Re: Cell phone as home phone

["Bill Kearney" <wkearney99@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

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

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

> 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?

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:
http://www.uniden.com/store/itemdetail.cfm?item=B-ELBT595

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