Test driving the Straight Talk home phone system

But first, here’s a post I shared on Twitter: 10 reasons why Kingsoft Office is better than the competition. I’m currently working with LibreOffice, as they have much more production ready releases than OpenOffice. But I’m happy to find the Kingsoft is free and I willing to install and try it. This is an old software company in China, that has relationships with IBM, Intel and Dell, according to Wiki at Kingsoft on Wiki . The software has a free version and I just loaded it. I’ll keep it and use it, in alteration with LibreOffice. There’s also an article entitled Office 2013 Kingsoft Free revamps interface, improves support for new Office formats.

Last couple of weeks, I’ve test drove the Ooma Telo. This device has gotten overall great reviews on Amazon and Walmart. Both companies also offer excellent protection plans, at a modest cost. It should be noted that I recommend this solution, if you have a good broadband solutions (i.e Comcast) and run it behind a good router (i.e. Linksys). The only glitch was getting the numeric code identified with Google Voice. It did take me several tries. Perhaps its the DECT 6.0 Vtech phone system?

Straight Talk

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Let me mention there are some negatives on the Walmart websites reviews. They center around:

Long waits for customer service
Trouble and delays in porting over a number
The caller ID only shows number and doesn’t do a national database lookup.

While there are no contracts and service is provided by Straight Talk, the network is on Verizon. I did check the Straight Talk site and I did have coverage, when I checked my zip code.

The problem I had is signal strength. I placed the device by an open window. It was easy to set up, following the given directions. There are two signal strength indicators. Usually, I see only one light on. On rare occasions, the second light is on – for a few seconds. I’m not sure why I get two signals on at times. The device doesn’t change location or position. This is a mystery to ponder.

The second issue is the sound quality. It’s not as good as the Ooma Telo , an OBI device with Google Voice or Skype. I’ll continue with the previous three. I’ll drop the OBI device, if future Google Voice developments make it incompatible with Google Voice.

I believe you can hook this device up with a cell phone signal booster. But before I thread that path, I’ll wait for some write-ups to pave the way. I did look at the Wilson Electronics – DT – Cell Phone Signal Booster for Small Home or Office on Amazon. I called customer service at Wilson Electronics, where they referred me to tech support. The support person did say it would work with the Straight Talk home phone Verizon device.

So far, my complaints are minor. Perhaps I need more time to test and savor this device?

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Test driving the Ooma Telo (b2btechcopy.com)
Ooma VOIP device – steps to take before buying and testing (b2btechcopy.com)
Get an Ooma Telo home phone system for $99.99 (news.cnet.com)
(Ᏹ) Ooma Telo Free Home Phone Service (exelai.wordpress.com)
Wolverton: Ooma’s a great alternative to local phone service, but forget the accessories (mercurynews.com)
Sprint: Google Voice deal ‘extremely important’ for us (reviews.cnet.com)
Five great Android Wi-Fi calling apps (reviews.cnet.com)

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Test driving the Straight Talk home phone system