[tphank]

PhoneBoy:
Just curious why do you use a PhoneGnome instead of the SPA3000?
What features can't you replicate with an SPA3000 standalone (Other than telemarketing blocking, Voicemail to email, or free calls to other PhoneGnome Users)?

I'm getting a 3000 as well to tinker with, but think that the PG is good for non tinkerers...
TIA
tphank

[DracoFelis]

Originally Posted by tphank

or free calls to other PhoneGnome Users

FWIW: A non-PhoneGnome (VoIP) user can call a PhoneGnome for free. It's just not "automated" like it is when you call out with a PhoneGnome (i.e. a normal VoIP user has to know that the specific number represents a PhoneGnome to get the call for free).

All you do is tell your VoIP adapter to make a VoIP call to "number@sip.phonegnome.com" (where "number" is the specific PhoneGnome you want to call). Or, if you use the free SIP Broker service, you can just dial "*746 number" (again, where "number" is the PhoneGnome number you want to dial).

Originally Posted by tphank

I'm getting a 3000 as well to tinker with, but think that the PG is good for non tinkerers...

FWIW: That's the impression I have too.

And IMHO its nice that you can recommend a PhoneGnome to a non-techie, and still be able to call that user "for free" from a normal SIP adapter!

[PhoneBoy]

I have a PhoneGnome because I was given one.

The big thing the PhoneGnome has over the SPA3000 is more automated handling of outbound calls.Let's say you pick up your phone and make a long distance call. If it's another PhoneGnome customer, it goes direct. If it's not a PhoneGnome number, it will dial via your configured Internet telephone service. If neither of things work for whatever, it will "fail back" and use the PSTN line. A stock SPA-3000 can't do that.

As a purely consumer device, the PhoneGnome is a lot easier to deal with than a SPA3000. The SPA-3000 works for techies like me, but I wouldn't expect my wife or my mother-in-law to be able to configure a SPA-3000.

[vanDivX]

Originally Posted by PhoneBoy

Let's say you pick up your phone and make a long distance call. If it's another PhoneGnome customer, it goes direct. If it's not a PhoneGnome number, it will dial via your configured Internet telephone service. If neither of things work for whatever, it will "fail back" and use the PSTN line.

if I give PG to my mother, I would hate this fall or fail back feature since she wouldn't have called over PSTN line in the first place because that would be way too expensive at her location

that's like feature for people who WANT TO MAKE THAT CALL, period, and are willing to pay for it whatever it takes, if necessary, its not for those calls that you might make if they are free or cheap vs expensive when you simply don't call when you feel like having a chat

I suppose you can always hang up the phone when it tells you it is going to PSTN, I also hope that the voice notice telling you that would be in local language, not in English because she wouldn't understand

I was looking at sipura 3k not knowing about PG, then I was quite excited by PG and read up on it and the result is I am less excited now and even thinking about that sipura 3k again

problem is that as techie as I am, I would have to spend tons of time to grok that gobledygook of sipura setup and just the thought of those arcane commands that make up dialplan makes me queezy around my stomach area, moreover I might handle setting it up for myself but I suspect there would be additional complication when you try to set it up in order for it to be sent to foreign country to be hooked up there by non rocket scientist, just the thought of that makes me definitely perish the thought and I think I will just continue with my voipjet voip-to-PSTN pay as you go service, all this telephony talk I read on these forums and elswhere makes my head spin

also why is this forum so dead and with so few posts, I might guess that's because PG is working so well that people don't need to come on forum LOL

vanDivX

[ddh819]

Originally Posted by vanDivX

if I give PG to my mother, I would hate this fall or fail back feature since she wouldn't have called over PSTN line in the first place because that would be way too expensive at her location

that's like feature for people who WANT TO MAKE THAT CALL, period, and are willing to pay for it whatever it takes, if necessary, its not for those calls that you might make if they are free or cheap vs expensive when you simply don't call when you feel like having a chat

There is a setting on the PhoneGnome admin webpage to force international or long distance calls to be made only over the internet, so you can basically block the fall-back feature, and you can do all the configuration for your mother since the web admin page is coming from PhoneGnome.com's servers, not the device itself.