Ooma Mobile - Going to Match Vonage??

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bh56
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Ooma Mobile - Going to Match Vonage??

Post by bh56 » Thu Feb 09, 2012 6:16 pm

Ooma, are you going to match Vonage and provide the mobile app for free??

http://www.bgr.com/2012/02/08/vonage-br ... e-android/

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lbmofo
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Re: Ooma Mobile - Going to Match Vonage??

Post by lbmofo » Thu Feb 09, 2012 11:06 pm

These guys work off of a different business model. The app uses cell phone number (so anyone can download) vs Vonage phone number. "Calls to any phone in the United States, Canada or Puerto Rico from anywhere in the world will be free for a limited time." Eventually, they'll start charging for calls to non app users, no Vonage users. They'll be able to subsidize this project using $30+ bucks they collect from their subs every month so they can afford to lose $ for a while. Ooma app on the other hand is a break even effort even charging $9.99 a pop is what I hear.

oomg
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Re: Ooma Mobile - Going to Match Vonage??

Post by oomg » Fri Feb 17, 2012 3:26 pm

Not quite sure how the Ooma app is a break even at $9.95, but then again, I am not privy to their development cost. Even though I continue to be very satisfied with my Ooma service, I am disappointed with the Ooma app as does not allow any incoming calls. Compare Line2 (formerly Toktumi) which provides a free app to monthly subscribers who pay as little as $8.33 per month. The app is nearly flawless and provides both incoming and outgoing calls.

Moreover, I think Ooma may have made a tactical error by not including a free or near free app to those who subscribe to Ooma Premier service. Even allowing for some problems users have experienced with the with the Ooma app, offering a free app to Ooma subs would likely have been an attractive feature.
oomg -- Voice Over Internet Person

I've learned a lot here... two months ago I didn't even know how to spell VOIP and now I are one.

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lbmofo
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Re: Ooma Mobile - Going to Match Vonage??

Post by lbmofo » Fri Feb 17, 2012 3:44 pm

oomg wrote:Not quite sure how the Ooma app is a break even at $9.95, but then again, I am not privy to their development cost.
Heard that after Apple's cut, there are also 3rd party development and licensing fees to pay so Ooma makes little to begin with. Pile on testing, support, and overhead, maybe no money to be made so far.

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Re: Ooma Mobile - Going to Match Vonage??

Post by oomg » Sat Feb 18, 2012 9:35 am

lbmofo wrote:
oomg wrote:Not quite sure how the Ooma app is a break even at $9.95, but then again, I am not privy to their development cost.
Heard that after Apple's cut, there are also 3rd party development and licensing fees to pay so Ooma makes little to begin with. Pile on testing, support, and overhead, maybe no money to be made so far.
I do recall seeing that Apple gets a percentage of the app price (something like 20% if I am recalling correctly). I don't think Apple receives anything on free apps. Not sure if Ooma incurred any separate 3rd party development fees, but if they did, they should ask the developer to return their money as the app has yet to be perfected. (If the Ooma team created the app, I can understand that they have been (and are) working on many other issues which likely have priority over the app. )

In any case, I believe a lot of people consider the Ooma app to be overpriced at $9.95, particularly when compared to other competitors that offer both outbound and inbound wifi calling. Tying a free app to Ooma Premier service would likely provide an incentive to some who have not opted for Premier service.
oomg -- Voice Over Internet Person

I've learned a lot here... two months ago I didn't even know how to spell VOIP and now I are one.

oomg
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Re: Ooma Mobile - Going to Match Vonage??

Post by oomg » Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:34 pm

I hope my prior posts don't sound overly harsh. The fact is as of today, it is three years since I first installed my first Ooma system. There have been one or two major system outages, and a few minor issues, but overall, the system has been every bit as reliable as AT&T service. So, I know the mobile app will improve when the crew has the time to devote to it.
oomg -- Voice Over Internet Person

I've learned a lot here... two months ago I didn't even know how to spell VOIP and now I are one.

John1000
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Re: Ooma Mobile - Going to Match Vonage??

Post by John1000 » Wed Mar 07, 2012 8:23 pm

Is the Ooma mobile app as bad as it gets rated? Nearly 60% of the feedback is not only negative, but gives the mobile app the lowest rating due to being completely useless. Maybe it is just me, but what about getting what you pay for? And what about all the people who paid $10 and have nothing to show for it? If Ooma is charging $10 for the app, it should work or there should be a refund policy (there is a 15 minute refund policy if you get your request in on time which basically does not give a person a chance to determine if the app works). Software is about the only thing today that comes with a zero warranty and zero liability.

