Using Dell Voice with an VOIP Telephone

[purpasadu]

Hi everyone. I have what may be a pretty basic question. I've searched the forum and haven't been able to find a thread answering this, but if this is duplication, I apologize.

I have signed up for Dell Voice, which uses the Fongo service. I haven't been able to use it yet as I don't have a microphone (I plan to use it on my PC) or compatible phone. I plan on resolving that issue. My question is the following:

If I purchase a VoiP telephone that plugs into the USB slot of my computer, will it work with Dell Voice? Will I need to purchase an unlock code from Fongo and if so, will I need to purchase more than one if I want to use a VoiP telephone plugged into my PC at more than one place?

What I hope to do is buy two of the following VoiP telephones (http://www.directdial.com/2200-12360-025.html) and have one at my home office, connected to my home PC, with the other one at my actual office, connected to my office PC. If possible, I would like to run these off of the same account so that they have the same telephone number. Before I go out and spend $200 on VoiP telephones, I want to make sure this will work.

Any guidance will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[dibsmft]

The phone that you link to is not a USB phone but rather an IP phone intended to plug into an office or home ethernet network. It could be used with the Fongo service if you buy the $50 login information.
There are USB phones available that run of the computer just like the normal computer sound system. Such a phone would work with Fongo (I have something like that myself). The snag often can be getting the keypad to work and a keypad driver is needed {recent versions of MS windows I gather have a driver but it may or may not support any phone that you acquire.
Another thing to note is that the Fongo serrvices are designed to be used on one phone at a time.

A possible solution for you might be an ATA box to use on you internet at home (no need to run a computer) with a normal phone plugged into it. You could use your computer in your office or an IP phone but if the phone at home is your house phone then you will probably need a second account to use at work.

[Jake]

I will add to what dibsmft said and say you can only use your account with one device at a time, so it will not be possible to connect the same account at your office and home at the same time. For that you will have to either use a 3rd party site or hardware - and some setting up will be required.

You will probably be better off setting up two Fongo accounts and use one at home and one at the office.

Personally I would buy an ATA rather than a VOIP phone. An ATA is just a box where you can plug a normal POTS telephone in to use over VOIP. The advantage is via a line splitter you can plug more than one phone into it.

You have a lot of options, and there will no doubt be many ways to achieve what you are trying to do. If you let the board know what it is you would like from using Fongo, I'm sure a few members will chip in and tell you the best/cheapest/most complicated way of doing it.

[FONGO_mike]

You will probably be better off setting up two Fongo accounts and use one at home and one at the office.

i would recommend setting up a Dell Voice account and a Fongo account. Use the Dell Voice at home and Fongo when at work. That way, when you are at work, you could simply use the call follow me settings on your DV account (home) and forward it to your Fongo account while you are at work.

[purpasadu]

Thanks guys. I want to have it mostly to do free long-distance calls within Canada, and for overseas calls using purchased credits. I'm not so worried about receiving incoming calls, although that may one day be something I would want to consider. So, it's not so much that it would be a home phone, as it would just be a secondary phone for me. That's why I would prefer to only use one account which I could access from my office computer, home computer, laptop, iPod Touch and eventually, Blackberry.

When I look for ATAs, the only ones that come up are that MagicJack (which I have seen from reviewing the board will not work with Dell Voice) and the one offered by Fongo, which is $100. Given my intentions, I would need to purchase two ATAs from Fongo at $100 a piece, plus two telephones (one for work and one for my home office).

Are there other, less expensive ones that can be purchased in Canada? If I go that route, do I still need to purchase the $50 code from Fongo and if so, do I need to purchase it once, or once for each device?

Alternatively, I if find a USB phone, am I still required to purchase that $50 code from Fongo?

I've looked for USB phones and haven't been able to find some available in Canada (unless their set for Skype).

Thanks for the helpful comments so far.

[purpasadu]

Thanks for the comments.

My goal here is to be able to make free long-distance calls within Canada and cheap calls overseas (using prepaid credits). I'm not so concerned about receiving incoming calls, although that may one day be something I would want to use. I don't like the idea of having multiple accounts. Ideally, I would have one account and phone number, which I could access from my office computer, my home computer, my laptop, my iPod Touch and eventually, my Blackberry. Basically, I would use Dell Voice to make long-distance and international calls instead of my current cell phone.

I have looked for ATAs and the only one I can find is that MagicJack (which I note from this forum does not work with Fongo) and the one offered by Fongo for $100. That doesn't appeal to me because I would need to buy two $100 ATAs and two phones. Does anyone know of a cheaper ATA available for purchase in Canada? Also, if I go with ATAs, do I still need to purchase the $50 code from Fongo? If so, do I only need to purchase it once or do I have to purchase it once per device?

I like the idea of the USB phone because it's one single device per computer and can be taken with me for use on my laptop when I'm traveling. If I go that route, do I need to purchase that $50 code from Fongo and if so, again, is it once or once per device?

I have had difficulty finding USB phones that aren't built specifically for Skype. I did find this cordless one which would be nice and is affordable: http://www.canadianvoipstore.com/yealink-usb-w1dl-71471

Would such a device work and if so, can I just plug it in and go.

Thanks again for all your help. I've been having a hard time finding answers to some of my questions on the Dell Voice or Fongo websites.

[Jake]

You will probably be better off setting up two Fongo accounts and use one at home and one at the office.

i would recommend setting up a Dell Voice account and a Fongo account.

Just curious, but isn't a Fongo account and a DellVoice account one and the same?

Even if they were different, what would be the benefit? As long as you don't need emailing forwarding, DellVoice has the advantage of being used on mobile devices just in case it was ever needed. So wouldn't 2 Fongo (DellVoice) account ts be more flexible?

Just wondered why you recommended what you did, maybe you know something we dont

[FONGO_mike]

Jake,

Fongo and Dell Voice, although essentially the same service, are ran individually and owned by different party's. As such, the way they are set up and the services they offer can vary greatly in certain situations.