Innovage "FLIP PHONE"
Does anyone have an opinion about these little phones and your MagicJack ?
I have found out they are not being made anymore and they are getting harder to find but still occasionally will show up on Ebay with a selling price of $4.95 up to $30 plus shipping. From reading around the web I also see some people like this flip-phone alot while others say they are terrible or don't work at all.
So what's this group's consences of how or if these little phones (if you can find one) actually work with MJ ?
Jim
Innovage "FLIP PHONE", yes or no ?
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testing123
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I mentioned that phone some time ago here.
I have a few. I have only tried 1 w/ MJ ... and it didn't work -- wouldn't even dial a number (maybe needs resister fix??).
Anyway, take it with a huge grain of salt -- don't kill your pocket trying to get one.
If you have enough room to carry it, go for the old school bottom-of-the-line GE Slimphone @ Walmart for < $15 -- they're actually pretty good (Caller ID, etc), uber reliable, and don't require electricity.
I have a few. I have only tried 1 w/ MJ ... and it didn't work -- wouldn't even dial a number (maybe needs resister fix??).
Anyway, take it with a huge grain of salt -- don't kill your pocket trying to get one.
If you have enough room to carry it, go for the old school bottom-of-the-line GE Slimphone @ Walmart for < $15 -- they're actually pretty good (Caller ID, etc), uber reliable, and don't require electricity.
I have two of them they work when I have MJ plugged into a powered usb hub. One will ring the other will not so the ringer equivalence i not good on them.
I picked up a cheap American Dect 6 wireless phone at Eckard after rebate I think it was $15. It works great and has caller id and speaker phone in the handset and is almost the same size as the flip phone but you can carry it around the house with you.
I picked up a cheap American Dect 6 wireless phone at Eckard after rebate I think it was $15. It works great and has caller id and speaker phone in the handset and is almost the same size as the flip phone but you can carry it around the house with you.
Not worth it.
Not worth the money in my opinion. Mine never rings - simply makes a little beep, then hangs up. Dialing is hit or miss. I end up dialing from the softphone, then using the ear piece plus microphone...
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hvlqodvhinIyc
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Re: Innovage "FLIP PHONE", yes or no ?
Works great. It's the only phone I use with my MJ. Included headset works great with MJ (h/s plugs into phone). Two button batteries required for use. Replacement batteries are more expensive than the phone. Phone does not work or ring without batteries or when batteries are low. Batteries always in use so the phone goes dead in the closet. Plastic tab prevents battery drainage on store shelf. I got my phone for $2.50 on clearance at Walgreens. They have fifty of them. I use mine on PC at home and laptop at local Books-a-Million w/free wi-fi.JimmyR wrote:Innovage "FLIP PHONE" Does anyone have an opinion about these little phones and your MagicJack ?
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some people like this flip-phone alot while others say they are terrible or don't work at all.
Flip-Phone reliability....
I have two of the Walgreens' Innovage flip phones. The biggest headache is the green handset-labeled button to give you a dialtone. On one phone, I may get a dialtone every 25-40 pushes...maybe. On the other phone, perhaps 3-7 pushes. I've taken both of them completely apart, cleaned the contacts, etc, with no improvement. There's a cheesy little resistance pad on the underside of each key that sorta closes over two traces on a circuit board. The amount of resistance from pad to pad varies wildly. Nothing I could do would improve the reliability of the contacts.
Also, the optional plug-in over-the-ear headset is sloppy enough that you will tie up one hand keeping the earpiece pressed hard enough against your ear to hear clearly. The over-the-ear loop can't do the job. So there's not much point in messing with that "headset," which, by the way, zeroes out whatever values (time, date, etc) you keyed into the LCD screen, every time you plug in that headset.
Once you get a dialtone (if you ever do), the basic mike and earphone (built-ins) work OK. But getting there can be rather maddening, and not reliable. If the reliability were there, the size and handiness would be great, but it's just not.
Also, the optional plug-in over-the-ear headset is sloppy enough that you will tie up one hand keeping the earpiece pressed hard enough against your ear to hear clearly. The over-the-ear loop can't do the job. So there's not much point in messing with that "headset," which, by the way, zeroes out whatever values (time, date, etc) you keyed into the LCD screen, every time you plug in that headset.
Once you get a dialtone (if you ever do), the basic mike and earphone (built-ins) work OK. But getting there can be rather maddening, and not reliable. If the reliability were there, the size and handiness would be great, but it's just not.
I bought one on ebay for $10 and it works BUT I was hoping it would be of higher quality.
It will NOT work without batteries, so you can't just toss it in the bag with your laptop and
expect it to work when you need it. If the batteries go dead, it's worthless. Also, if you
happen to press the little green button when it is not connected to a phone line or your MJ,
the settings are all gone plus, it drains the batteries quickly.
Mine works fairly well but any of the other slimline phones would be a better choice. My
notebook has built-in mic and speakers, they work just as well as the attached phone if you
can control the echo and feedback with your notebook software.
My advice, look for a different solution than the Innovage.
Mick
It will NOT work without batteries, so you can't just toss it in the bag with your laptop and
expect it to work when you need it. If the batteries go dead, it's worthless. Also, if you
happen to press the little green button when it is not connected to a phone line or your MJ,
the settings are all gone plus, it drains the batteries quickly.
