Cell phone as home phone

Anyone out there using cell phones instead of traditional land lines for home use?

Is there a phone that can be dropped into a cradle that would then let something similar to standard phones be used around the house or are you stuck with just one phone?

Reply to
B Fuhrmann
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Reply to
Frank

Thanks Frank:

To summarize the link, it is news article about the RCA 23200RE3 Cell Docking System. It is a system the is compatible with many cell phones from the major makers with a charging stand and a cordless phone. You can use the cordless phone to dial or pick up phone calls from a land line or the cell phone that is in the cradle.

RCA's link is

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like the street price is $100-$130

One of the advantages listed in the article is that you can set the cradle in a spot where your cell phone gets good reception instead of loosing reception as you move about the house with it.

It also has the ability to have two additional cordless handsets (RCA 23210RE3 $50-60) attached to it so that you are not limited to one phone in the house.

Not quite what I had envisioned but more flexible in some ways, especially if someone wants to have a mixed cell and land line system. I was thinking of one that would have a similar cell base but that would pretend that the cell phone is a standard phone line (ie disconnect the phone wire from the outside and plug into the system that is already there) but this is probably more useful to more people.

Reply to
B Fuhrmann

Be careful. Some of the smaller cell phone companies (like Verizon Wireless) will tell you their cell phones are not meant to be "home phones", so when I told them that reception was terrible while I was at home, they wouldn't do anything about it! (I'm not kidding; that's what their tech support people told me when I had VWZ!)

Patrick

Reply to
Patrick Klos

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less expensive than this one

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Reply to
Frank

We've gone a different route. I've switched my business phone service to VoIP. In addition to standard VoIP desk sets throughout my homes (one in Florida and one in Brazil), I'm ordering wireless VoIP phones. These connect to wired base units in each of four offices. They drop into the base unit or remote chargers when not in use.

One model we're considering also has a WiFi connection which will allow me to make and receive calls, transfer to other stations, etc., from any wireless hot spot in the world. Since we often spend several hours at a time in airport lounges, the WiFi VoIP phones will allow me to stay in touch with customers, vendors and co-workers. There are news reports that airlines will deploy in-flight WiFi service in the next few years.

Although we've had problems with our current auto-attendant provider (whom we will replace within the next few days), overall I've been very pleased with VoIP service. It allows me to maintain inter-office and external communications at home and in Brazil in a manner that is simply not possible using traditional phone service.

Reply to
Robert L Bass

I imagine that this can be a major savings for you. However the phone usage pattern is going to be very different for me.

I currently have dial up internet service and am thinking of moving to a high speed connection. At that point, my land line phone becomes very unused. I have a minimal cell plan that will be going away and was thinking that all my phone calls could be put on one plan.

In my case, the idea is to get rid of one bill (not me) and have a single better phone plan.

Bill Fuhrmann

Reply to
B Fuhrmann

Thanks again Frank - however it looks like the Vox2 company is belly up. That link did lead me on some searching and found two other systems that tie the cell phone into standard home phone wiring (you buy their box and use your old phones with the cell phone).

First a couple review links

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Dock and Talk web site
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Merge web site
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Dock and Talk connects with a lot more types of cell phones. It is more expensive than the RCA system, but you use the phones you already have.

Reply to
B Fuhrmann

I understand. Your needs are different from ours. We have two US cell phones and one (soon two) Brazilian cells. The Brazilian cell phone rates are much higher, even with the exchange rate, than American plans. For us the important thing is to be able to speak to both North and South American friends, family and customers no matter where we are. It's a real challenge finding a single service that will fill the bill (not you:)).

There are several fixed station cellular devices on the market that were designed to retransmit alarm signals over the cellular network if the phone line is down. Some people even use them as their primary reporting medium. A few models allow wired-in phones in the home to utilize the cellular network. These units record the DTMF (touch-tone) signals from inside phones, translate it into cellular control signals and make a connection.

The above devices would be a good option for your situation but, alas, most are analog and there's this thing called a "sunset clause" which will render them useless after a few years. Only God and the CIA know how long. God doesn't leak information but... :^)

Reply to
Robert L Bass

B Fuhrmann wrote: > In my case, the idea is to get rid of one bill (not me) and have a single

I chose a slightly hybrid approach. I changed the land line to a metered plan and use the cell phone for outgoing calls. I still get to receive incoming calls on the land line (unmetered) and of course keep the same phone number, plus I have the reliability. It shaved about $15/month of my phone bill.

Reply to
Seeker

Yes, we do. Both a cell phone and a VOIP line. No traditional POTS any longer.

We use a Uniden cordless system of phones that has Bluetooth. The base station pairs with the cell phone and makes it available as a second line. The first line goes to our VOIP interface. Making a call is as simple as dialing the digits and then selecting which line. The VOIP calls start dialing right away while the Bluetooth/Cell link takes about 5 seconds to link up with the phone first. It also rings the cell phone as line on the handsets.

This is the base:

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And we've got several of their handsets around the house, models TCX800, TCX805, ELT560 and ELX500. They all connect through the ELBT595 base station and that pairs to the cell phone. Works pretty nicely.

The handy part is it automagicallly pairs with the phone when it's placed near it. So all I have to do when I get home is plug the phone into it's charger in the room next to the base station. I positioned the base station so it covered the house effectively. This happened to be in a room that's not as convenient for leaving the cell phone. No worries though, the Bluetooth link carries well enough over the 20 or so foot distance. I'll say this, the Bluetooth coverage distance is considerably shorter than the phone's own cordless. Not a big deal but I'm sure it might confuse some non-technical users.

Is it perfect? No, sometimes the Bluetooth pairing doesn't always happen automatically. But I think this has more to do with the software in the phone (a Nokia 6630) than the base station. I can pair it up much more reliably with an Ericsson T616 but I don't use that phone anymore.

So if you've got a cell phone that's known for being "not a pain in the ass" with Bluetooth then it'd probably be worth looking into the Uniden setup.

-Bill Kearney

Reply to
Bill Kearney

I've been using Phonelab's Dock-n-Talk for about two months now. Walk in to the office, set the phone anywhere my my desk (including in the charging/synching cradle for my PC), and within a few seconds the wired phones in my house are paired up.

In fact, when I did the wiring for this house, I didn't even do anything in the way of land line, since my fiancee and I both use our cell phones exclusively. However, once finding the dock-n-talk on the 'net, I bought it (with bluetooth), and wired the house up for phone.

I love it. I've got 6 cordless handsets in my house, now. The dock-n-talk passes caller ID to the phones, as well as allows me to access my cell's speed dial and voice commands. It's something else to pick up a phone, hit Pound, and say "what is my next appointment?" or "Call Molly at work."

There's a little bit of popping static, common to all the phones. I therefore conclude that this static is in the bluetooth link. Phonelabs suggests keeping it away from things like computers and cordless phone bases. Mine is in the middle of my desk, tucked behind a monitor. So I accept the blame for the static. It is certainly easy to live with.

Reply to
E. Lee Dickinson

Been living in a cave for the last 7 years?

Reply to
AZ Nomad

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