1.  This is the area on the left of the Softphone where you will see rotating messages from Magic Jack about their services.  Any updates will also show here, such as when new area codes are added to the service.  If the area code that you want is not available when you first get your Magic Jack, you’re allowed to change your area code free once that area code becomes available.

2.  The center top of the Softphone Screen displays your Magic Jack phone number that has been assigned to you just under “Ready to call”.  There are also three buttons for Yahoo, AOL and Weather, which if clicked, will open up your browser to Yahoo.com, AOL.com and Weather.com.

3.  The Magic Jack Phonebook will store your contacts that you enter and also the calls that you have made or received with your Magic Jack.  By clicking on Contacts, a menu appears where you can edit or delete your contacts.  Clicking on calls displays your recent calls and Favorites will display the sites you have saved in Favorites in Internet Explorer.

4.  Buttons for Redial which calls the last number dialed; Voice Mail, which will dial your number and then prompt you for your password to access your Voice Mail.  When setting up your Voice Mail, use the password 1234, and then change it immediately to another 4-digit number.  The 411 button will open your web browser to this website:  free411.com which is a free telephone lookup directory.  Clicking on the Google button will open up your web browser to Google.com.

5.  When installing your Magic Jack, you will be prompted to enter your physical address for their 911 service.  You may add more than one address if you will be using your Magic Jack in different locations.  If you will be using the Magic Jack 911 service, be sure to have your correct physical location selected at all times. Also have a back-up way to call 911 in case your internet service goes down, as your Magic Jack phone will not work during these times.

6. Phone key pad on the Magic Jack SoftScreen.  You may use your phone to dial a number or the Softphone Screen can be used by clicking the buttons with your mouse.

7.  If using the Softphone Screen to dial a phone number, you click “Send” to call the number, and “End” to hang up when you are finished with your call.  The number you have dialed, whether using your telephone or the Softphone Screen will show in the white area.

8.  Change the size of the Softphone Screen by clicking on “Big” or “Small” in the upper right corner.  The Softphone Screen can be minimized by clicking on the button with the “-” located to the right of the “Big” or “Small” button.  The Menu button lets you access different features for your phone, such as “Do Not Disturb” which will send all calls directly to Voice Mail for you.

Now you know all about your Magic Jack Softphone Screen so you can use your new service to its greatest capacity.  If you have any more questions, please ask in the comments below. I answer all comments, and you will probably ask a question that many others would like to know also.

Depending on what you need from a VOIP service, each of these services has their best points. If you are just mostly interested in chat and video chat with maybe a few cheap long distance international calls, Skype would probably be the best for you. You can chat free to another Skype user and international calls to Europe are as low as 2 cents per minute.

Maybe replacing your current telephone service entirely is what you are looking for. In that case, I would go with Vonage. But, I wouldn’t cancel the current phone service until I had used Vonage for a few months. Also, if you have a lot of problems with your internet service going down, you would also be out of phone service during those times too. However, Vonage will relay any phone calls to another number for you, so if you use a cell phone also, that could work out for you.

If you’re not really looking to replace your current phone service, but would like a way to make cheap long distance calls, give Magic Jack Internet Phone a try. I think in the future, Magic Jack may develop into a company to entirely replace your phone service, but a new company always has growing pains so I don’t recommend getting Magic Jack and dumping your current phone service until they have more a track record behind them.

Have you had problems with your Magic Jack? If so, how did you get it fixed…if you did?