OBi110

stav · Post by **stav** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 11:33 am

Anyone has bought the OBi110 and installed it? Would you mind sharing your findings here? Thx

dj62 · Post by **dj62** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 5:29 pm

I bought it and have it installed, I have only had a couple of days to test it out, but so far it has been great. My wife thinks the call quality is better than MJ, but I don't see any difference. I am using it with my Google Voice and that seems to work well. No 911 service with Google voice, but I think I can get by without since I have it on my cell.
The support forums are good, I was having an issue with it screening my calls (Actually a Google Talk/Voice issue) and someone helped figure it out for me rather quickly.
- No need for a computer
- Google voice is free for now so that is nice
- 49$ one time equipment cost
- Free Android and Apple app. I have Android, and have only been able to get it to work when making VOIP calls from my cell to home.
- Seems to be very configurable, so if you are into the real technical side of things you have lots of options. But it was also really easy to set up and get working.

So far so good, I just re-newed my MJ contract last month so I have the rest of the year with MJ so, plenty of time to determine witch will work the best for me.

davrow · Post by **davrow** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 4:53 pm

Check out this review (very positive) on Nerd Vittles: http://nerdvittles.com/?p=720

The OBiHai is also a regular SIP device that is proven to work on VITELITY and voip.ms and various other VoIP providers, as well as an asterisk PBX if you set one up.

I'm seriously considering getting one just to play with. No current need, though.

Post by **laserjobs** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 12:12 pm

OBihai Knowledge base
http://www.obihai.com/knowledge-base.html

OBiTalk forum
http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php

Obi110 Admin Guide (pdf)
http://obihai.com/docs/OBiDeviceAdminGuide.pdf

Google has annonced Google Voice outgoing will be free until 2012

Obi110 and Google voice
http://www.obihai.com/googlevoice.html

How To: Use Google Voice and OBi for all your calls (free)
http://voxilla.com/2011/01/24/how-to-us ... -free-2512

Obihai Obi110 Overview (video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5BwQ0E6fmQ&NR=1

dj62 · Post by **dj62** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 11:27 am

One of the things I find cool is that it has a line jack as well as a phone jack. So for now I plug my MJ line into the line jack and I am receiving calls from both MJ and Google voice.

I am liking this device

jeffnyc · Post by **jeffnyc** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 3:14 pm

dj62 wrote:One of the things I find cool is that it has a line jack as well as a phone jack. So for now I plug my MJ line into the line jack and I am receiving calls from both MJ and Google voice.

I am liking this device

But MJ dongle is plugged into pc and you connect the line to the pstn connection?

lcompton · Post by **lcompton** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 10:35 pm

Good evening, Stav.

stav wrote:Anyone has bought the OBi110 and installed it? Would you mind sharing your findings here? Thx

I ordered an OBi110 off of Amazon.com last evening for USD49.99. The darn things are hard to get, too!

If it functions as well as the reviews claim with Google Voice, it may be the answer to the Gizmo5 debacle for me. If the OBi110 works out for me, I'll order another one (when they're available again) and use two of them to replace the two Gizmo5 telephone lines I had.

Yes, yes, I know, I said I was through with all of this crap. What can I say? The Geek Force runs strong in me.

bitstopjoe · Post by **bitstopjoe** » Tue Mar 08, 2011 6:54 am

UH OH!!!!!!!!!!!!! How long now till OBi110 goes away

Sorry I could not resist

genxweb · Post by **genxweb** » Tue Mar 08, 2011 11:21 am

We are working directly with the creator and VoIP My Way service works flawless on their device.

lcompton · Post by **lcompton** » Tue Mar 08, 2011 11:25 am

Good morning, Joe.

bitstopjoe wrote:UH OH!!!!!!!!!!!!! How long now till OBi110 goes away

Sorry I could not resist

Based on my current run rate, about one year from now.

I'm a VoIP jinx.

bitstopjoe · Post by **bitstopjoe** » Tue Mar 08, 2011 11:42 am

lcompton wrote:Good morning, Joe.

bitstopjoe wrote:UH OH!!!!!!!!!!!!! How long now till OBi110 goes away

Sorry I could not resist
Based on my current run rate, about one year from now.

I'm a VoIP jinx.

You may THINK you are a VOIP jinx, but I beg to differ. I see you as a VERY smart and informed woman who has helped many in this forum.
I always enjoy your posts and look foward to reading them. It is the VOIP who has gone under loss for losing you.
Being an Italian from Brooklyn I could not help but to "bust your chops" with my last few posts but that being said I respect you AND your posts here very much..

My 2 cents....

lcompton · Post by **lcompton** » Tue Mar 08, 2011 2:08 pm

Joe:

bitstopjoe wrote:
lcompton wrote:Good morning, Joe.

bitstopjoe wrote:UH OH!!!!!!!!!!!!! How long now till OBi110 goes away

Sorry I could not resist
Based on my current run rate, about one year from now.

I'm a VoIP jinx.
You may THINK you are a VOIP jinx, but I beg to differ. I see you as a VERY smart and informed woman who has helped many in this forum.
I always enjoy your posts and look foward to reading them. It is the VOIP who has gone under loss for losing you.
Being an Italian from Brooklyn I could not help but to "bust your chops" with my last few posts but that being said I respect you AND your posts here very much..

My 2 cents....

Awww. You're too sweet.

I was being semi-facetious about the VoIP jinx thing.

