Filed under: Software, Internet
Vonage Companion now available for Mac users
Vonage, the international VoIP provider, has just released its Vonage Companion software for OS X. Vonage Companion is available to users who subscribe the the Vonage Pro plan and it basically allows users to use their laptops or desktops to make or receive phone calls. Think of it as Skype but for your Vonage account.You can use Vonage Companion to record calls, set-up conference calls (or separate conference calls into separate phone calls), selective call block, call transfers and more.
I don't have a Vonage Pro account, so I wasn't able to check out the features firsthand, but flipping through the manual (PDF link) it looks pretty powerful. The biggest benefit to a service like this is the ability to make and receive calls from the road, using your Vonage number and account credentials.
Vonage Companion is free for Vonage Pro customers (existing Vonage users will need to upgrade to a Vonage Pro account) and it works with OS X 10.4.11 Tiger and OS X 10.5 Leopard, though Vonage strongly recommends having the latest security updates and latest OS updates installed. You can download Vonage Companion here (direct .DMG link)
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
George said 6:05PM on 3-23-2009
Nice that more VOIP companies get on the iPhone.
But why use this if you can call for free with MagicJack on your iPhone?
Reply
Sriram Sarveswaran said 8:10PM on 3-23-2009
Is it possible to use MagicJack with the iPhone? Or did you just mean using MagicJack on a mac?
George said 8:17PM on 3-23-2009
Yes you can use magicjack on your iphone.
Look at this story http://www.coolusbtoys.com/call-for-free-on-your-iphone-with-magicjack/ that tells you how to do it.
I use it and it works fine anywhere I can find WiFi. For work I am in places like malls a lot and often they have free WiFi and then I call for free :)
vaa81 said 6:08PM on 3-23-2009
Or until they come out of Alpha and start charging for it you could just Vonage Talk Alpha for free and make and receive calls on your laptop already. Here's the link: http://alpha.vonage.com/VonageTalk.dmg
Reply
Byran Newell said 10:11PM on 3-23-2009
I have been searching and searching and searching for that damn bit of software. Woot! I can get incoming AND outgoing calls! For the next 24 hours, you are my internet God. All hail.
Aelver said 6:52PM on 3-23-2009
Uggh, Vonage. Never again.
Reply
listservs said 12:43AM on 3-24-2009
Vonage is one of America's truly horrible companies. I ended up in a shouting match with one of their online representatives because she would not let me close my account; she kept trying to sell me stuff, despite repeated (polite) requests to cancel the account. That is the company's customer retention strategy: never allow customers to close accounts. Utterly reprehensible. I hope the company goes out of business, and quick.
Reply
alfriede said 8:16PM on 3-23-2009
i 2nd....no 3rd that @ aelver & listservs. i too ended up doing the very same thing and cursing out some stupid bitch in china/india/indonesia - wherever they've outsourced to! i told her to close both of my vonage accts [i had one of my accts for 3 yrs for my biz, and one personal] and she continually just said "we give you two month free" over and over and over.....and OVER!!!!! i was so livid, i cursed her out, and told her i was going to turn off the acct via my bank [which i did]. she then proceeded to tell me they'd report me on my credit [which they never did], and i screamed and cursed at her and told her I DARE YOU TO!!! just before slamming the phone down. just the thought of those vonage assholes makes my blood boil and temp rise rapidly - can you tell?!
christina, don't ever try to cancel your vonage acct, or you'll experience the very same thing that we did :(
Reply
Lee T L said 11:43AM on 5-13-2009
Sorry, off topic, had to comment on your rage. Cheeze guy/gal take a chill pill. We all know there are crappy overseas call centers. We have all had to deal with it.
shagfinger said 4:40PM on 3-24-2009
I for one and happy with Vonage's service and have no plans of canceling them any time soon. I do wish there was a way for me to use my iPhone as an IP phone when I am on my own wireless network at home though.
Reply
alfriede said 10:33AM on 3-24-2009
i actually had no problems with the service itself, it worked great everywhere i took it to. it's just when you TRY to shut off your acct when the problems start!
Lee T L said 12:13PM on 5-13-2009
I wish vonage would buy icall. This would be a kick ass business! It seems like a no brainer to me.
George said 11:04PM on 3-23-2009
I just can't get it that people want to spend 10 dollars a month while they can have the same for 20 dollars a year with MagicJack.
Reply
Lee T L said 11:56AM on 5-13-2009
I had to jump in here and defend Vonage. I have had Vonage for over a year and my mother just switched 2 months ago. I have not had a single problem. It works better and is way cheaper $25 than my old verizon land line which was running about $50 without call waiting etc....
Now to the article, I love the fact that vonage supports the mac. This seems like a really good feature if you travel with your macbook. I am guessing you can call for free from any hotel wifi. I suppose it doesn't mean much if you already have a cell phone though. Maybe you could use it for overseas calls.
Lee T L said 12:05PM on 5-13-2009
@ George
my other reply was in general and posted wrong. anyway, I totally agree with you on this one. If you dont already have vonage then magicjack would be much cheaper.
I have not tried this product and also notice that you need to plug a regular old phone into it. I guess you can still find a 5volt phone somewhere?
The vonage software, along with a "softphone" fee, will let you call wireless using your computer microphone and speakers.
pgems said 11:56AM on 3-24-2009
I like Vonage's service, but their business model is horrible. They push to have you subscribe for one year at a reduced rate, then if you upgrade by adding overseas service, they say you changed your plan and start billing you monthly. Oh by the way they keep you prepaid funds, no refund, no credit, no nothing, not even a kiss while they screwed you.
Reply
greggwsmith said 4:04PM on 3-24-2009
My only issue with Vonage has been some really crappy connections and frequent call drops. It never happened when we lived in Texas so I assume it is our crappy bandwidth up here in NY or the fact that we have the same Linksys router for the past 6 years. I wonder if this app would improve that since it by passes the router piece?
Reply