New player stands out from the crowd

JumperTel USB phone

SIMPLE: The JumperTel USB phone system is simple to set up but a little limited.

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The phonecalls-via-the-net market is already pretty crowded but new player JumperTel is standing out from that crowd by coming up with a product with both a simple setup and pricing system but it is a wee bit limited in range.

To begin using JumperTel you have to buy a USB phone via the company's website and the price you pay includes a US$1 (NZ$1.35) a month annual subscription. You can buy single phones or a two-pack for US$33.99 and US$64.99, respectively, including your annual subscription. Unfortunately, they are shipped from the United States so that will add a further US$25 to your total cost.

When your JumperPhone 100 arrives, it's simply a matter of plugging it in to any available USB port on your computer and the already-installed software on the phone will walk you through the setup process – all two or three steps (depending on your firewall settings). Yes, it's so simple even the most tech-tarded person could cope with it.

Your 10-digit phone number is on the back of the phone and making a call is pretty much the same as making a call on any other phone.

Unfortunately, there is a downside: your US$12 annual subscription gives you unlimited calls on a limited network because you can call JumperTel numbers only. Unlike Skype, where you can call computer-to-computer or computer-to-phone, JumperTel is a closed network. However, I can see this being really useful for families wanting to keep in touch when travelling or living in other parts of the world. The one-off cost of the phones and the small annual subscription fee make this a cheap way of having unlimited toll calls for a year.

JumperTel launched at the start of this month so it's still early days, but the sound quality is pretty good and, all in all, seems reliable.

Sure, it might not have all the functionality of Skype but it's cheap and cheerful and easy to understand.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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