(Although, it does seem like it at the moment.)

Anyway, I realize you are messing with me. I apologize if my last post made it appear as though I took it to heart. I was playing along with you.

bitstopjoe · Post by **bitstopjoe** » Tue Mar 08, 2011 2:51 pm

Nah I knew you didn't think I was serious nor I you...
You are WAY to smart for that and I give credit where credit is due.

crackerjack · Post by **crackerjack** » Tue Mar 08, 2011 5:18 pm

bitstopjoe wrote:Nah I knew you didn't think I was serious nor I you...
You are WAY to smart for that and I give credit where credit is due.

Rent a room

bitstopjoe · Post by **bitstopjoe** » Tue Mar 08, 2011 5:26 pm

HA!!

Can't a guy be nice for nice sake??

I mean nothing I said wasn't true..

I can't help it she is pretty AND smart....

So there

VaHam · Post by **VaHam** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 4:36 pm

I got my OBi110 in yesterday and have it all setup! It works great and I will be exploring to see what it will do.

I have a GV number setup on the first VOIP line and can send and receive call perfectly. The quality is very good!

I have the softphone proxy setup on my desktop and Bria pointing to the proxy. Very nice way of doing things since you can choose to use your favorite flavor of softphone that way!

I have tested OBi calls between the device and the softphone (which gets it's own OBi number) and that works great as well.

The gateway calling allows me to setup trusted numbers I can call in from to my GV number and get an auto attendant where I can enter a number to be called and then make outgoing calls. (also pin protected) My google voice number shows to the called party as my caller id.

If you have someone overseas that you'd like to allow to use your POTS line all they would need do is download the OBi Softphone and get their own OBiTalk number. The once you add them to your circle of friends in the OBi administration they would be able to call your OBi number and then get the auto attendant and make out going calls thru your POTS line.

Lots of nice things can be done using the device.

This device and service is very well thought out and works well.

I have several things I want to try yet:

1) Try the POTS interface (echo etc.)
2) Use my Xlinx cellphone interface which would not work with a SPA3102
3) Enter a secondary VOIP service in the second line
4) Tie the OBi110 into my Asterisk box

lcompton · Post by **lcompton** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 7:40 pm

Good evening.

My two OBi110's arrived this afternoon. I originally ordered one at USD49.99 and decided that the rave reviews warranted ordering two right away since I would be able to return them if they didn't function well for me. Each OBi110 can be configured with two Google Voice accounts and I have four, which are presently evenly-split across two Gizmo5 accounts going into my Linksys PAP2T. About four days after ordering the first OBi110 they became available again at the USD49.99 price so I ordered the second one. It's funny how both arrived today even though they were shipped separately.

So, I just finished hooking up one unit to two of my Google Voice accounts and I am completely blown away by how easy it was. I followed the self-setup manual directions (7B) here. I used this method to setup my OBi110 because it gave me maximum control over my settings and I didn't need to create an OBiTALK account or hand over my Google Voice credentials to Obihai.

Okay, this has to be said... Setting up the OBi110 is so ridiculously easy that I cannot believe Google isn't going to break this. I can actually make outgoing toll calls through my OBi110-connected analog telephone through Google Voice. No more logging into my Google Voice account to make outgoing toll calls.

It's just too good to be true. Google is promising free calls throughout North America for the balance of 2011. Get ready for the other show to drop in 2012 (sorry for that awful pun! Besides, we all know the world is going to end on 21 October 2011, right?)

Seriously, I don't know what Google's revenue plan is for Google Voice, but the OBi110/Google Voice solution would be a bargain at USD50.00/annum (because it doesn't have those stinky call caps that magicJack does!)

Anyway, if the spirit moves you and you can get one of the OBi110's at USD49.99 on Amazon.com, go for it if you don't mind rolling the dice. It's a decent telephony solution for the next 9+ months (I hope!) After that, who knows...

Oh, and get this... I still have the PAP2T connected to Gizmo5 so the telephones on my OBi110 and PAP2T all ring when the Google Voice numbers are called.

Too funny! The OBi110 uses the Googlechat phone object that gets added to your Google Voice account (if you have an @gmail.com e-mail address as your primary address for your Google Voice account.) So, the Googlechat phone object is what rings through to the OBi110.

I'm going to leave the PAP2T connected to Gizmo5 to see what happens when Gizmo5 goes dark on 3 April. If Google kills the SIP service, then both of the green telephone line LED's on the PAP2T should go out.

The OBi110 is just plain awesome.

bitstopjoe · Post by **bitstopjoe** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 7:48 pm

Actually it is Dec 21st 2012 or so say the Mayans.

http://www.adishakti.org/mayan_end_time ... 1-2012.htm

But what they heck do they know as I have yogurt which says it expires in 2013.. Take that Mayans!!! IN YOUR FACE

Good luck with your new VOIP service and thanks for the warning...

nailgunner · Post by **nailgunner** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 8:38 pm

lcompton wrote: Seriously, I don't know what Google's revenue plan is for Google Voice, but the OBi110/Google Voice solution would be a bargain at USD50.00/annum (because it doesn't have those stinky call caps that magicJack does!)

Just a week or so ago I had an exchange blocked by GoogleVoice similar to what MJ does, so not all is perfect in GoogleVoice land.

lcompton · Post by **lcompton** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 8:45 pm

Good evening, nailgunner.

nailgunner wrote:
lcompton wrote: Seriously, I don't know what Google's revenue plan is for Google Voice, but the OBi110/Google Voice solution would be a bargain at USD50.00/annum (because it doesn't have those stinky call caps that magicJack does!)
Just a week or so ago I had an exchange blocked by GoogleVoice similar to what MJ does, so not all is perfect in GoogleVoice land.

