PC Magazine, "Best and Worst," September 2008 issu

[Phil]

Here's the summary chart for PC Mag's survey of VoIP users:

[font=Courier New]--ALL VOIP--.......overall..setup..sound..rely...nontech.tech..needhelp
Optimum Voice.......8.3++...8.6+...8.7++...8.6++...7.9+...(-)...14%++
Vonage..............8.1+....8.4+...8.0.....8.1.....7.7+...6.6...24%
AT&T CallVantage....7.8.....7.6-...8.2.....8.1.....(-)....(-)...37%
magicJack...........7.6.....8.5....7.8.....8.2.....(-)....(-)...20%
Time Warner Cable...7.5.....7.9....7.9.....7.6-....7.0....(-)...32%
Comcast.............7.4-....8.0....8.1.....7.9.....6.9-...6.1...27%
AVERAGE.............7.8.....8.1....8.1.....8.1.....7.4....6.4...25%
--SKYPE--
Skype: PC only......7.4-....8.2....7.5-....7.4-....(-)....(-)...2%++
Skype: Phone........7.5-....8.3....7.4--...7.5--...6.5-...(-)...7%++[/font]

PC Mag gave "Readers' Choice" awards to Optimum Voice and Vonage.

Notes:

++ = "significantly better than average"
+ = "better than average"
- = "worse than average"
-- = "significantly worse than average"

Column headings are abbreviated for space; PC Mag's actual column headings are:

overall = "overall score"
setup = "ease of setup"
sound = "sound quality"
rely = "connection reliability"
nontech = "support for non-technical VOIP issues"
tech = "technical support"
needhelp = "percentage needing technical support"

Skype categories are abbreviated for space; PC Mag's actual categories are:

Skype: PC only = "Skype: PC-to-PC only"
Skype: Phone = "Skype: PC-to-phone users"

Overall score is based on answers to the question, "Overall, how would you rate this VoIP?" It is not the average of the other scores in the table.

The category "Skype: PC-to phone users" are those who did not respond "Yes" to the question "Do you only use this service for PC-to-PC calling?"

Number of respondents by category
Optimum voice -- 137
Vonage -- 428
AT&T Callvantage -- 59
magicJack -- 70
Time Warner Cable -- 111
Comcast -- 226
Skype: PC-to-PC only -- 113
Skype: PC-to-phone users -- 165