OBi / GV rocks.

cell14 · Post by **cell14** » Thu Nov 24, 2011 10:17 pm

Got my Obi 100 yesterday. Absolutely amazing. The call quality with Google Voice is clearly better than MJ. That's truly Happy Thanksgiving. $35.- as a special from Amazon. And you can put in another VOIP provider, they pre programmed 9 ( unfortunately no Localphone, but it can be done with some effort)

There are some draw backs, too. Nobody knows what happens to GV in long term. Officially, the device cannot be used in other countries although there are reports of people doing just that- for now, because GV can pull the plug on this any time . No 911 calling. The warranty for Obi is only 90 days.

But for now the little box rocks.

VaHam · Post by **VaHam** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 11:53 am

Glad your enjoying it!

With the OBi110 you can also use a regular POTS line as an input. That way the same phone can handle two voip lines, the obitalk network line and a regular POTS line.

cell14 · Post by **cell14** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 9:58 pm

Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 10:53 am Post subject:

With the OBi110 you can also use a regular POTS line as an input

Yeah, I considered the 110 because another store was offering two for 70.-
but my neighbor who wanted it too got cold feet and I decided to go with 100 because I do not have a POTS any more. ( my neighbor regretted his decision after testing my Obi

)
I am still considering a second Obi for international use for a family member ; the issue is that it is one thing to do IP block from a computer e.g. with Usurf but I am not sure how it would work when the ATA is connected directly to the router which then supplies a small network of computers other people use.

VaHam · Post by **VaHam** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 11:43 pm

cell14 wrote:
Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 10:53 am Post subject:

With the OBi110 you can also use a regular POTS line as an input
Yeah, I considered the 110 because another store was offering two for 70.-
but my neighbor who wanted it too got cold feet and I decided to go with 100 because I do not have a POTS any more. ( my neighbor regretted his decision after testing my Obi )
I am still considering a second Obi for international use for a family member ; the issue is that it is one thing to do IP block from a computer e.g. with Usurf but I am not sure how it would work when the ATA is connected directly to the router which then supplies a small network of computers other people use.

It is late, but I am not understanding your concern about a second Obi? Is it privacy or network connect-ability which concerns you? And where does the international fit into the picture?

cell14 · Post by **cell14** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 1:27 am

It is late, but I am not understanding your concern about a second Obi? Is it privacy or network connect-ability which concerns you? And where does the international fit into the picture?

Google voice is only available for users in the U.S. It means that you have to open a GV account in the US, set up Obi in the US and still have a chance that your calls will be blocked if Google discovers a foreign IP address. That's why IP blocking is so important if you want to use Obi outside of the country.

VaHam · Post by **VaHam** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 11:57 am

cell14 wrote:
It is late, but I am not understanding your concern about a second Obi? Is it privacy or network connect-ability which concerns you? And where does the international fit into the picture?
Google voice is only available for users in the U.S. It means that you have to open a GV account in the US, set up Obi in the US and still have a chance that your calls will be blocked if Google discovers a foreign IP address. That's why IP blocking is so important if you want to use Obi outside of the country.

Ok got ya.

One approach would be to dedicate one of your two SP's for their GV. The dial patterns could be adjusted so that you would essentially be a proxy for them. That way the connection between you and them would be thru the OBITalk network and probably around country blocks. Maybe have them plug their POTS into a OBi110 so you could have free calling to their location in return

A second method might be to use something like the GV to Sip proxy mentioned in thread If you have a ATA lying Around. I would prefer using an OBi as the ATA since it also includes the OBiTalk network and nice features.

I am sure there are probably some other methods of doing this as well.

cell14 · Post by **cell14** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 8:55 pm

Thanks. I will have to consider all options. It has to be something what works for a person clueless about computers etc. That was one problem with
MJ, it works for her on her main location because a neighbor who happens to be an IT engineer helped her out a few times but whenever she goes to other places there are always problems.
One of the possibilities would be first to set up a GV account with Obi and then to get for her a Localphone account and program it on Obi as well. Localphone is not free, U.S. DID costs 1$/month and you pay 0.5c/min for calls to US phone numbers, but it would be a back up if for some reason it does not work out with GV/Obi for her.
But I will have time till late April to figure this out.

conniemadagain · Post by **conniemadagain** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 7:30 pm

anyone else hear about GV free only till 12/2011?

nailgunner · Post by **nailgunner** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 7:36 pm

conniemadagain wrote:anyone else hear about GV free only till 12/2011?

They used to put in on their support forum that it was free until the end of a given year. At one time it did say until the end of 2011, but they removed all references to an expiration date months ago.

http://support.google.com/voice/bin/ans ... wer=115063

They can always change their mind. And you could read the dropping of a "free as of date" as meaning that it gives them the freedom to start charging anytime they want. I think it means the opposite, that it will be free for the foreseeable future.

conniemadagain · Post by **conniemadagain** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 7:43 pm

I hope u r right ... just ordered a obi110 ...

we'll see if it was a $49.95 goof ...

nailgunner wrote:
conniemadagain wrote:anyone else hear about GV free only till 12/2011?
They used to put in on their support forum that it was free until the end of a given year. At one time it did say until the end of 2011, but they removed all references to an expiration date months ago.

http://support.google.com/voice/bin/ans ... wer=115063

They can always change their mind. And you could read the dropping of a "free as of date" as meaning that it gives them the freedom to start charging anytime they want. I think it means the opposite, that it will be free for the foreseeable future.

nailgunner · Post by **nailgunner** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 7:50 pm

conniemadagain wrote:I hope u r right ... just ordered a obi110 ...
we'll see if it was a $49.95 goof ...