How about letting the rest of us know what area-code/exchange combination was blocked? I'd like to give it a try if that's okay.

VaHam · Post by **VaHam** » Thu Mar 17, 2011 12:00 am

The nicest thing about the OBi is that while it works great with GV your not limited to using that because the ports also work with any other standard sip voip service; so even if GV died tomorrow all you'd need to do is switch to another provider.

If MagicJack hadn't locked up their sip access then one could have even used this nice hardware with MJ instead of the problem riddled MJ Dongle.

If you have a working MJ you can also just plug it into the OBi's POTS connector and the phone can then use the MJ line thru the OBi. That way one phone can answer calls from two sip providers (or two GV accounts) the OBi talk connection and the MJ line.

nailgunner · Post by **nailgunner** » Thu Mar 17, 2011 2:51 am

lcompton wrote: How about letting the rest of us know what area-code/exchange combination was blocked? I'd like to give it a try if that's okay.

Unfortunately I delete my call lists from MJ and Google (it was blocked on MJ so I tried vis GV). I was getting some price quotes from various businesses and believe it was in Minnesota. I will see if I can track it down again.

It was a real brief message, something like "this number is not available for callback. Thank you."

lcompton · Post by **lcompton** » Thu Mar 17, 2011 7:10 am

Good morning, Joe.

bitstopjoe wrote:Actually it is Dec 21st 2012 or so say the Mayans.

http://www.adishakti.org/mayan_end_time ... 1-2012.htm

But what they heck do they know as I have yogurt which says it expires in 2013.. Take that Mayans!!! IN YOUR FACE

I'm kind of hoping for 21 October 2011 so I don't have to finish paying off my VISA card. But, with the way my luck tends to run, as long as I have bills to pay the world's probably going to go on existing with the rest of our solar system for another 5.3 billion years (give or take a few hours

) just like astronomers tell us.

bitstopjoe wrote:Good luck with your new VOIP service and thanks for the warning...

Haha!

(The sad part is that this solution probably won't last a year.)

lcompton · Post by **lcompton** » Thu Mar 17, 2011 7:17 am

Good morning, VaHam.

VaHam wrote:The nicest thing about the OBi is that while it works great with GV your not limited to using that because the ports also work with any other standard sip voip service; so even if GV died tomorrow all you'd need to do is switch to another provider.

If MagicJack hadn't locked up their sip access then one could have even used this nice hardware with MJ instead of the problem riddled MJ Dongle.

If you have a working MJ you can also just plug it into the OBi's POTS connector and the phone can then use the MJ line thru the OBi. That way one phone can answer calls from two sip providers (or two GV accounts) the OBi talk connection and the MJ line.

I think I'm falling in love with my OBi110. Okay, I know that's weird, but check this out... I can select the call-out line on-the-fly by entering a ** sequence.

So, if I setup my public Google Voice number as the default call-out line (SP1) and if I want to call a member of my inner circle using my private number I can press **2 to place the call on SP2 so my private number shows up on the caller ID of inner circle members.

The OBi110 is so ridiculously easy that I can't believe it. I wish some of the other features I can configure in the OBi110 worked with Google Voice (especially the end-user-configurable caller ID name), but I guess one can't have everything. Those extended features didn't work with Gizmo5 when I set them in my PAP2T either.

It's almost a shame that Google is very likely going to clobber this solution in time. It's just too good to be true — exactly how magicJack was until Danny-baby broke that, too, with those dumb call caps.

lcompton · Post by **lcompton** » Thu Mar 17, 2011 7:18 am

Good morning, nailgunner.

nailgunner wrote:
lcompton wrote: How about letting the rest of us know what area-code/exchange combination was blocked? I'd like to give it a try if that's okay.
Unfortunately I delete my call lists from MJ and Google (it was blocked on MJ so I tried vis GV). I was getting some price quotes from various businesses and believe it was in Minnesota. I will see if I can track it down again.

It was a real brief message, something like "this number is not available for callback. Thank you."

Bummer. I wanted to try it so when it failed for me, too, I could complain to Google to fix it.

Oh well, if you find another broken exchange, please do let us know...

jeffnyc · Post by **jeffnyc** » Fri Mar 18, 2011 11:03 pm

I really liked the GVToy thats been around for awhile but I guess this is better as you do not have to ring back and leave a pc on.

Connect the mj to the pots line is a nice idea but of course again, defeats the purpose of not having the pc on.

I have the Obi sitting - I havent set it up yet. I tend to leave my pc on a lot and I am sort of worried about calls coming in to my google chat as I have read can happen. This is one issue the GVToy or Sipsorcery method didnt have.

lcompton · Post by **lcompton** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 8:20 am

Good morning, Jeff in New York City.

jeffnyc wrote:I really liked the GVToy thats been around for awhile but I guess this is better as you do not have to ring back and leave a pc on.

I'm unacquainted with GVToy. A quick Google search didn't immediately return anything explanatory. What is GVToy?

jeffnyc wrote:Connect the mj to the pots line is a nice idea but of course again, defeats the purpose of not having the pc on.

