landing

Several months ago we thought the idea of custom ringtones for home phones was a pretty nifty concept that would be picked up by other manfacturers. Our prediction, naturally, was met with dead silence. But now Hammacher Schlemmer is trying to introduce one such gadget for the masses, claiming the technology as its very own by labeling it "the first home telephone custom ringtone player."

While the hype is to be expected, other aspects of this "first" are less excusable. For starters, there's the $70 price: Do its features really justify costing that much more … Read more

Some phone and gadget makers have understandably sought to make handsets based on Star Trek communicators, but that approach is apparently too subtle for others. Why limit yourself to a single replica, after all, when you can do the whole ship?

The "Star Trek USS Enterprise Telephone" is exactly that, a limited edition that GeekAlerts says even bears the inscription of William Shatner himself. When a call comes in, a red alert sounds and the engines light up.

It's not a mobile phone, however, so your bragging rights will be confined to your own conn. But it … Read more

Against all odds, land lines are valiantly forging ahead in hopes of making an unlikely comeback. Though thoroughly mocked by other gadget blogs, for instance, Motorola debuted its "MOTOLIVN" home phone this week for the European market.

Maybe that's a key part of the strategy: Europe. Because Doro, a manufacturer based in Sweden, is also expanding its continental land-line business. And like other European phone makers--namely Philips and Siemens--Doro is focusing its efforts on form as much as function, if not more.

The company says its "NeoBio" line of DECT phones, for example, comes … Read more

Apparently not everyone is on the verge of ditching their land lanes. That, at least, is what we surmise from the actions of various phone makers, which seem to think there's still business to be had in the home handset market.

Among the models introduced recently are those from Philips and Siemens, while Japan's Amadana even has one that's into leather. The latest, however, comes from a manufacturer that's ensconced in the mobile world, Motorola.

Its "MOTOLIVN" land-line brand will be introduced in Europe first, according to U.K.-based Pocket-lint, and one of … Read more

It's hard to believe that 10 years ago a cell phone was still a novelty. Now it's nearly impossible to imagine life without mobile communication.

As new modes of communication open up, will others go by the wayside? There may be a generational divide opening here, as younger adults in particular start asking themselves what good is a landline anyway? About a quarter of adults age 18 to 29 rely on a mobile phone as their only telephone service.

I am tempted to dump my landline, not because I have an amazing relationship with my mobile phone, but because telemarketers have turned my ringing landline into an incredible nuisance. An admittedly unscientific study of my caller ID log reveals that I've been getting four junk calls for every call I actually want to receive.… Read more

There's a silver lining in the war on terror. The need for beefy, bulletproof buggies to patrol the Afghan and Iraqi outback has translated into factory jobs on the home front for at least one NATO ally.

Described as "a Land Rover on steroids," the new MWMIK (Mobility Weapon Mounted Installation Kit) 4x4 looks more like an armored forklift chassis. But with a top speed of 80 mph and wide range of armaments, it won't be pulling pallet duty anytime soon.

The U.K. Ministry of Defence has ordered 130 of the new vehicles from Plymouth-based … Read more

And now for our outrageous notion of the day: The land line is making a comeback. That's right, you heard it here first.

Long overshadowed by its glamorous mobile cousin, the homebound stalwart has been trying to get noticed however it can--sometimes by proving its toughness, other times by tarting itself up with a new design. Joining the latter category is Japan's Amadana, which GeekSugar says is weighing in with a wireless land line that's clad in leather, of all things. Now that's what we call a fashion statement.

If anyone is up to the task, … Read more

A piece of land owned by Hewlett-Packard since 1963 was sold to two nonprofit groups for $4 million, according to the Associated Press.

The 534-acre property, known as Little Basin, is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains and has long been used for company picnics, events and camping trips. The land is reportedly worth $13 million, and HP says it is selling it because the company's employees are not all located in or near the PC maker's San Francisco Bay Area headquarters.

"It's not a cost issue. Basically we had a minority of employees who were … Read more

The humble land line is finally getting some love. Not only can the home phone now have its very own ringtones, but at least some models are getting updated for the 21st century--and that means they've got to toughen up to survive, especially in today's unforgiving domestic conditions.

To that end, Siemens says its new "Gigaset E455 SIM" is dust-proof, splash-proof and "comes equipped with rubber pads for shock protection, meaning you also no longer need to worry about dropping and smashing it," according to Pocket-lint.

All that may be true, but we hope … Read more