At 21 Jan 2007 20:04:03 -0800 SMS wrote:

> Vonage is doing very poorly, mainly because it's so cost ineffective
> compared to a landline and a cheap long-distance service like
> OneSuite or TalkLoop.


They remind me of AOL in it's heyday. They price themselves above
market, capitalizing on the ignorance of their users who think this is
how all providers of that service work.

Take the Vonage soft-phone, for example- first, they didn't offer it
until long after other providers did, and then they have the nerve to
charge $10/month extra for it!

> Even among VOIP providers, their system is less capable, and more
> expensive than other companies, like Voicestick.

Agreed. Vonage got in the game early, and seems to think their
continuous advertising will convince people it's a good deal. Again,
it's their reliance on ignorance- people think $25 is a good deal vs.
their landline provider, and it probably is, but competing VoIPs- even
the mainstream ones like Sunrocket, offer better rates.

I've been playing with Voicestick more since finding a good deal on their
unlocked MG-3 ATA on eBay ($10!) Sound quality is good, and it's a
pleasure using a real phone and not needing a PC or proprietary wireless
hardware, like with Skype. The fact that I can use a softphone as well,
for no extra cost, on my PPC phone is a bonus. (That comes in handy when
I'm stuck in a hotel with free Wi-Fi and crummy T-Mobile reception!)