Consumer Reports didn’t love Vince’s nuts, and their tests found that the Snuggie sheds like a pack of crazed Labrador retrievers. But in their article about informercial products this month, they did find one that their mad science shows actually works, provides good value, and is useful: the Magic Jack.

Their tests showed that service is surprisingly good, and far more reasonably priced than competing voice-over-IP services like Skype and Vonage.

Our tester made dozens of calls with Magic Jack over several days. Calls went through with no problems, and voice quality was generally clear, though less so than with a good corded phone. Some interference occurred when the tester tried talking while downloading a large file or playing an online game. If you can live with that, we think the Magic Jack is a great deal.

A few catches: you must already have broadband Internet access, and phone calls only come in while your computer is turned on. Still, pretty impressive for something sold in infomercials and near the Walmart checkout.

Magic Jack: A great deal with a few limitations [Consumer Reports]

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