I consider the POTS line jack on the OBi110 a design flaw. I'd have preferred two analog telephone jacks (similar to the Linksys PAP2T) so I could attach two different analog telephones and have each one uniquely-assigned to one of the service profiles (SP's) on the OBi110.

jeffnyc wrote:I have the Obi sitting - I havent set it up yet. I tend to leave my pc on a lot and I am sort of worried about calls coming in to my google chat as I have read can happen. This is one issue the GVToy or Sipsorcery method didnt have.

The OBi110 method of making and receiving calls over the Google Chat protocol (I forget the correct protocol name at the moment) is just one more reason I am glad I don't have any desire to use instant messengers. Don't get me wrong, I've tried instant messengers over the years and still have my ICQ account, but instant messenging is completely annoying to me. I'd much rather pick up a telephone and gab with someone than type it all out. I feel the same way about text messenging, too. It's just too annoying. A girlfriend of mine actually has, are you ready for this — text message arguments with her husband! I mean, how is that even possible? LOL Maybe, I'm just old-fashioned, but it seems to me that part of the fun of a dysfunctional marriage is yelling at one's husband when he does something typically-stupid or thoughtless. I don't know, sometimes I think technology ruins things as much as it improves them.

Anyway, if the spirit leads you to do so, I'd appreciate more information on GVToy along with links to any reference information you might have.

As an aside, my first OBi110 has been up and running for a few days now and I can't believe how awesome it is. I'm going to make the permanent (she writes trepidatiously) switch from the PAP2T lines to the pair of OBi110's tomorrow.

I'll leave the PAP2T on-line connected to an old two-line wired telephone for the next few weeks to see when Gizmo5 goes dark.

Oh, when using the OBi110 with Google Voice, your Google Voice account must be configured with an e-mail address in the gmail.com domain. So, I had to switch two of my Google Voice accounts to @gmail.com accounts.

Now, I have two more Gmail accounts that I don't need or want. Oh well...

Have fun!

VaHam · Post by **VaHam** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 10:53 am

lcompton wrote: I consider the POTS line jack on the OBi110 a design flaw. I'd have preferred two analog telephone jacks (similar to the Linksys PAP2T) so I could attach two different analog telephones and have each one uniquely-assigned to one of the service profiles (SP's) on the OBi110.

I have not seen one yet but there will be an OBi100 out this month which does not include the FXO port and will be cheaper. I suspect it will still have only one FXS port however.

I personally like having the FXO port. Since there is no 911 calling from GV you can plug in a POTS line or one from another VOIP device so that 911 calling can be maintained.

You can even use a device like the XLink so that your cell phone and it's 911 capability can be used seamlessly.

lcompton wrote: Anyway, if the spirit leads you to do so, I'd appreciate more information on GVToy along with links to any reference information you might have.

I think by toy, he was talking about using either Sip Sorcery or Asterisk and the GV calling software options pre-installed in the Ultimate PBX

jeffnyc · Post by **jeffnyc** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 12:51 pm

lcompton wrote: I'm unacquainted with GVToy. A quick Google search didn't immediately return anything explanatory. What is GVToy?

Good morning. My fault, its called gvout not gvtoy. The thread is titled "new toy" so I I mixed it up

I love it but the developer and its fan base abandoned it when the sipsorcery workaround to google voice calls came out. I like it better than the sip sorcery method but the proxy needs to be running on a pc. I was hoping someone could get it to run on a router thus making the need for obi110 (for gv purposes) unnecessary

Of course if you have Asterisk, which I dont, there is also a script that does the same thing, probably better.

Basically you place a call, here a busy signal, hang up and the phone rings back connecting the call via google voice. What I think the gvout proxy does is initiate the http request to trigger the callback, so you place an outgoing call from a telephone like normal, only difference is you wait about 10 secs for the ringback. It does require a sipgate or gizmo account.

Its a sticky:

http://www.phoneservicesupport.com/new- ... t7191.html

sabresfan · Post by **sabresfan** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 2:54 pm

jeffnyc wrote:
lcompton wrote: I'm unacquainted with GVToy. A quick Google search didn't immediately return anything explanatory. What is GVToy?

Good morning. My fault, its called gvout not gvtoy. The thread is titled "new toy" so I I mixed it up I love it but the developer and its fan base abandoned it when the sipsorcery workaround to google voice calls came out. I like it better than the sip sorcery method but the proxy needs to be running on a pc. I was hoping someone could get it to run on a router thus making the need for obi110 (for gv purposes) unnecessary

Of course if you have Asterisk, which I dont, there is also a script that does the same thing, probably better.

Basically you place a call, here a busy signal, hang up and the phone rings back connecting the call via google voice. What I think the gvout proxy does is initiate the http request to trigger the callback, so you place an outgoing call from a telephone like normal, only difference is you wait about 10 secs for the ringback. It does require a sipgate or gizmo account.

Its a sticky:

http://www.phoneservicesupport.com/new- ... t7191.html

This is how I'm running it now. Leaving the computer on is not a problem as I'm running MJ anyway. Sipsorcery's method is great but having 911 is more important. If I want to make GV calls I just # then the number, get the busy signal, hang up and then pick up the phone when GV calls me back almost instantly. This way we can use the phone like normal and have access to free calls at the same time. Also if the computer gets turned off we can still make calls as normal. Not the perfect setup but it works great for me and the call quality has always been good. As others have stated I wonder how long before Google blocks these.

jeffnyc · Post by **jeffnyc** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 6:56 pm

sabresfan wrote:
jeffnyc wrote:
lcompton wrote: I'm unacquainted with GVToy. A quick Google search didn't immediately return anything explanatory. What is GVToy?

