Free calling to the United States, new iTunes developments on clarkhoward.com

A listener recently told Clark about CallingAmerica.com, a new website that offers free calling to the United States from anywhere around the world.

In Clark's live on-air test, CallingAmerica.com seemed to falter for a few moments before directing a call exactly as he had placed it. So how does it work? It's ad supported, of course!

Meanwhile, in other news, Apple has introduced tiered pricing for iTunes. Back catalog material will typically be 69 cents per song, while the hottest songs of the day can be up to $1.29 a pop. In even bigger news, iTunes has negotiated with the major labels to remove the digital-rights management (DRM) restrictions that prevented you from taking the music you paid for across platform. Now you'll be able to do whatever you want with your music!

What others are saying

magicjack
Unable to install MJ-it freezes my PC. tech help is worthless-after 3 days and hours, finally got them to admit that MJ will not work with itunes or other cd burners. They actually wanted me to delete my itunes. I then talked to another agent who got me to delete the upper and lower filters and the MJ worked great. BUT then I soon discovered that that had deleted all cd/dvd programs-itunes and other.
anyone have the same experience?
By normca @ 08/28/09 03:16:33 PMreport abuse
the site
its no longer working
By jim @ 03/04/09 07:43:02 PMreport abuse
Magic Jack
We are new users to Magic Jack and are having no problems at all. I was a bit hesitant but am glad we tried this. A great savings is a plus.
By Loree @ 02/16/09 08:55:14 AMreport abuse
magic jack works great
i have been using magic jack for almost two years now i was with sunrocket before they went bankrupt at first it did not work well but then i realised it was my internet connection so i switch to satalite and there is no problem
By christopher martin @ 01/16/09 09:03:04 PMreport abuse
Magic Jack
I went to Radio Shack and bought a Magic Jack. Works great! A few initial problems I had were actually from my high speed internet provider. I swictched carriers and now it is fine.
Great purchase.
If you are going to buy on, get it at Radio Shack, it is the same price as online with no shipping to deal with.
By Mike @ 01/16/09 12:17:45 AMreport abuse
call America
I tired several time to connect and they all failed, it does not work
By jimy @ 01/14/09 01:01:41 PMreport abuse
magic jack
i ordered magic jack and using a mac laptop with
a pentium cpu. i would get a dial tone buthwas unable to complete calls. i did all the things i was supposed to do. i sent them a email and advised them to deconfigure me and recongigure me into their sysem, a week later i was able to get it working. being a ex network person i dont know if
they took my advice. works fine now
By sslovits @ 01/13/09 12:14:54 PMreport abuse
Majic Jack
I ordered the majic jack and found that I didn't have use for it as I thought. Tried in vain to find an address to send it back. Finally after much research found it. Now I'm waiting for the yearly charge to show up on my credit card since they have my card number, then what? This company has to get it together, they can't be notified..WHY?
By Patricia StLouis @ 01/13/09 10:54:37 AMreport abuse
Magic jack
We are in the process of returning ours. Our main reason for getting it was for faxing. It did not work for that sadly because I love the price!
By Polly Wallis @ 01/13/09 10:07:03 AMreport abuse
MagicJack
I have had my MagicJack for several months and love it. With it you can call anywhere in the US and Canada for free. Take it with you to any other country and you can call back to the US and Canada for free as long as you have a high speed connection. It requires an Intel based PC or Mac.

Plug it into a USB port, plug your phone in, and you can call any phone in the US and Canada. If someone else has one, you can call them anywhere in the world for free, and you can be anywhere in the world.

