the questions, but I am new at this and it is hard to get meaningful comparisons.

[RH_WS]

Not sure if you are still checking this thread for updates or will be notified of an update ... but I'll post a few ideas in hopes of bumping the thread for further discussion. Context: I'm a brand new Ooma user with Premier service as of yesterday ... but generally pretty savvy in VoIP and various communications alternatives. I'm US-based with iOS device, not Android, so we have a gap to overcome, certainly.

First, from my understanding of the Basic vs Premier features, Basic does not support Call Forwarding to the Mobile App nor does the Mobile App give you 'free' calling. I *believe* you would require Premier in order to make full use of the Mobile App (??).

Free mobile minutes
Free mobile minutes
Ooma Premier customers using the Ooma mobile app can make and receive calls anywhere in the U.S. for no charge.

Source:https://www.ooma.com/premier/

So, now assuming you upgrade to Premier, the calls conducted through the Mobile App when on WiFi should be free. You should not require an active SIM to use the Mobile App over WiFi.

If you choose to purchase a prepaid SIM for data ($0.10/MB), you may find that Ooma's audio compression beats the cell phone calling rates ($0.13/min). While I don't see any official numbers posted for Ooma, I do have personal experience with Apple's FaceTime audio. A recent FaceTime Audio call of 29 minutes consumed 9MB. A FaceTime Audio call from 12/2015 that remained in my logs shows 40 minutes for 31.7MB. I suspect the audio compression has been intentionally improved over 14 months between the two data points.

One Ooma review dated April 2016, while outdated on other topics regarding the Mobile App, suggests a Ooma uses 1MB for every 5 minutes of talk time. That would certainly favor calls using SIM data rate vs SIM voice calling rate?
Source: https://www.lifewire.com/ooma-mobile-review-3426441

Hope this helps. Specifically, I hope it bumps the thread and generates more conversation and input from others!
Cheers!

[Agent99]

We ended up getting the Knowroaming SIM for the Android phone. We have used it very little for calls, but have used data on trip down to USA and when out and about. Hasn't cost a cent yet because K-R has a number of sign on airtime bonuses. We also have Google Voice on phone and laptop so all calls are free if we have wifi access. My wife tends to use Skype some free, some at low cost.

So no need for mobile app for us.