Good morning. My fault, its called gvout not gvtoy. The thread is titled "new toy" so I I mixed it up I love it but the developer and its fan base abandoned it when the sipsorcery workaround to google voice calls came out. I like it better than the sip sorcery method but the proxy needs to be running on a pc. I was hoping someone could get it to run on a router thus making the need for obi110 (for gv purposes) unnecessary

Of course if you have Asterisk, which I dont, there is also a script that does the same thing, probably better.

Basically you place a call, here a busy signal, hang up and the phone rings back connecting the call via google voice. What I think the gvout proxy does is initiate the http request to trigger the callback, so you place an outgoing call from a telephone like normal, only difference is you wait about 10 secs for the ringback. It does require a sipgate or gizmo account.

Its a sticky:

http://www.phoneservicesupport.com/new- ... t7191.html
This is how I'm running it now. Leaving the computer on is not a problem as I'm running MJ anyway. Sipsorcery's method is great but having 911 is more important. If I want to make GV calls I just # then the number, get the busy signal, hang up and then pick up the phone when GV calls me back almost instantly. This way we can use the phone like normal and have access to free calls at the same time. Also if the computer gets turned off we can still make calls as normal. Not the perfect setup but it works great for me and the call quality has always been good. As others have stated I wonder how long before Google blocks these.

Thanks for reply....
Do you use the Obi110 as well?
What do you use for 911? Magicjack?
Does your computer ever go into sleep mode?

sabresfan · Post by **sabresfan** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 7:23 pm

No I don't have the Obi110 and I use Sipgate for E911. The very old laptop I have MJ/GVOut running on has the hard disks/monitor turn off after a few minutes. I block the ads/911 and all servers except one that has given me clear calls. I don't recommend others use MJ like me but I have found this to work for me and the call quality is just as good as when we use to be able to use out ata's. In the future I may get one but most likely I'm gonna get a cordless IP phone next.

lcompton · Post by **lcompton** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 10:44 am

Good morning, VaHam.

VaHam wrote:
lcompton wrote: I consider the POTS line jack on the OBi110 a design flaw. I'd have preferred two analog telephone jacks (similar to the Linksys PAP2T) so I could attach two different analog telephones and have each one uniquely-assigned to one of the service profiles (SP's) on the OBi110.
I have not seen one yet but there will be an OBi100 out this month which does not include the FXO port and will be cheaper. I suspect it will still have only one FXS port however.

This product you describe would have made for an excellent introduction into the VoIP market. Lower cost and axing the POTS line port makes a ton of sense. The number of installed POTS lines are on the decline. There's just not much reason to build devices capable of interfacing with them. Yes, yes, I know, we disagree.

VaHam wrote:I personally like having the FXO port. Since there is no 911 calling from GV you can plug in a POTS line or one from another VOIP device so that 911 calling can be maintained.

Using a suggestion someone on this site made a couple of years ago, I found a regular telephone number for our 911 contact center and can use that with Google Voice. I'm not a 911 fan so I don't consider the inability to use it an issue. Interestingly, I believe it's possible to setup a dial rule on the OBi110 such that dialing 911 actually maps the outbound call to the regular ten-digit telephone number. I won't set it up, but I think it's possible.

VaHam wrote:You can even use a device like the XLink so that your cell phone and it's 911 capability can be used seamlessly.

I was able to get my wireless telephone accessible via my home telephone system using a Bluetooth-capable cordless telephone system. I wrote about this setup somewhere else on this site and it was actually another site member (joevv) who first told me about the A.T.& T.-branded cordless telephone system that would also accommodate a Bluetooth-linked wireless telephone. It's a great little setup — simple, clean and it works!

Okay, I found the thread on this topic here.

VaHam wrote:
lcompton wrote: Anyway, if the spirit leads you to do so, I'd appreciate more information on GVToy along with links to any reference information you might have.
I think by toy, he was talking about using either Sip Sorcery or Asterisk and the GV calling software options pre-installed in the Ultimate PBX

I haven't played with any of these things, which is probably why it went over my head. I appreciate the reference material.

lcompton · Post by **lcompton** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 10:51 am

Good morning, Jeff in New York City.

jeffnyc wrote:
lcompton wrote: I'm unacquainted with GVToy. A quick Google search didn't immediately return anything explanatory. What is GVToy?
Good morning. My fault, its called gvout not gvtoy. The thread is titled "new toy" so I I mixed it up I love it but the developer and its fan base abandoned it when the sipsorcery workaround to google voice calls came out. I like it better than the sip sorcery method but the proxy needs to be running on a pc. I was hoping someone could get it to run on a router thus making the need for obi110 (for gv purposes) unnecessary

Of course if you have Asterisk, which I dont, there is also a script that does the same thing, probably better.

Basically you place a call, here a busy signal, hang up and the phone rings back connecting the call via google voice. What I think the gvout proxy does is initiate the http request to trigger the callback, so you place an outgoing call from a telephone like normal, only difference is you wait about 10 secs for the ringback. It does require a sipgate or gizmo account.

Its a sticky:

http://www.phoneservicesupport.com/new- ... t7191.html

GVout wouldn't have meant anything to me either so no worries on getting it wrong. I haven't played with any of this stuff, which is why it doesn't resonate with me.