I just connected my service this evening. My system is blinking red at the moment. Customer Service is not available now, so I'll have to wait to call them tomorrow. As I read through the instructions that came with the unit, the stuff here and on the internet, I'm not getting a very good feeling for this VOIP system.

But I have 90 days to try it. I'm giving Ooma a chance to provide a decent service and prove my suspicions wrong, but I'm seeing too many gotchas already. I believe I just read that the Bluetooth adapter that came with my unit requires the premier subscription to work - huh? Wow, what a way to lock people in to paying a yearly rate. What does one have to do with the other? I hope I was dreaming or something when I read that.

I do not mind paying for things that work. So now that I have activated my account (not working now - it did initially), I'll need to configure my bluetooth adapter and hope that it works at which point I'd need to sign on to the yearly subscription to continue to use the bluetooth capability, and then I'd have to hope that I can get a $10 mobile app to work in 15 minutes. Wow, quite a slalom course ahead of me. We're not doing so well right out of the gate, either. Things will have to work perfectly to justify the cost or it looks like Ooma with be going back to be sold as another refurbished unit on Woot.

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lbmofo
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Re: Ooma Mobile - Going to Match Vonage??

Post by lbmofo » Wed Mar 07, 2012 9:26 pm

John1000, welcome to Ooma.
John1000 wrote:Is the Ooma mobile app as bad as it gets rated?
Ooma app works fine now. From time to time, there would be stretches where something would be broke. Example: when iPhone 4S came out, the resulting new update broke the app for non 4S. When a fix came out for that, it worked except the app stopped working on 4S. Then they fixed it again and now it works on all iPhones. Other than those situations, I am sure there are other cases where one didn't know they had to be an Ooma customer. Or didn't know they had to go into my ooma account to generate a random password to use on the app (and can't use the password for my ooma account); have to put a 1 in front of their main number as login etc etc. All in all, the app is great if you are Premier (get 250min free calling a month) or you subscribe to Ooma international plan where you can dip into your bucket of minutes anywhere there is wifi/3G. This app is even better if you go overseas; calling US for cheap. Calls to Ooma numbers are always free.
John1000 wrote:I just connected my service this evening. My system is blinking red at the moment. Customer Service is not available now, so I'll have to wait to call them tomorrow. As I read through the instructions that came with the unit, the stuff here and on the internet, I'm not getting a very good feeling for this VOIP system.
If you activated your Ooma online already, it should come online. Make sure you turn off all devices and turn on each device 1 by 1 starting from modem (then whatever is connected to modem; router, or ooma, then ooma or router) waiting for each device to come online/sync before you turn on the next device.
John1000 wrote:But I have 90 days to try it. I'm giving Ooma a chance to provide a decent service and prove my suspicions wrong, but I'm seeing too many gotchas already. I believe I just read that the Bluetooth adapter that came with my unit requires the premier subscription to work - huh? Wow, what a way to lock people in to paying a yearly rate. What does one have to do with the other? I hope I was dreaming or something when I read that.
That used to be the case but now bluetooth is for all Ooma users. You'll like Ooma.
John1000 wrote:I do not mind paying for things that work. So now that I have activated my account (not working now - it did initially), I'll need to configure my bluetooth adapter and hope that it works at which point I'd need to sign on to the yearly subscription to continue to use the bluetooth capability, and then I'd have to hope that I can get a $10 mobile app to work in 15 minutes. Wow, quite a slalom course ahead of me. We're not doing so well right out of the gate, either. Things will have to work perfectly to justify the cost or it looks like Ooma with be going back to be sold as another refurbished unit on Woot.
If you run into challenges, let the folks know here and someone will jump in and help.

Once your Ooma works, you can look into "optimal setup"

Do the following optimal setup (especially the part "use built in mac address"):

If after Router - viewtopic.php?t=12403
If before Router - viewtopic.php?t=9536#p66155

John1000
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Re: Ooma Mobile - Going to Match Vonage??

Post by John1000 » Thu Mar 08, 2012 12:10 pm

Thanks for the response to my post. I'm glad to hear that the Bluetooth adapter works without the Premier subscription. I was pretty happy with the quality and range of the bluetooth adapter. My next step is to see if I can get the Android mobile app to work with Ooma.

My Ooma Telo is working fine now after I used the Internet port connected to my router. For some reason, connecting the home network port to the router doesn't work, but I believe that is the preferred configuration.

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