OBi100 vs. OBi110 and other components of the OBi service explained [Review]

By Alok Saboo on April 18th, 2011

Wow….given the amount of interest in the previous post on OBi110/OBi100 ATA and the reasons that you must consider one before buying any VoIP hardware, there is no doubt that Obihai has a winner on their hands. There, however, seems to be some confusion about the various components of the service and what is the purpose of each of these individual components (e.g., OBiTALK, OBi110, OBi100, OBiAPP, OBiON). This post is intended to clearly outline the various components of the OBi service and help you understand the service better.

OBi Service Components

The OBi service comprises of 4 basic elements – the VoIP hardware (OBi110 or the OBi100), the mobile VoIP (mVoIP) client OBiON, the desktop client OBiAPP, and the cloud interface OBiTALK. The different components allow you to access the OBi service from anywhere.

Let us look into each component in little more details.

VoIP Hardware (ATA) – OBi110 vs. OBi100

Wikipedia defines

An analog telephony adapter, or analog telephone adapter, (ATA) is a device used to connect one or more standard analog telephones to a digital telephone system (such as Voice over IP).

Obihai provides two ATAs – OBi110 and the OBi100 – to connect your traditional phone to your VoIP providers. Both devices are similar in terms of their ability to connect up to 2 Google Voice or SIP accounts, interface, etc.

Obihai Obi110 vs. Obi100

The only difference between the two devices is that the OBi100 does not carry a Line port (FXO) to connect your incoming PSTN line, and consequently is smaller in size as compared to the OBi110.

Obihai Obi110 vs. Obi100

The OBi110 is available for only $69.99 and the OBi100 is available for only $59.99 using the Amazon coupon codes mentioned here.

The difference is not only cosmetic (in terms of the size of the devices), but because of the lack of the FXO port, the OBi100 cannot bridge calls between a traditional PSTN line and VoIP service, i.e., you will not be able to combine your PSTN line and VoIP to complete calls. In the presence of VoIP bridging facility (OBi110), you can make calls to your PSTN number and be connected to the OBi Attendant, which can initiate a new call or a call back. The following figures explain the options for OBi110 and the OBi100:

If you do not have a traditional land line connection and do not anticipate getting one in the future, you may be perfectly happy with the OBi100. However, if you have a land line connection, I will suggest that you go for the OBi110, especially since the difference is only $6.

Mobile VoIP (mVoIP) client – OBiON

OBiON is the mobile client that allows you to access the OBi service from your smart phones or tablets. The OBiON client is available for both Android and iOS.

Just login to your account and start making calls right from your mobile devices. This can be very useful when you are traveling and do not have access to the physical OBi device.

Desktop client – OBiAPP

The OBiAPP allows you to access the OBi service right from your desktop. Please note that the OBiAPP is not a SIP client in itself, but middleware that lets your SIP soft phone (e.g., x-lite, Blink, Yate) to communicate with OBi. So, you need to have a SIP soft phone on your computer.

OBiTALK – Bringing them all together!!

Last, but probably the most important component of the OBi service is OBiTALK. OBiTALK is the central node that brings together all the components together to provide you with a seamless experience. All the OBi elements (OBiON, OBiAPP, and OBi 1X0) communicate with OBiTALK to sync and provide services.

OBiTALK is the web-based front end for the OBi services. You can access all your OBi endpoints from your OBiTALK dashboard. It allows you to upgrade firmware, configure devices, monitor usage, add users, etc. The video walkthrough provides a detailed overview of all these elements:

Hope this post helped you understand the OBi service in greater details. The various ways to access the service is a compelling proposition. At $44 or $49, the OBi100 or the OBi110 is a no brainer and I will strongly advocate that you give it a try.

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Guest

Just a couple of quick points. Under the second picture of the two devices you give incorrect (higher) prices, although elsewhere in the article you give the correct prices ($43.99 for the OBi100 and $49.99 for the OBi110). And also, you may want to mention that the OBiAPP desktop client only runs under Windows – there is no Mac OS X or Linux version, so if you have a non-Windows computer you are out of luck (a few brave folks have tried running OBiAPP under WINE on other platforms with varying degrees of success, but mostly the results of such attempts have been disappointing).
- http://truvoipbuzz.com Alok Saboo
  
  Thanks for bringing it up, much appreciated!!
SK

Alok, I had couple of questions before I buy Obi100. First – Assuming I configured OBi device to use my google voice account for outgoing calls and now I start making calls using iPhone OBi app or my cordless phone connected to the OBi device. What caller id will it send to my destination numbers like friends and relatives? Will it send my GV number or any other number?
Second – If I use OBi’s iPhone app can I can call any USA number i.e., use the GV account configured on my OBi device. If yes what caller id will it send to the destination phones (i.e., friends phone).

Thank you,
SK
- http://truvoipbuzz.com Alok Saboo
  
  For both your questions, if you are using the GV account configured on your OBi, your Google Voice number will be used as the caller-ID. Let me know if you have any other queries.
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http://truvoipbuzz.com Alok Saboo

Yes, nothing should change as long as you do not change the settings from your Google Voice account. Your cell phone will continue to ring.

Also, this solution is completely portable. You can take the OBi with you and use it wherever you are
Anonymous

Hi Alok,

I have the OBi110 and wanted to know the configuration setting to make me use OBiON on my iPhone call another number via GV on my OBi110. Is this scenario possible or the outbound call is only possible if bridged via another SIP account in the OBi110?

Thanks!

Robert
- http://truvoipbuzz.com Alok Saboo
  
  Hi Robert,
  
  You can certainly make calls to traditional phone lines using OBiON. Just dial the OBi device from your OBiON (you can see the speed dial number on the OBiTALK tab on the app). Once you reach the OBi attendant, press 2 to initiate a new call. Then, enter the number you want to reach and the call will be connected using the provider that you choose. For example, if you have made your Google Voice account as your primary line for call out, you can just dial the 10 digit number and the call will be connected using your Google Voice account. You can also manually choose any other account by using the **1 or **2 option. Hope this helps. Let me know if you need more help.