Google has a bad habit of just dropping programs with little notice. But they are not too far into a partnership with Sprint. It would be a public relations nightmare for them (although they might not care), if they were to start charging or dropped it altogether. You and your Obi should be safe, for a while anyways.

VaHam · Post by **VaHam** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 8:07 pm

conniemadagain wrote:I hope u r right ... just ordered a obi110 ...
we'll see if it was a $49.95 goof ...

nailgunner wrote:
conniemadagain wrote:anyone else hear about GV free only till 12/2011?
They used to put in on their support forum that it was free until the end of a given year. At one time it did say until the end of 2011, but they removed all references to an expiration date months ago.

http://support.google.com/voice/bin/ans ... wer=115063

They can always change their mind. And you could read the dropping of a "free as of date" as meaning that it gives them the freedom to start charging anytime they want. I think it means the opposite, that it will be free for the foreseeable future.

The best thing about the OBi it's not being tied to a single provider. If GV stopped free service there are lots of cheap providers which will work fine with your OBi.

Just go on eBay and see what the price of even a used SPA-3102 is and compare that to a OBi110, which IMHO a better product. You chose wisely!

conniemadagain · Post by **conniemadagain** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 8:18 pm

VaHam wrote: The best thing about the OBi it's not being tied to a single provider. If GV stopped free service there are lots of cheap providers which will work fine with your OBi.

Just go on eBay and see what the price of even a used SPA-3102 is and compare that to a OBi110, which IMHO a better product. You chose wisely!

Two things:
1. linksys and cisco the same?
2. used were more that new ... lol

These the same difference that a ob1?

cell14 · Post by **cell14** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:54 pm

The best thing about the OBi it's not being tied to a single provider.

That was the main reason I decided to go for that. As a matter of fact, i om not sure whether I ever want to go again with a provider who pushes on you a proprietary ATA.

cell14 · Post by **cell14** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:59 pm

Google has a bad habit of just dropping programs with little notice. But they are not too far into a partnership with Sprint. It would be a public relations nightmare for them (although they might not care), if they were to start charging or dropped it altogether

I do not think that they would drop it all together but a charge for outgoing calls is definitely possible. A lot will depend on how far GV fits into their future grand plans ( possible participation in a wireless provider etc) whatever they might be.

nailgunner · Post by **nailgunner** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 10:24 pm

cell14 wrote:I do not think that they would drop it all together but a charge for outgoing calls is definitely possible.

I honestly don't think they will do either anytime soon. Not that corporations making sense is a requirement for anything, but it would be senseless to make any significant changes this soon after pairing up with Sprint. Not only would users be mad at Google, they might take it out on Sprint.

That said, without knowing enough on the technical side, I assume if Google wanted to cut off Obi users from their system, it could be done. So that could happen at any time, since I don't think there is any "partnership" between Obi and Google. But as has been mentioned, there are other options to use with Obi besides GV.

VaHam · Post by **VaHam** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 10:29 pm

conniemadagain wrote:
VaHam wrote: The best thing about the OBi it's not being tied to a single provider. If GV stopped free service there are lots of cheap providers which will work fine with your OBi.

Just go on eBay and see what the price of even a used SPA-3102 is and compare that to a OBi110, which IMHO a better product. You chose wisely!
Two things:
1. linksys and cisco the same?
2. used were more that new ... lol

These the same difference that a ob1?

1) Cisco bought Linksys so now they are the same.

2) The going price for a real SPA-3102 new is about $70 the cheap ones on eBay are knockoffs. Probably the used ones were real.

cell14 · Post by **cell14** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 11:22 pm

That said, without knowing enough on the technical side, I assume if Google wanted to cut off Obi users from their system, it could be done. So that could happen at any time, since I don't think there is any "partnership" between Obi and Google. But as has been mentioned, there are other options to use with Obi besides GV.

It could be certainly done with some effort ( remember the problems Dan had for a while trying to make MJ hack proof) but from PR prospective it would be as bad or worse than imposing low charges on outgoing calls.

conniemadagain · Post by **conniemadagain** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 11:38 pm

nailgunner wrote:
cell14 wrote:I do not think that they would drop it all together but a charge for outgoing calls is definitely possible.
I honestly don't think they will do either anytime soon. Not that corporations making sense is a requirement for anything, but it would be senseless to make any significant changes this soon after pairing up with Sprint. Not only would users be mad at Google, they might take it out on Sprint.

Idiots at nettalk dropped their minutes per month fromm 5k to 3k ...

Proof that Execs are stupid ...