If ooma doesn’t give you visual & emailed voicemail, it looks like you can add it for free from Youmail:

http://www.youmail.com/home/index.do

I don’t use it but have heard good things about it.

Thanks for your thoughtful comment. A couple of limitations we have: my wife uses her cell phone sporadically, and although I suspect she could re-train herself, usually doesn’t have it on. My cell is a BlackBerry, and is provided by my employer. Ethically, I shouldn’t / wouldn’t use it for receiving “home” calls.

An alternative would be to buy something like the Phillips 3211 phone for use in our home. But I was looking for something as seamless as possible. ooma enabled me to use our existing phones. If I’m able to get a local number assigned (see related post) it’ll cost me $0 per month with a $233 upfront investment.

((EDIT (later in the day, 8/30/09): My cost for the ooma system will net out to $193. Amazon dropped the price three days after I ordered it, and I asked for a refund… and got it.))

In any event, thanks for your comment – you’ve shed some additional light on the options with Skype. The magic question: are you happy with the voice quality/clarity with Skype?

Kevin

I have a Skype “online number” for my business that’s different from my personal cell number. It costs $6/month (would be $5 if I had signed up for a full year).

I also have unlimited calling to regular phones in the US and Canada for $2.95 a month, so my monthly total is a little less than $9. I signed up for the unlimited calling plan recently because I have a client that enjoys long and frequent conference calls, and I was going way over my cell phone limit.

Instead of getting a wifi phone, I use my iPhone and the Skype app. This means I can use the iPhone over my home wireless network for free calls that don’t count as minutes on my cell plan.

I don’t have a router, so my wifi network depends on my MacBook being on and sharing its internet connection through is Airport. If my computer is off or I’m away from home, an incoming Skype call forwards to my cell as a regular phone call, with the caller never noticing. This costs 2 cents per minute from Skype and also counts against my cell phone minutes. I could save those pennies by letting calls go to Skype’s voice mail (included with my plan) but I like to know right away if I’m getting a business call.

So, basically, for $9/month plus the cost of my cell phone plan, I have two phone “lines” that I can answer anywhere, not just at home.

Thanks. “Headset” was an oversimplification on my part. She wouldn’t go for this type of arrangement, be it mic, laptop, etc. Not gonna happen!!

kc

On a desktop you can route the sound over the speakers, mic and cam are independent. If you want privacy, I find a little earbud or small headphones more comfortable than holding a phone receiver to your ear. There should also be wireless headsets.

Till