Cell to landline: Dock-N-Talk, Cellmerge, CellSocket, Celldock

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Eric Anderson - 28 May 2006 15:57 GMT

I have heard a lot about the technology to use a cellphone to replace
the land line. The four names I have heard are in the subject line.
Dock-N-Talk seems the most popular at about $140 to $200 (Bluetooth).
The problem is I have not found it for sale from a recognizable source
such as Best Buy, Circuit City or even the better known on-line stores.
Also, I have seen the technology come on strong about 3 to 5 years
ago, and die somewhat in the last couple of years. I have a Motorola
E815 and fine that most of the supported phones are older models. The
E815 is supported by the Bluetooth models, but not direct connect.

Has anyone bought one of these in the last year? I can transfer my
home number to a 3rd cellphone. That would allow me to have the 2 I
presently have with Verizon and a 3rd that would be the "land line"
phone. Has anyone done this?

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Thomas M. Goethe - 01 Jun 2006 00:20 GMT

>I have heard a lot about the technology to use a cellphone to replace
> the land line. The four names I have heard are in the subject line.
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> presently have with Verizon and a 3rd that would be the "land line"
> phone. Has anyone done this?

I found the Dock-N-Talk cumbersome to use since you have to connect two
wires to the phone. The Cellsocket and Cellmerge have worked well, but I
don't think they have models for your phone. You just dropped the phone into
those two devices similarly to a desktop chearger and they worked. I
connect5ed the phone to the second line pair on my house wiring and use it
with a two line phone with the cell going to line 2.

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Eric Anderson - 08 Jun 2006 12:46 GMT

I have found that the newer phones are typically not supported, which
makes me think that this idea did not really get off the ground. I
can't imagine why, but I have seen this typical trend in many hi-tech
endevors. They have a big initial spike, almost die, then start back
up slowly. Maybe this is one of them?

> I found the Dock-N-Talk cumbersome to use since you have to connect two
> wires to the phone. The Cellsocket and Cellmerge have worked well, but I
> don't think they have models for your phone. You just dropped the phone into
> those two devices similarly to a desktop chearger and they worked. I
> connect5ed the phone to the second line pair on my house wiring and use it
> with a two line phone with the cell going to line 2.

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Thomas M. Goethe - 10 Jun 2006 15:03 GMT

I would have to agree with your analysis, which is kind of sad as these
things are really useful. I get called at home from work by people who can't
seem to remember I have a landline. They give up when I don't answer the
cell. These units let me hear the cell anywhere in the house and then pickup
on line 2.

The Dock-n-Talk has a Bluetooth option that I might break down and try
that, but I really liked the convenience of the drop in charger style unit
like the Cellsocket and Cellmerge.

The Dock-n-Talk requires you to connect two wires to the phone and I
found it often causes the phone and base to need rebooting to work properly
after undocking. I wondered if Bluetooth might fix that issue as well as the
hassle of connecting wires and then having the whole mess laying on the
dresser. I could then drop the phone into a charger next to the dock.

The Cidco Cellmerge seemed the best made of the units, but it didn't
play well with my Siemens two line cordless phones for some reason. I did
some grinding on the Cellsocket so the T720 version will work with a V710,
but it does pop out from time to time, sigh. It also is now incompatible
with an external antenna. I don't need one, but it seemed a nice feature.

I wouldn't replace my landline with this stuff, though. There is a
slight loss of quality with all of them, though I think the Cidco was
slightly better.

>I have found that the newer phones are typically not supported, which
> makes me think that this idea did not really get off the ground. I
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>> it
>> with a two line phone with the cell going to line 2.

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Eric Anderson - 17 Jun 2006 13:48 GMT

Mmmm...
I guess I will wait on this technology, but monitor it. When I retire
I would like to get my communication costs under control. Right now I
am at about $100 with my cell and landline. That is a hell of a lot
more--by about 10X--than about 30 years ago. Since it is a technology
product, I would expect to see it increase a lot less if I went about
it the right way (by combining services, using new technologies, etc).

> I would have to agree with your analysis, which is kind of sad as these
> things are really useful. I get called at home from work by people who can't
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
> slight loss of quality with all of them, though I think the Cidco was
> slightly better.

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danny burstein - 18 Jun 2006 04:27 GMT

No hands on experience, but maybe this would help:

Uniden has a new 5.8 gig cordless setup which, instead
of using a wired phone line, hooks up
to a Bluetooth cellular

Saw it in a store a few months ago. Here's a typical writuep:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007TIYES/002-1247041-0107251?v=glance&vi=revi
ews&n=172282

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_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dannyb@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

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Wait - 18 Jun 2006 04:46 GMT

If you use Motorola cell phones, you should consider the Motorola SD4500
series, including the cell dock SD 4505. Works great with the E815 (I use it
with the E815 at home and office) and allows a landline as well. When you
call from a wireless phone, you simply choose whether to call on your docked
cell or the landline. Doesn't work with the RAZR and is not Bluetooth based;
it works with the cell connector found on the E815, the 710 and other
Motorola cells. Charges the cell phone while in the dock. Works swell.

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