Link-to-Cell merges handsets
By Speedway
on
Saturday, October 8, 2011
with
The post-midnight call a few weeks ago arrived on one of our cellphones. They were getting their usual overnight charge in the kitchen while we were one floor up and many dark steps away in the bedroom.
It was the sort of situation Panasonic had in mind when it developed new cordless home phones with a technology it calls Link-to-Cell.
Link-to-Cell uses Bluetooth communication to connect a set of conventional cordless home phones with one or two cellphones. Once the devices are linked, any incoming cellular calls will ring through to one of the Panasonic handsets.
Pairing a cellphone with the Panasonic home phones is just slightly more complicated than pairing a wireless phone with a headset or an in-car receiver. Once the two are linked, you can transfer up to 3,000 numbers stored on your mobile phone to the Panasonic handset.
The home phones will also display Caller ID data for incoming cellular calls and mimic any special ringtone that you've programmed into your mobile.
The Link-to-Cell concept has other advantages as well. For example, it doesn't require a landline to function. You can make and receive all of your calls over your wireless carrier's network while still having the convenience of multiple handsets.
And a Panasonic handset will extend cellular coverage to areas of your house where service might be sketchy or unavailable.
The Panasonic system comes with a built-in answering machine, and its handsets can work as speaker phones or as an intercom. However, the intercom feature is accessible from the phone's menu, not from a dedicated button that would be more convenient, and the call-answering feature supports only one mailbox, not one for each family member.
Panasonic offers several versions of the Link-to-Cell phones under the KX-TG76 model number. A setup with two handsets costs about $100 at Target, Walmart or Best Buy. Additional handsets cost about $40 each.
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