I thought I'd post about a phone gadget, the panasonic Link2Cell functionality in their most recent line of cordless home phones.
Looks like cheapest model is about $60 (2 handsets), and most expensive is about $140 (5 handsets):
Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.co...nabled/dp/B00BP7SW0CWhat's special about this phone, the Link2Cell feature, is that it can use bluetooth to connect to your cell phone and basically let you use your home phone system as if it was on your cell phone plan.
Let me explain:
I very rarely use the phone, but I do need to use one at times. I work from home, and but need a cell phone for those rare times when I travel.
This presents me with a bit of a dilemma in terms of paying for phone service. Even basic landline home phone service costs $40/month. And mobile plans seem to start at about that much, with some pain-in-the-ass pay-per-day services available for significantly cheaper but with limitations.
What I've been doing for the last few years is paying for home landline service, which amounts to about $45/month and then I have a t-mobile pay-on-days-you-use-it plan for when i travel and so that i have a phone in the car for emergencies.
The pay-per-day thing is a hassle in terms of how it has to be constantly refilled and will expire if you're not careful. And it's annoying to have to make sure the phone is turned off when not being used, and it means if anyone tries to send me a text message it will disappear into the aether if the phone is off for too long. And it's not good having two phone numbers.
But up until now I've been very reluctant to get rid of my home phone, because I hate the idea of having to physically interact with the cell phone which just feels unnatural to me. I also like having multiple handsets in different rooms, etc.
So that's where this new panasonic Link2Cell feature comes in. It basically lets you pair your cell phone with this phone system and you can now make and receive phone calls using these standard home-phone handsets through your cell phone (and/or landline). I've only had it for a few days now but it seems to work remarkably well and seamlessly. The cellphone just stays plugged into a charger near by and you never have to deal with it. Everything happens through the normal home phone handsets but routes through the mobile phone. Pretty impressive feature.
So assuming I don't discover any showstoppers, I will soon be dropping my landline and moving to just one single mobile plan, and leaving the phone paired with this base unit when i'm in the house.
Video someone made of using it:
