Has MagicJack improved with age? That's the central question behind the Washington Post's latest review of the USB device-base VoIP service. With lots of praise and horror stories circulating the net about the super inexpensive service, one has to wonder if things have changed since the innovative company initially launched. Ultimately, the reviewer finds that Magic Jack is actually pretty reliable nowadays--if you're cool with chat based tech support and leaving your computer on 24/7 connected to an Ethernet cord. Article

VocalTec Communications and YMAX Corp, the creator of magicJack, have successfully merged and will now be traded on the Nasdaq as CALL.

According to the newly merged company, they believe that the enterprise has a value of $245 million and a per share value of at least $17.50 as of today. VocalTec projects revenues coming in at between $110 million to $125 million this year and expects to show a profit this quarter with cash on hand and no debt.

The two companies make up an interesting swath of the VoIP space. VocalTec holds a number of the original patents for VoIP and magicJack has a well recognized brand world wide with over 6.5 million units sold since 2008. 

For more:
- read the release

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Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal decided to look into the Magic Jack device and what he found was renewed faith in late night infomercial products. He also noted that the company is planning a software-only release that wont require their trademark USB hardware. Article

Ooma, the VoIP company offering free calling through a one-time hardware purchase, is looking to overcome executive shake-ups and slow sales with the announcement of its Telo next-gen home phone system. The Telo is a cordless handset with DECT 6.0, which is capable of HD voice and comes equipped with connected phonebook, mobile transfer and speaker phone. It is on display at CES in Las Vegas, and it will be available in the first half of 2009, according to the company's release.

The Telo, which is sleeker than ooma's previous offerings and resembles a traditional phone more than its Hub and Scout products, operates under the same "up-front capital investment for free U.S. calls" model as ooma's other products. It has struggled in the past to demonstrate why consumers should buy its more expensive products, rather than other free calling devices like PhoneGnome and magicJack.

When ooma lost three members of its leadership team and dropped its PR agency in April 2008, rumors abounded that the company was on its last legs. But with a fresh infusion of $16 million in venture money in October 2008 and the help of marketing master Rich Buchanan (the man behind Slingbox's early success), the company appears to have turned a corner. A distribution deal with Best Buy that recently put ooma devices in more than 1,000 stores is another positive sign for the company. Its devices have always been praised for reliability and high performance quality, but we'll see if they can sell enough Telos and other products to continue to lay out for free calls for all its users. 

For more:
- see the ooma release here

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