The OBi110 is working out great. I'm sorry to say that I think it's a solution that is too good to be true and I can't see Google allowing it to persist for any length of time. I'd love to be wrong about this, but I don't think so.

The way I'm looking at it right now is that the USD100.00 investment in two OBi110's allows me to keep the setup I've enjoyed with Gizmo5 for the past year or so. It prevents me from having to pay Verizon another USD30.00/month for unlimited calling on my wireless telephone so the OBi110's will pay for themselves in three months plus ten days. I figure we have at least three months and ten days before Google shuts down the ability to use the OBi110 with Google Voice. Well, I hope so anyway. LOL

dtm · Post by **dtm** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 12:55 pm

Bought an OBi110 after Google announced demise of Gizmo5. I must say it works very nicely and I like having my dry DSL POTS line plugged into the Line Port for 911.

Like lcompton I am hoping Google doesn't squash this solution. It is darn near perfect. If they let it run you can say RIP to Magicjack. Dan, you blew it Bunky. You had the VOIP world by the tail and shot yourself in the foot by taking away the ATA access and limiting the service. Hope you saved some of that money.

nailgunner · Post by **nailgunner** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 1:50 pm

dtm wrote: you can say RIP to Magicjack. Dan, you blew it Bunky.

I've only used MJ for about 1.5 years. But in my internet searchings since I've been a customer I have come across "proclamations" declaring the death of MJ going back, ohhh, at least 4 years.

IF, and granted it's a HUGE if, he ever gets his MagicJack Plus released and it works the way they are promising, this prediction of the death of MJ will join the others.

The thing that most "proclaimers" overlook is the mass marketing that MJ has tapped into. Until some postings in this forum, I can honestly say I had never heard of OBi110. At first I thought it might be a light saber from Star Wars. However, I can't flip through my cable channels without seeing a MJ commercial every half hour. MJ might go out of business, but it will because Dan's not real good at running a business and overextended himself in a dozen ways, not because some people are now using another product that only VOIP forum readers know about. IMO

lcompton · Post by **lcompton** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 2:56 pm

Good afternoon, nailgunner.

nailgunner wrote:
dtm wrote: you can say RIP to Magicjack. Dan, you blew it Bunky.
I've only used MJ for about 1.5 years. But in my internet searchings since I've been a customer I have come across "proclamations" declaring the death of MJ going back, ohhh, at least 4 years.

IF, and granted it's a HUGE if, he ever gets his MagicJack Plus released and it works the way they are promising, this prediction of the death of MJ will join the others.

The thing that most "proclaimers" overlook is the mass marketing that MJ has tapped into. Until some postings in this forum, I can honestly say I had never heard of OBi110. At first I thought it might be a light saber from Star Wars. However, I can't flip through my cable channels without seeing a MJ commercial every half hour. MJ might go out of business, but it will because Dan's not real good at running a business and overextended himself in a dozen ways, not because some people are now using another product that only VOIP forum readers know about. IMO

LOL

I'll avoid making any proclamations since, well, I'm not very good at them and I don't experience any need to be right or wrong.

That said, this made me laugh. There seems to be a lot of turnover in the VoIP market with the exception, of course, of Vonage. But, even Vonage is feeling the pinch as home telephone service becomes decreasingly relevant and Comcast and Verizon are making it uneconomical to purchase Internet from them and telephony from someone else (such as Vonage.)

My best guess as to why we have the Gizmo5's and Sunrockets of the world is because no one has figured out a way to actually make a decent business and profit out of VoIP. Comcast and Verizon treat VoIP as a throw-in value-added service for their Internet access and pay television services. That, too, is funny because pay television service appears to be the next thing on its way to a disruptive technology change as Internet streaming video entertainment grows rapidly (Amazon-Instant-Video, Netflix streaming, Hulu Plus, etc.)

Did you see that FCC ruling on net neutrality a month or so ago? It was kind of skated over by the media, but the bottom line is that the FCC ruling paved the way for I.S.P.'s to bill all of us on a consumption-based model. This is how Comcast and Verizon will maintain revenue agnostic of the number of pay television and telephony service subscribers they're able to retain in a changing market. They see the writing on the wall and everything, not just telephony as it turns out, is an I.P.-based application. So, tie everyone's bandwidth usage to a rate meter and all the tier one I.S.P.'s have got us right where they want us; i.e. with their hands in our pockets and purses.

What's funny about all of this is how impervious big business is to those of us who try to game the system looking for ways to avoid paying. It reminds me of the musical credit cards of the 1990's.

In the end, we pay — one way or another.

I'm enjoying my USD30.00/month DSL for as long as it lasts. In addition to telephony, my Internet connection provides me with video entertainment via Amazon-Instant-Video, Netflix streaming and my awesomely cool Roku box, which has more free television channels than I know what to do with. Comcast and Verizon don't like this at all. They want their piece of the pie and I can feel the walls closing in around me as they maneuver government regulators into a position that will make it easy for Comcast and Verizon to stick it to us. Can't wait.

Oh well, I'll always have my free aerial in the attic for free broadcast television reception. Oh, wait-a-minute, maybe the corrupt men and women in our government will implement a license-payers scheme here in the States like they do in the United Kingdom where people have to pay an annual fee to have an antenna to receive television. Gee, that would make a nice complement to ObamaCare.

