Wednesday, January 7, 2009

SMART PLUG 'N TALK

Smart Plug ‘n talk - the best gift for Filipinos abroad! Is this a serious matter? Well, it must be.

Smart Communications Inc. (SMART), the leading communication service provider in the Philippines has launched its new innovation called Plug ‘N Talk. It assures that Filipinos abroad can now have access to an Internet phone that allows them to call any Philippine landline or mobile number for as low as P6.50 (USD.13) per minute. All they have to do is to plug the device and talk! That’s all.


As an OFW in Dubai, this device is what we need to get connected most of the time to our love ones in the Philippines. This is a great help. Why need to be slave of expensive international calls if SMART can offer us a very low rate? Indeed, this is a big saving. Imagine if I spend an average of USD110.00 per month for my calls and texts to the Philippines, with Plug ‘N Talk, I could save up to 80%. Wow! This is amazing! It is almost free!

But, I have doubts whether this device will work in Dubai. Really, I am absolutely not sure. Yes, this could be true, as what Smart had said that this device will work anywhere in the world. But, did Smart take into consideration the risk factor? I mean, will it work in places where VOIP is blocked? Dubai is a very conservative city. Etisalat, the leading communication service provider in the Emirates, is a jealous competitor. It does not allow any intruder. It blocks all forms of VOIP’s like Skype. With this regard, how will SMART Plug ‘N Talk work?

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sending and receiving SMS through is a plus for having this device as well as incoming call.

But for outgoing call, I doubt it. There's a lot of phone card and voip companies which offer cheaper rates in calling the Philippines. Using the computer to place a call should be cheaper, look how magicjack does it.

I have localphone.com and it cost me $0.11 to call a land line and $0.1330 to call a mobile phone.

And the good thing is, I get to assign a local US number to my contacts in the Philippines. I can contact them anytime w/o using a computer.

Anonymous said...

Agree with the cost of voice call is much cheaper than that of the PNT. I own a VOIP business but the quality of the Plug N Talk is 10 times better when I call a Mobile Phone with it.

For the texting yes it is great at 1.00 peso and 2.00 pesos offnet. For the POST PAY Customer let's call it almost literally free since it comes with the Plan (Voice and Text).

As for the Block. Not all voip are block. Skype and Yahoo maybe but quite a few little guys can get through. I have customer in all locations in the Middle East and they have no problem with the softphone we provide. Anyway I tried to block all possible VOIP ports on my router to mimic blocking by the UAE and had no problem. Yes they will figure it out someday but not for a while. The unit is more of a modem than ATA's and has a different algorithm from the normal VOIP way of connecting.

Anonymous said...

Thelocalphone (www.localphone.com) is basically good but I tried it here in the United Arab Emirates and it didn't work.

Anonymous said...

Gents and Ladies with the Plug N Talk you get very good quality and you could actually make calls to the Philippines Smart to Smart very very cheap (150 minutes of super quality). All you have to do is have a family member subscribe to a Gold Lite for 300.00 pesos a month and you can call for only 2.00 pesos a minute that is .03 to .04 cents a minute. How do you beat that one. If you have family in the Philippines ask them to subscribe a post pay 300.00 pesos a month and you save a lot of 300.00 pesos at .13 cents a minute.

Anonymous said...

I checked Magic Jack prices and found that the Plug 'n Talk prices are cheaper and the voice quality is much better.

Anonymous said...

Agree I got PNT and my family uses Gold Lite I text them to call me for 1.00 peso they call back on Gold Lite at 2.00 pesos per minute and with my Blue Tooth Install on the Computer I am talking to them while doing my chores just like that. And they do not need a computer just me. Hopefully Smart will make the PLUG N TALK programing compatible with my Mobile Phone so when I have 802.11 signal at the Airport or Starbuck I can call them to call me.

Anonymous said...

Check the instructional video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRqmFCnXmcg


FAQ and more info here:

http://smartpinoy.net.ph/smartpinoy/plugntalk/

Anonymous said...

Check the instructional video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRqmFCnXmcg


FAQ here:

http://smartpinoy.net.ph/smartpinoy/plugntalk/

Anonymous said...

Check http://plugntalkload.com/

Anonymous said...

http://plugntalkload.com/

Anonymous said...

Medyo mahal pa ren Plug and Talk if you think about it. Why not have our relatives call us instead using either PLDT budget card (at P3/per min) or Globe Tipid card (at P2.50 per min).

Thats more than 50% discount for us instead of plug and talk rates to call our family - plus, no need for computers, internet, and no hassle at all.

Have them call us na lang. The savings will go a long way

Anonymous said...

http://www.plugntalkload.com/

Anonymous said...

Plug N' talk is a waste of money if you are in UAE.

Its Not working in UAE. Prompting Error: 408 Request timeout.

Smart Customer Care responce this way:

Dear Sir/Ma’am,





We understand that you wish to be assisted on your Plug ‘N Talk device. We regret to inform you that Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is being blocked by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) in United Arab Emirates .



However, you may use the device in other location or area where you intend to bring it where VoIP is not blocked.



We hope this has shed light to your concern. Should you need further assistance, please feel free to write us again.





Sincerely,



Remi Remodo

Customer Care

belza21 said...

BEWARE TO ALL OFW IN UAE :

Smart Communications Inc. (SMART), the leading communication service provider in the Philippines has launched its new innovation called Plug ‘N Talk. It assures that Filipinos abroad can now have access to an Internet phone that allows them to call any Philippine landline or mobile number for as low as P6.50 (USD.13) per minute. All they have to do is to plug the device and talk! That’s all.

SMART Plug N’ TALK IS A WASTE OF MONEY :

I JUST PURCHASED THIS PLUG N’ TALK FROM MY VACATION.

ITS NOT WORKING IN UAE. ( ERROR: 408 REQUEST TIMEOUT )

As what Smart had said that this device will work anywhere in the world. But, did Smart take into consideration the risk factor? I mean, will it work in places where VOIP is blocked? Dubai is a very conservative city. Etisalat, the leading communication service provider in the Emirates, is a jealous competitor. It does not allow any intruder. It blocks all forms of VOIP’s like Skype. With this regard, how will SMART Plug ‘N Talk work?

SMART ANSWERED MY PROBLEM THIS WAY:

We understand that you wish to be assisted on your Plug ‘N Talk device. We regret to inform you that Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is being blocked by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) in United Arab Emirates .

However, you may use the device in other location or area where you intend to bring it where VoIP is not blocked.

AFTER ALL “ SA ADDS NILA ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD”

CONCERN LANG PO!

EDWARD BELZA
AUH, UAE

Unknown said...

Just got a Plug ‘n Talk a month ago from www.plugntalk.com

andrea said...

i have a problem on smart plug and talk when it starts up
SDK appears. whats that
sdk iliegeal configuration..
i bought another plug and talk and to my dismay
it still like that. SDK error iliegeal configuration mode.

please help me




sad smart user :(

Unknown said...

Anyone have tried using the Smart Plug N' Talk Budget Talk... Does it work perfectly as it should be?