Mine works fairly well but any of the other slimline phones would be a better choice. My
notebook has built-in mic and speakers, they work just as well as the attached phone if you
can control the echo and feedback with your notebook software.
My advice, look for a different solution than the Innovage.
Mick
Flip phone responds without batteries
Per hvlqodvhinIyc:
"...Phone does not work or ring without batteries or when batteries are low. Batteries always in use so the phone goes dead in the closet..."
In fairness to the flip phone (about which I've already described the problems I have with it), I have been able to make outgoing calls with it WITH BOTH BATTERIES COMPLETELY REMOVED, at least on those intermittent occasions when the "green handset" labeled button finally gives me a dialtone.
"...Phone does not work or ring without batteries or when batteries are low. Batteries always in use so the phone goes dead in the closet..."
In fairness to the flip phone (about which I've already described the problems I have with it), I have been able to make outgoing calls with it WITH BOTH BATTERIES COMPLETELY REMOVED, at least on those intermittent occasions when the "green handset" labeled button finally gives me a dialtone.
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GuyOnTheAir
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I did not have any success with my mJs and these phones. I tried 4 before giving up and taking them all back. The phone would ring, and immediately hang up. Never was able to sort out the issue, and since the quality of the phones was low in general, didn't waste any more time on it. I took them back, and only bought them for $4.95, so I didn't think they were worth $5...
I've had 3 of those Innovage flip phones, one was a return. Neither of the remaining flip phones work with MJ, but work fine plugged into the wall jack.
Today I just tried using the built-in mic on the laptop. I phoned my wife (my usual test person) and she said it was usable but I sounded like I was on a speaker phone with the characteristic tin-can echo. But usable in a pinch. So no phone, no headset, just the laptop mic and speakers. There was no feedback either. Usable as a speaker phone with 2-3 people around the laptop.
To keep the conversation private when in an Internet cafe I suppose I can use an earphone and speak quieter and closer to the mic on top of the lid. I can just visualize how that looks..."why is that guy kissing the top of his laptop"?
Still looking for a cheap, small, (quality?) handset to throw in the laptop bag. For car trips I throw a GE Slimline in the gear bag.
Today I just tried using the built-in mic on the laptop. I phoned my wife (my usual test person) and she said it was usable but I sounded like I was on a speaker phone with the characteristic tin-can echo. But usable in a pinch. So no phone, no headset, just the laptop mic and speakers. There was no feedback either. Usable as a speaker phone with 2-3 people around the laptop.
To keep the conversation private when in an Internet cafe I suppose I can use an earphone and speak quieter and closer to the mic on top of the lid. I can just visualize how that looks..."why is that guy kissing the top of his laptop"?
Still looking for a cheap, small, (quality?) handset to throw in the laptop bag. For car trips I throw a GE Slimline in the gear bag.
An old topic, but I've resurrected my flip phone, it works fine with an ATA. Guess the ATA has enough oomph to drive the innards of the flip phone. The flipphone works fine in a regular land line jack.
Re: the GE slimline phones, I went to buy another one today and found they are discontinued. I went to a few stores and found some old stock. It's a great, solid phone for the travelling gear bag. I haven't found anything smaller.
Re: the GE slimline phones, I went to buy another one today and found they are discontinued. I went to a few stores and found some old stock. It's a great, solid phone for the travelling gear bag. I haven't found anything smaller.
Possible fix for Innovage Flip Phone problem?
Many moons ago when I bought a couple of Innovage Flip Phones to try out, I figured out that the contact pad (between the dial tone connect button on the keypad and the circuit board traces) was no longer making electrical contact to bridge the two traces it was supposed to. But I didn't know what kind of conductive material might be available, or where, to fix the problem. So I put my two Flip Phones in a box, hoping to find a solution some day.
A buddy suggested that I look into keypad repair kits and materials. So I ran a net search on the phrase KEYPAD REPAIR (I'm partial to info.com, but you can run the same search on Google.com if you like to wade through a lot more junk). Lo and behold, there were keypad repair tutorials, videos, materials and kits all over the place. They were apparently created to fix flaky keypad contacts on TV remotes, garage door opener controls, and any other kind of keyboard that uses a flexible rubber-like keypad. Some used a primer before adding the final conductive material; some did not. They tended to run from about $12 to $20 or so and typically claimed to have enough material for 200 or so repairs.
So if this works like I think it will, I won't be the only one to be able to post my success story here. Good luck to you guys (who haven't thrown your Flip Phones away), and me too.
Yours,
tradertx
A buddy suggested that I look into keypad repair kits and materials. So I ran a net search on the phrase KEYPAD REPAIR (I'm partial to info.com, but you can run the same search on Google.com if you like to wade through a lot more junk). Lo and behold, there were keypad repair tutorials, videos, materials and kits all over the place. They were apparently created to fix flaky keypad contacts on TV remotes, garage door opener controls, and any other kind of keyboard that uses a flexible rubber-like keypad. Some used a primer before adding the final conductive material; some did not. They tended to run from about $12 to $20 or so and typically claimed to have enough material for 200 or so repairs.
So if this works like I think it will, I won't be the only one to be able to post my success story here. Good luck to you guys (who haven't thrown your Flip Phones away), and me too.
Yours,
tradertx