win 52" Sharp LCD HDTV from iTalkBB

Looking for sharp promotion code? try your luck here: http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=606578

Refer your family or friends to iTalkBB, you will have a chance to win 52" Sharp LCD HDTV. How?

The most recent promotion from iTalkBB says that if you refer friends to iTalkBB's annual or monthly unlimited plan, by using promotion code "953110+899xxxxxxx" where 899xxxxxxx is your iTalkBB Number, your friends will save $10 and $9.99 on shipping, while you will have a chance to win referrer awards. Promotion runs between 09/01/07 and 10/15/07 and winner will be drawn 30 days after the end of the promotion.

Eligibility	Number of Winners	Awards	Estimate Value
referrer having the highest number of new subscriptions	1	52" Sharp LCD HDTV	$3000
referrer having 2 or more new subscriptions	20	Costco Gift Card	$200
referrer having 1 or more new subscriptions	100	2 AMC Movie Tickets	$20

Tell you friends about iTalkBB now!

iTalkBB September promotion $19.99 off

iTalkBB is now running a new promotion (9/1/07 ~ 10/15/07):

If you sign up iTalkBB's service between September 1 and October 15, you can use promotion code "953110+8991095718" to get $10 off and free shipping ($9.99 value).

The second part (899......) can be any valid iTalkBB number (say from a friend or colleague who is a current subscriber of iTalkBB's service). The owner of the 899....... number will get referrer credit as well.

Compare popular iTalkBB's residential plans from previous posts here, or read reviews and comparisons with other VoIP providers from this blog. Remember, the $299/14-month anual plan come with 200 iTalkFreedom minutes per month as well!

iTalkBB's secrete backup China DID number

One of the features that distinguish iTalkBB from the rest of VoIP providers is the so-called China DID number: your iTalkBB phone comes with a FREE China phone number and your family and friends in China can simply call your local China phone number to reach you in the United States/Canada without having to pay an International call charge! Feel interested? Sign up with iTalkBB with promotion code 953110 to take an additional $10 off.

To call from China, simply dial 17971001+899-xxx-xxxx where 899xxxxxxx is your 10 digit iTalkBB number. In most places in China, this feature has been enabled by the local phone carriers -- see a detailed chart here: http://www2.italkbb.com/bb/enu/enu_support_07.asp

However, if the caller happens to be in a region that 17971001 number is yet open, here is a backup: dial 4007-128-899, wait for it to connect, then dial the 899-xxx-xxxx number, followed by # key.

(A reader of the blog has complained about having a friend in China without direct 17971001 access. Here is your solution then.)

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UPDATE: The Local access numbers have changed -- see here for detail.

interview with iTalkBB's president

Sina news covers a recent interview with iTalkBB's president and CEO, Jack Zhao. (Available in Chinese at this link: http://voip.sina.com/2007/0814/4138.html and http://voip.sina.com/2007/0814/4138.html) One interesting number pops up from the interview --- 97% of the iTalkBB users have renewed their service plan with iTalkBB after the expiration of first year's service. The number is quite high. I believe that this may have something to do with their strict cancellation policy (search my previous posts for details), but on the other hand, this also suggests that iTalkBB's service qaulity is quite satisfactory, or at least at an acceptable level.

iTalkBB's limited free trial

iTalkBB offers 30 days free trial for its service. The idea is for users to try iTalkBB and if not satisfied with the service, one can cancel the service with no charge. If you are uncertain about the quality and service of iTalkBB, you may still sign up and try it out. But you'd better keep track the following:

(a) Time limit 1: 30 days
If you want a full refund, you have to call 1-877-482-5503 within 30 days from activation date and obtain an equipment return authorization from iTalkBB. Activation date is the 7th day after sign-up date or the date that the first call takes place, whichever comes first.

(b) Time limit 2: 7 days
You need to return the VoIP box in its original packing (with box, manual, etc.) to the address given in the equipment return authorization within 7 days (postal mark time) from the cancellation call.

(c) Usage limit: 500 minutes
Your first 30 day usage shall not exceed 500 minutes to qualify for a full refund.

(d) No toll charge
Your toll charges (for calls that are not covered in the plan you subscribed) will not be refunded. For example, international calls for residential (domestic) unlimited plan subscribers will be charged.

If you sign up with coupon code "953110", the $10 you save will be yours to keep.

iTalkBB now offers voicemail and voice-email

It almost sounds like I planed this... Last week, I talked about some features that SunRocket users would miss if switching to iTalkBB. Among them, the VoiceMail and Voice-Email (forwarding your voicemail to your specified email address with the message as an attachment) are on the top of the list. Four days have passed and I am happy to say that both VoiceMail and Voice-Email features are open for iTalkBB users now.

Here is how to set it up:
(1) login to your iTalkBB account at http://www.italkbb.com/
(2) click on the new tab that says "activate voicemail"
(3) activate your voicemail by providing a password (more than 4 digits) and an email address that you wish to receive email message from.
(4) click the "activation greeting setting" link on the top to set up greeting message. You can either call the number listed or fill in your number for a call back to record your greeting.
*** if you skip this step, there won't be any greeting message (not even a default one)
(5) wait for two hours and try it out.

I tested the voice-email out of curiosity although I have an answer machine and plan to keep using it. Well, it worked!