It costs only $40 to buy and $20 per year (not month).
By John Dickey @ 01/12/09 10:25:35 PMreport abuse
Magic Jack Info
You can buy magic jack directly from Radio
Shack and best buy. I was a smart shopper and got 10.00 off the magic jack with my entertainment book coupon. So for 30.oo I was up and running and have someone with a pulse to return it
to in case of malfunction. It has been working really well and saves me from using my minutes on verizon. So with best buy you could probably get an extended warranty if you want. Hope this helps you out. The calls are clear
and I bought my brother a unit.
By george capriotti @ 01/12/09 09:59:32 PMreport abuse
deweywho@hotmail.com
my trend micro ru bottled launched a warning when I went to CallingAmerica.com that indicated the site was attempting to add spyware or a rootkit to my PC. just fyi, it could have been a false positive, but i'm staying away from 'em.
By d @ 01/12/09 09:51:14 PMreport abuse
Magic Jack
I have been using Magic Jack for 6 months with absolutely no problems.I gave one to my daughter who lives in Shanghai,China and also travels a lot to Asia.Europe,Africa and the Caribbean.she is able to communicate with me by Magic Jack in all those Countries with no hiccups.I just love Magic Jack,Thanks Clark.
By Carl E. Johnson @ 01/12/09 08:07:06 PMreport abuse
Magic Jack, Call America
I am in my second year for Magic Jack, so far so good, Call America thats another story, nothing happened with that after going into the negative, maybe it's still counting down 4 days later..haha, minus 100,000 seconds
By Guy @ 01/12/09 06:43:34 PMreport abuse
Magic Jack
I use it all over the world. It is great because the wife can call me. Quality is outstanding with a good internet connection--lousy with a slow connection. It is the greatest thing going in telecommunications.
By Jim @ 01/12/09 06:06:13 PMreport abuse
MagicJack
I've been using the magicJack since Oct, 2008. I love it! It has saved me thousands and thousands of cell minutes. Now every call is a homerun but when you consider the cost of doing business, it's great! Thanks Clark
By Mingo @ 01/12/09 04:20:34 PMreport abuse
MagicJack
I have had MagicJack for a couple of months and although there were a few glitches initially, it works OK. I have been told that the sound quality can be muffled a bit but otherwise it works fine. I got the MagicJack because my iPhone (AT&T) was terrible inside my house. I had virtually no reception and had to go outside to make or receive calls. The MagicJack has been a great alternative to standing by a cold outside door or hopping in the car to drive down the street for better reception. For the price of $20 per year, it's a deal for me.
By Linda Lee @ 01/12/09 03:21:57 PMreport abuse
majicJack
Works Great! Have been using it in the ME since last 6 months.

