I’ve had my eye on the Linksys PAP2 for a while, since I’ve been a Broadvoice VOIP customer for a while. I’m not going to give them a link, since they apparently are having some issues with BBB. Google it if you care.
Saw a good deal on for these a while back on FatWallet and I picked up a couple. They have been sitting in the closet for a while, and I decided to finally get a grip on the whole VOIP thing. Checking my Broadvoice activity over the past several month, the softphone was just not getting much usage. So this was about $9 a month for unlimited calling. Except I wasn’t actually calling anyone, nor was I receiving any calls. Moving on.
So why Gizmo Project? Here’s what they say. I guess I don’t really know if I’ll stick with them for sure, here’s what the forums had to say. Anyway, I bought a CallIn number for three months. Maybe I’ll put a dial link on the page at some point, we’ll see. My main gripe with most of the VOIP stuff is the lack of availability of numbers, but vanity numbers in particular. Area codes matter less now, since everyone’s cell can call long distance and many people have unlimited from home, but many people still want to be able to call me with a local number. So the actual VOIP provider is still up for grabs, if you have a suggestion, please, I invite suggestions.
If you are thinking of getting a PAP2 to unlock it, consider buying an unlocked one, these are known as PAP2-NA or a Sipura2000 or some such, ask these guys over here maybe. But in general, from all my reading, I feel I can reccommend against unlocking for the causal. Given the required reading to learn the process and time needed to locate a suitable candidate unit, and taking into account what your time is worth, it may be that buying one is more cost effective. You’ll have to decide for yourself, but here’s the required reading:
Fatwallet Thread
DSLReport
Same Thread, Later On, for newer (3.1.9) firmwares
I’m not going to lie, this takes a lot of reading, but it may be worth it for you, depending on your call usage.
Key Take-Aways
- DO NOT CONNECT THE PAP2 TO THE INTERNET. (This also means don’t plug it into the router if the router is plugged in to the modem.)
- There is NO ONE way to unlock a PAP2.
I have been using Google Voice (formerly Grand Central) along with Gizmo5 for awhile now. The combination is great! I was both thrilled and worried when I seen Google purchased Gizmo5, but thus far I have not seen any substantial changes in the quality of service. Voice over IP is, I believe, a revolutionary technology. Cell phones were the first nail in the coffin for landlines. I sense that VoIP will be the second nail.