It feels that my post last week has something to do with the new change. (I know, it's impossible...) Hope iTalkBB can keep bringing values to its service. And remember to use promotion code 953110 to get $10 off when you decide to sign up with iTalkBB.

features that former sunrocket users would miss from iTalkBB

In the past few weeks, there are many former SunRocket users picking iTalkBB as their new VoIP service provider. While they discover some new features like China DID (having a China phone number for your phone in US), or iTalkFreedom, they also find some features that SunRocket supported missing from iTalkBB. Here is a list of features that a former SunRocket user misses the most: (a) No voicemail, or forwarding a voicemail as an email with the message as an attachment (b) No free second line and SimRing (an income call rings multiple phones) (c) No distinctive ring (i.e., identify a caller by the ring)

I can imagine the inconvenience for those who had got used to those features, espeically the email attachement thing, which is quite cool -- I don't know any other VoIP providers that support this feature. If you think you can live without those, give iTalkBB a try, and save $10 with promotion code 953110 at sign up.

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Update: VoiceMail and VoiceEmail are now open at iTalkBB. Read here!

compare italk bb with packet8 on termination policy

I was a little upset when I discovered the possible termination charges in i Talk BB's terms and conditions, and decided to take a look at other VoIP providers. I picked Packet8 since SunRocket had used its dying breath to promote Packet8 (those former SunRocket users would have received a last email from SunRocket suggesting Packet 8 as an alternative...).

Packet8 is the voip service offered by a 20 year old telecommunication company - 8x8 Inc., which is the patents holder of many multimedia and VoIP technology. As iTalkBB's uniqueness lies in its dual number (US/Canada local + China local) service, packet8's strong sell point is its video phone service (with special device of course) in addition to regular VoIP.

Packet8's most popular plan are the $24.99/month, or $199/year plus taxes and fees (Unlimited in US/Canada), which corresponds to iTalkBB's $19.99/month (tax included) Residential Unlimited plan. Packet8's Freedom Unlimited Global plan ($29.99/month) is also much more expensive than iTalkBB's counterpart, Global Unlimited plan ($24.99/month, or $299/14-month).

Leaving price aside, what I want to check is the cancellation policy hidden in terms and conditions. Here's what I found.

* Early termination fee: $59.99 for regular voip phone and $199.99 for video-capable service phone if cancellation within 12 months of service (users joined at different promotion periods are subject to different disconnection fee, ranging from $99 to $299)

For packet8, there is no any equipment charge at the end of service term, however, the device need to be paid up-front at sign up time. One has to admit that packet8's videophone is quite cool in looking though.

So, after this comparison and find grass is not greener on the other side of the street, I feel less upset about the i Talk BB's termination charge. In general, I dislike this kind of sales practice, i.e., hiding all catches in lengthy terms and conditions, very much.

iTalkBB cancellation policy

Living in a country where lawyers prevail, one has to learn how to read tiny-font-ed terms and conditions to avoid any catches. Today, I delved into the heavily-packed terms and conditions from iTalkBB website and pulled out things that I believe one should be made aware of before signing up the service -- service cancellation policy.

First, I shall say that iTalkBB's cancellation policy is not the best one can hope for, or put it gently, that iTalkBB is really reluctant to let a paying customer go. Here is how.

* Early Termination Fee: $69.99, charged for cancellation within 12 month after activation and after trial period.

• fee avoided after 12 months' subscription -- $69.99 is like 3-month-worth of service. If one wants to cancel service after 9 months, it would be better off waiting for the end of the service year than paying this huge penalty.

* Equipment Charge: $59.99, charged for equipment not mailed back to iTalkBB within 7 days from termination.

• To avoid the charge, one need to call 1-877-482-5503 to terminate the service and obtain an equipment return authorization form, and within 7 days (postmark time) ship the voip box in original packing to Return Department at 1608 Spring Hill Road, Suite 430, Vienna, Virginia 22182.

Gosh, they make this hard!!! Now I wish iTalkBB's service would be good and stable, so as not to give me a reason to terminate the service. I don't want to deal with that at all.

Now you can make an informed decision, and, if it helps, the $10 discount you get using promotion code 953110 would be yours to keep...

Update: I feel less upset about it after this comparison.

cordless phone with voip service

One of the inconveniences of using a voip service like iTalkBB is the wiring of phone lines in home. Almost all houses or apartments are already wired up for conventional phone lines with jack available in every room. But for voip phones, you pretty much have only one phone jack, most likely being next to your cable/dsl modem. The easiest way to set up multiple phones is to use expandable cordless phone. In my case, I got the PANASONIC KX-TG1031 phone for ~$80 at costco a few weeks ago. It comes with 4 handsets and an all-digital answering system, all having caller ID (which iTalkBB supports). Simply put one handset in each room and you can forget about all the wiring problem. There are other brands and models of phones, and typically in the price range of $20-$100. When you shop for those, I would recommend emphasis on two features:

(a) DECT 6.0: which is a newer technology for base-handset communication. It is more network friendly (less interference with wireless network), and has increased clarity, enhanced security and wider range.
(b) expandability: how many handsets can be added to the same system. My phone can support up to 6 handsets; some phones have just one base and one handset. You need to find the one that match your need.

My experience with PANASONIC KX-TG1031 is quite happy. I'm very impressed by the battery performance -- it goes 10+ hours talk time at one charge, much better than my previous phone that beeps (at low battery) all the time... Highly recommended.