Grab an extra phone line with magicApp

The folks behind magicJack have one-upped themselves with the magic App, which lets you use a second phone number on your iPhone, iPad, iPod or Android device to make calls, via a wireless connection, to just about anywhere in the world.

However, if you call outside the U.S. and Canada, you have to pay a couple of pennies a minute for your calls. Text messages to U.S. phone numbers are included, but currently available only to Apple devices.

Setting up the app is ­simple. Choose an area code. You can make calls either wirelessly or via your phone's regular 3G or 4G network.

You have to have the app open to receive calls and text messages. The voice quality is as good as AT&T's, and text messages are as fast as they are on the AT&T network.

All this for $15 a year, or $2 a month, and that includes the phone number. If you have a magicJackGo account, the service is free.

And if you're worried about missing a call because you don't have the app open, you can forward calls to your iPhone or home phone. Voice mail includes an e-mail with a message attachment. There are call waiting, caller ID and other features.

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Screw the bulb into a lamp in a room with weak Wi-Fi and the Boost will join the Wi-Fi network and pump out a better signal.

The lamp needs to be on to power the bulb and its repeater, but you can turn off the light with the app while the repeater stays powered on. The bulbs are available from Sengled.com.

The free Boost app asks for your Wi-Fi password, then transfers that password to the bulb, which sets itself up on your home's network.

Setup can take a few tries, but once it's configured, you can move the bulb to a different room, as long as it can get some signal from your home's Wi-Fi.