an ex-Vonage user
By Arif @ 01/12/09 02:42:07 PMreport abuse
Calling America
I tried it.. It worked right away, with a little delay while they searched for the type of microphone/headset I have.
I am getting this info out to my broadband frieds.
By Thomas @ 01/12/09 02:23:27 PMreport abuse
Magic Jack
I ordered Magic Jack on 5/7/08 and received the unit on 5/10/08. I have never had much luck using it. The voice quality is mediocre at best to non-existent on occasion. I can't plug in the adapter with certain browsers open. I can't turn off my computer, in the hibernate mood, with the adapter still plugged in. There is virtually no technical support. The TV adds they are currently running gives you the impression it's the best thing to come along since the I-pod. Remember that old adage, "if it's to good to be true it probably is."
By Bob Snider @ 01/12/09 02:22:39 PMreport abuse
magicJack
A helpful place to go for magicJack information and support is this forum: http://www.magicjacksupport.com/
This forum is independent from the magicJack company. I've been a very satisfied user for over a year and a half.
By Bill @ 01/12/09 01:54:00 PMreport abuse
VOIP
I live in Belize and suffer the highest phone rates in the free world. Unfortunately Belize Telemedia Ltd. has a monopoly on phone and internet service and thereby blocks incoming and outgoing VOIP through their ISP. My Skype and Magicjack only works on a rare occasion to or from here. I realize this is probably not illegal but certainly violates international protocol.
By Gary Cunningham @ 01/12/09 01:45:56 PMreport abuse
Magic Jack
I've had Magic Jack for almost a year. It did work fine for about 15 days, and if I were bright enough to foresee the future, I would have immediately returned the unit. After spending countless hours online with many 'technicians' and never being able to get it to work again, I just gave up. Haven't used it in several months and really believe the company is a marketing ripoff. Magic Jack has taught me to never deal with a company that will never provide a telephone number to contact them.
By Walter Blake @ 01/12/09 01:15:40 PMreport abuse
Magicjack
I purchased a magicjack for a very specific reason and that is in case I need a phone for business while I am on a cruise ship. I hooked up to the ship's wi-fi via my laptop, plugged in the magicjack and dialed my number. There was about a one second delay in the conversation but it worked great! Using the ship's internet at about 50 cents a minute is a lot cheaper than using my cell phone roaming on the ships service for $3-5 minute.
By Richard @ 01/12/09 01:11:16 PMreport abuse
MagicJack
I love it! Have been using it for about a year and just signed up to renew at $19.95. This is the total cost for a year of free calling throughout the U.S. Overseas calls cost pennies. Every once in a while I have to unplug it and let it reset itself for a few minutes. I replug it and everything works great.
By Doris @ 01/12/09 01:07:34 PMreport abuse
Magic Jack
Delivery of Magic Jack was 5 days via USPS 1st class mail.
Plugged the Magic Jack in a powered USB port. Within 5 minutes everything was set up, including a new phone number. I was able to dial, make calls using Magic Jacks Voice-Over-the Internet Protocol (VOIP). So far, so good. Made calls a few times over weekend. Both incoming and outgoing calls worked just fine. Sound quality is reasonable. If all continues to go well for 1 week I will cancel landline service and save $300+/yr!
By Scott @ 01/12/09 09:02:55 AMreport abuse
FREE CALLING
Magickjack some hickups about 20% over all it is ok but CallingAmerica read between the word or I should say who is behind sponsorship(called partnership 2nd company)read thei charges aren't free but in euros and sooner or later your gender and e-mails registration will be full of surprises.I give them six months who offer more????
By MARIN @ 01/11/09 11:12:09 PMreport abuse
magicjack
After I filled in my credit card number, there were some options that I could choose if I wanted to. One was to order a second unit with no shipping charges. I called a friend to see if she might be interested, and while I was on the phone with her, my order was processed without any interaction whatsoever with me. If this is the way the company operates, I am very concerned. According to the FAQ's I have until tomorrow before 2 p.m. to change my order. I am going to cancel. I will let you know how that goes.
By Sharon Rogers @ 01/11/09 10:30:22 PMreport abuse
CallingAmerica.com
It worked on the first try. Now I have to test it with some relatives leaving outside the US.
By carlos @ 01/08/09 05:55:56 PMreport abuse
magic jack
magic jack work fine for about 2 mo than I got error broken storage. I went to the web page did every thing it said to do. Then I went to their support whit their IM system went thou 5 different personnel including a supervisor. I spent about6 hr I got mad and sent back and asked for a refund or a new adapter, it has been 2 mo and nothing,
By William Marquardt @ 01/08/09 04:05:32 PMreport abuse
CallingAmerica
It works for me, but I did notice if the 10 second countdown goes into a negative number then you need to reload the page and try again. It does work though and not bad for a free service.
By Sierra Man @ 01/08/09 03:50:21 PMreport abuse
Thanks so much!!
Sorry to have to report bad response on both magicjack and calling america but...I enjoy and appreciate you so much you are such a help in so many areas. God Bless You for your care!!
By Carolyn Howe @ 01/08/09 01:24:08 PMreport abuse
magicjack
Very disappointed..working with their support has been dismal. We are on the 5th day without service and no where else to go with it. I certainly have been putting up with the very poor reception but now nothing. Hope your clout will get them back on track.
By Carolyn Howe @ 01/08/09 01:21:23 PMreport abuse
callingamerica
Sorry, they must know it was you Clark. I have tried repeatedly waited almost 45 min. on 1 countdown and over 30 on the 2nd try...NO luck..
By Carolyn Howe @ 01/08/09 01:17:58 PMreport abuse
MAYBE...
MAYBE ITS ONLY FOR OTHER COUNTRIES TO CALL US... NOT US TO US!??
By JEFF @ 01/08/09 12:18:00 PMreport abuse
CallingAmerica worked...
CallingAmerica worked for me. I tried to call my cell and it worked perfectly. The quality was about what one would expect over a VOIP phone service.
There was at least a full second delay, also.
Anywho, worked for me! Give it a go but don't use the '1' before your area code!
-=The Prynce
http://www.theprynce.net/
By The Prynce @ 01/08/09 12:16:38 PMreport abuse
free call
Nothing I tried several times and nothing timer counted down then hit call now and just sat there waiting and not a sound
By cat @ 01/08/09 12:06:40 PMreport abuse
Callwhere???
Back to the drawing board on CallAmerica. Can't get it to work either.
By Dave @ 01/08/09 10:18:28 AMreport abuse
Amazon offers DRM free for 99 cents per song
I have been using Amazon since ditching iTunes and the iPod for the cheaper, and much smaller Sansa Clip which plays DRM free music. Coupled that with Amazon's service of 99 cent or even 79 cent songs and I think iTunes has a problem. The songs from Amazon are also higher quality at a 256 bit rate compared to iTunes 128 bit rate.

http://www.sansa.com/players
http://www.amazon.com/MP3-Music-Download/b?ie=UTF8&node=163856011
By Ben @ 01/08/09 09:57:53 AMreport abuse
what call
I tried it, and it didn't work, called my cell phone and nothing happened, Then tried my home phone and still nothing happened, oh well
By Guy @ 01/07/09 09:10:10 PMreport abuse

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Jan 07, 2009 -- Free calling to the United States, new iTunes developments

What others are saying