So, what has this to do with magicJack. Well, who knows what the future holds? MagicJack is a privately-held company and Dan's not releasing any numbers so who knows how profitable magicJack is? It's true that Dan has tapped into a mass market and I even see his commercials on broadcast television from time-to-time. But, we really don't know who's profitable and who isn't.

Sometimes, I feel like a mouse in a maze. People are pulling strings to see how I'll behave. Dan implements call caps and waits to see what Lisa will do. Google kills Gizmo5 and watches as Lisa squirms around the maze looking for her next exit. Someone, please blow up the maze already. Or, at least set fire to it...

lcompton · Post by **lcompton** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 2:58 pm

Good afternoon, Dennis (the Menace).

dtm wrote:Bought an OBi110 after Google announced demise of Gizmo5. I must say it works very nicely and I like having my dry DSL POTS line plugged into the Line Port for 911.

Like lcompton I am hoping Google doesn't squash this solution. It is darn near perfect. If they let it run you can say RIP to Magicjack. Dan, you blew it Bunky. You had the VOIP world by the tail and shot yourself in the foot by taking away the ATA access and limiting the service. Hope you saved some of that money.

LOL @ "Bunky"

I can't express enough my appreciation for this nice laugh you gave me on this beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Still laughing...

bitstopjoe · Post by **bitstopjoe** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 3:25 pm

Maybe you have gas??

nailgunner · Post by **nailgunner** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 3:39 pm

lcompton wrote:Good afternoon, nailgunner.

nailgunner wrote:
dtm wrote: you can say RIP to Magicjack. Dan, you blew it Bunky.
I've only used MJ for about 1.5 years. But in my internet searchings since I've been a customer I have come across "proclamations" declaring the death of MJ going back, ohhh, at least 4 years.

IF, and granted it's a HUGE if, he ever gets his MagicJack Plus released and it works the way they are promising, this prediction of the death of MJ will join the others.

The thing that most "proclaimers" overlook is the mass marketing that MJ has tapped into. Until some postings in this forum, I can honestly say I had never heard of OBi110. At first I thought it might be a light saber from Star Wars. However, I can't flip through my cable channels without seeing a MJ commercial every half hour. MJ might go out of business, but it will because Dan's not real good at running a business and overextended himself in a dozen ways, not because some people are now using another product that only VOIP forum readers know about. IMO
LOL

I'll avoid making any proclamations since, well, I'm not very good at them and I don't experience any need to be right or wrong.

That said, this made me laugh. There seems to be a lot of turnover in the VoIP market with the exception, of course, of Vonage. But, even Vonage is feeling the pinch as home telephone service becomes decreasingly relevant and Comcast and Verizon are making it uneconomical to purchase Internet from them and telephony from someone else (such as Vonage.)

My best guess as to why we have the Gizmo5's and Sunrockets of the world is because no one has figured out a way to actually make a decent business and profit out of VoIP. Comcast and Verizon treat VoIP as a throw-in value-added service for their Internet access and pay television services. That, too, is funny because pay television service appears to be the next thing on its way to a disruptive technology change as Internet streaming video entertainment grows rapidly (Amazon-Instant-Video, Netflix streaming, Hulu Plus, etc.)

Did you see that FCC ruling on net neutrality a month or so ago? It was kind of skated over by the media, but the bottom line is that the FCC ruling paved the way for I.S.P.'s to bill all of us on a consumption-based model. This is how Comcast and Verizon will maintain revenue agnostic of the number of pay television and telephony service subscribers they're able to retain in a changing market. They see the writing on the wall and everything, not just telephony as it turns out, is an I.P.-based application. So, tie everyone's bandwidth usage to a rate meter and all the tier one I.S.P.'s have got us right where they want us; i.e. with their hands in our pockets and purses.

What's funny about all of this is how impervious big business is to those of us who try to game the system looking for ways to avoid paying. It reminds me of the musical credit cards of the 1990's.

In the end, we pay — one way or another.

I'm enjoying my USD30.00/month DSL for as long as it lasts. In addition to telephony, my Internet connection provides me with video entertainment via Amazon-Instant-Video, Netflix streaming and my awesomely cool Roku box, which has more free television channels than I know what to do with. Comcast and Verizon don't like this at all. They want their piece of the pie and I can feel the walls closing in around me as they maneuver government regulators into a position that will make it easy for Comcast and Verizon to stick it to us. Can't wait.

Oh well, I'll always have my free aerial in the attic for free broadcast television reception. Oh, wait-a-minute, maybe the corrupt men and women in our government will implement a license-payers scheme here in the States like they do in the United Kingdom where people have to pay an annual fee to have an antenna to receive television. Gee, that would make a nice complement to ObamaCare.

So, what has this to do with magicJack. Well, who knows what the future holds? MagicJack is a privately-held company and Dan's not releasing any numbers so who knows how profitable magicJack is? It's true that Dan has tapped into a mass market and I even see his commercials on broadcast television from time-to-time. But, we really don't know who's profitable and who isn't.

Sometimes, I feel like a mouse in a maze. People are pulling strings to see how I'll behave. Dan implements call caps and waits to see what Lisa will do. Google kills Gizmo5 and watches as Lisa squirms around the maze looking for her next exit. Someone, please blow up the maze already. Or, at least set fire to it...

Huh? Okay.

dtm · Post by **dtm** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 3:55 pm

"Sometimes, I feel like a mouse in a maze."

