Over the last two years I've reviewed a number of home phone service options that have included Ooma, Virgin Mobile iPhone, and MagicJack Plus, and all with the mission in mind to save my family money. Two years ago I was paying $35+ per month (after the taxes and fees) with Vonage VOIP phone services. I was frankly frustrated with paying $420/year and am constantly looking for other options to save my family money.
About three months ago, after receiving numerous emails and comments on my MagicJack and Ooma reviews, I decided to take the plunge and buy the NetTALK Duo Wifi unit for $56.16 at Amazon. Amazon showed a lot of unfavorable reviews, and currently has 159 1 STAR out of 268 total review. It didn't look like this product would be a good option right out of the box, but I wanted to see for myself.
Right out of the box, the unit offered a lot of services, which include:
- 12 Months Pre-paid service
- 911
- Voicemail
- Caller ID
- 3-way conference calling
- Fax enabled
- Visual Voicemail
- Call blocking options
- Wifi capability (which is the big difference between the MagicJack 2013 or earlier, and the NetTALK Duo)
The initial setup on my laptop was fairly easy, which required me to download the NetTalk DUO management software and setup my account online. By logging into the website you are able to register your phone number and setup your 911 services, and much more. In all, it took about 30 minutes to setup the online account, download the software, and get my NetTALK Duo communicating over my home Wifi.
Overall, I would give the unit a solid B grade and highlight that the key features you are getting from the unit are, cheap phone 
service, wifi capabilities, and semi-easy setup. If I had to rank the home phone services that I've reviewed, then here is a personal ranking of VOIP providers and a few notes.
- Ooma – best call quality, big initial investment but long term savings, and a lot of options with the premimum services
- NetTALK Duo Wifi – cool wifi capabilities out of the box, decent call quality, and medium price range
- MagicJack – no wifi capabilities in the 2013 model, extremely poor voice quality, at the lowest end of the VOIP price range, not easy to setup, and horrible customer service
- Vonage – extremely expensive, you are charged high taxes and fees, good call quality, and nice voicemail and calling features.
Lastly, I highly recommend watching this NetTALK Duo Wifi unboxing and setup video prior to purchasing your unit. It was extremely helpful for me in making sure I set it up properly.
Purchase a NetTALK Duo at Amazon
I'd love to hear from some of our readers on what home phone service you are using, how much you are paying per month, and what other VOIP services you'd like reviewed by ThreeThriftyGuys.com.
3 Comments
We’re using the land line service available out here, which is combined with our Internet access, for a total cost after taxes of about $83 a month. It’s a bit high, but I like my land line. :-)
Nettalk service is worst. You are lucky, if it works. Once it stops working, no one will be there to support. International calls suddenly stopped working about a month ago in my nettalk and it still not resolved.