Ditto that!

dtm · Post by **dtm** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 4:11 pm

nailgunner wrote:
dtm wrote: you can say RIP to Magicjack. Dan, you blew it Bunky.
The thing that most "proclaimers" overlook is the mass marketing that MJ has tapped into. Until some postings in this forum, I can honestly say I had never heard of OBi110.

I've been around since MJ was un-heard-of. They started out much the same way as Obihai.

It is pretty easy to dump MJ for another cheap alternative. If a better value comes along in this Wild Wild Web World it will catch on like wildfire with or without the late night info-mercials.

While Dan fiddles, Rome burns!

nailgunner · Post by **nailgunner** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 4:32 pm

dtm wrote: While Dan fiddles, Rome burns!

And he has apparently been fiddling that whole time according to the nay-sayers I have been reading. No flames yet. Maybe a smoldering ember or two. But with size comes the ability to make changes and market them effectively.

Every other day someone posts how either OOMA/NetTalk and now Obi (seriously ?) is going to kill off MagicJack. I personally couldn't care less what happens to MJ, especially if there is a good alternative. But in the meantime I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for MJ to die.

If I was an AT&T or T-Mobile customer, I would be prepared for a rate hike with the announced AT&T purchase of T-Mobile. The big get bigger.

lcompton · Post by **lcompton** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 4:53 pm

Good afternoon.

nailgunner wrote:If I was an AT&T or T-Mobile customer, I would be prepared for a rate hike with the announced AT&T purchase of T-Mobile. The big get bigger.

A clear violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

When I grow up, I'm going to have my very own corrupt government so I can make the rules that suit me.

*shakes head*

lcompton · Post by **lcompton** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 4:55 pm

Hey, Dennis!

dtm wrote:While Dan fiddles, Rome burns!

You're on a roll today! Damn, that's funny!

VaHam · Post by **VaHam** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 5:10 pm

There is one very important difference between the OBi device and MJ, NetTalk, OOma; in that, it is not tied to a specific provider and is more robust hardware than the others.

As I understand it, the team of guys who gave the world the SPA3102 started their own company and the OBi is their 2nd generation ATA.

Yes it works great with GV but is not at all limited to GV. So it should be compared to other ATA devices not providers. The features the OBi offers are many and it's usefulness is extremely varied. It can be used with any standard sip provider. I have hopes they will add support for IAX as well which would make it a perfect marriage with Asterisk.

I suspect Google will start to charge for their service after 2012 no matter how it is used. The OBi allows for smooth use of GV via a standard handset. Maybe Google will bid for a OBi buyout or try and duplicate it themselves.

lcompton · Post by **lcompton** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 5:29 pm

Good afternoon.

Here's a question that this collective is likely to be only too happy to respond:

Are there any true alternatives to Gizmo5? When I say true alternatives, I mean completely free SIP service providers to which I can attach my Linksys PAP2T for free and forward my Google Voice inbound calls to for free.

I'm going to answer my own question and confidently say no! The reason is simple. Google Voice can't forward to any SIP numbers except Gizmo5. Therefore, any other SIP service provider would require an end-user to purchase a DID so Google Voice could be forwarded to the SIP provider.

So, a true alternative to Gizmo5 would be a free SIP provider that offers a free DID number.

Yeah, that made me laugh, too.

Hello, OBi110...

lcompton · Post by **lcompton** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 5:31 pm

Good afternoon, VaHam.

VaHam wrote:I suspect Google will start to charge for their service after 2012 no matter how it is used.

What gave it away? The message on the Google Voice page indicating "Enjoy free calls through 2011"?

Sorry, I just couldn't resist!

nailgunner · Post by **nailgunner** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 5:35 pm

lcompton wrote: What gave it away? The message on the Google Voice page indicating "Enjoy free calls through 2011"?

They also said in 2010 that it was going to end at the end of that year and then extended it another year. Sorry couldn't resist.

nailgunner · Post by **nailgunner** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 5:39 pm

VaHam wrote:There is one very important difference between the OBi device and MJ, NetTalk, OOma; in that, it is not tied to a specific provider and is more robust hardware than the others.

As I understand it, the team of guys who gave the world the SPA3102 started their own company and the OBi is their 2nd generation ATA.

Yes it works great with GV but is not at all limited to GV. So it should be compared to other ATA devices not providers. The features the OBi offers are many and it's usefulness is extremely varied. It can be used with any standard sip provider. I have hopes they will add support for IAX as well which would make it a perfect marriage with Asterisk.

I suspect Google will start to charge for their service after 2012 no matter how it is used. The OBi allows for smooth use of GV via a standard handset. Maybe Google will bid for a OBi buyout or try and duplicate it themselves.

I have little doubt that Obi is a fine product. But my personal opinion, and it obviously is only that, is that if you look at the issues that people have getting a fairly simple product like MJ and NetTalk (yes they have issues too) to work right, I think it's beyond reason to think that something more complicated (and it is more complicated and expensive, at least in the short-term) is going to kill off MJ (I know you didn't suggest it would).

magicJack and magicJack Plus Support, Reviews, FAQs and Tricks

OBi110

OBi110

Re: OBi110

Review - The OBi works great!

The Sweet Part is Options

Re: The Sweet Part is Options

OBi110

Re: OBi110

Re: OBi110

Re: OBi110

Re: OBi110

Re: OBi110

Re: OBi110

Re: OBi110

Re: OBi110

OBi Open Source

Re: OBi Open Source

Re: OBi Open Source

Re: OBi Open Source