Vtech calls the LS6245 a virtual two-line phone system.
(Credit: Vtech)Vtech has released Bluetooth cordless phones in the past, but it says its new LS6245 is the "first system of its kind capable of connecting landline and cellular phone calls simultaneously."
Like most new cordless phones these days, the LS6245 is a DECT 6.0 model, but the key feature here is the capability to pair your Bluetooth cell phone with the unit and take calls on either the slim handset or via the built-in speakerphone. VTech is calling it "a virtual two-line phone system," and says you cannot only take a landline call and cell phone call at the same time, but you can actually connect two cell phones to the LS6245 at once (you can pair up to eight Bluetooth-enabled devices to it).The base system costs $79.95 and comes with a digital answering machine and a single handset. You can add up to 12 handsets (model LS6204) to the system and you can make cell calls from any of the handsets throughout your house, so long as your cell phone is paired with the base station. Additional handsets cost $39.95 each.
We have a review unit on the way and will let you know if it works as well as it's supposed to.
Comments? Anybody interested in this type of cell/cordless-phone-hybrid communication device?
The LS6625 series comes in versions that include two or three handsets.
(Credit: VTech)New for 2009, VTech's LS6225/LS6215 series is one of the company's featured DECT 6.0 cordless phone lines. VTech has a reputation for making sleek and stylish cordless phones and the LS6225 series is an eye-catcher, with a shiny black finish, touch buttons on the base unit/digital answering machine, and a slight curve to the handsets that follows the contour of your face. You can get this model in packages of two and three handsets (the system is expandable to 12 handsets), as well as a unit that leaves off the answering machine.
On Sale Now: $69.96 - $102.99
View the latest prices for VTech LS6225-3
(Credit:
VTech)
VTech may be one of the most overachieving phone makers in the land-line business. Rather than just lie down and let mobile handsets invade the home, the Hong Kong-based company has continually pushed the envelope by developing computer-like functions for its products, ranging from online news feeds to instant messaging. (We think they may be overcompensating because of their reputation as a toy maker, but that's no crime.)
In fact, it was nice to seem them lighten up a bit with the latest version of their DECT 6.0 home phones. The LS6117 sports a look that was "inspired by skateboard and snowboard designs," according to 7Gadgets, though consumers can also create their own styles on VTech's Web site.
We knew that the company's toy-making background would come in handy at some point.
(Credit:
VTech)
Some companies just refuse to give up on an idea, no matter how illogical it may be. That seems to be the case with VTech, which is still trying to sell the concept of a land-line phone with computer-like features.
More than a year ago the company came out with its "infoPhone," a cordless handset that included limited online functions, such as getting news headlines and doing local directory searches--a classic example, we thought, of a solution in search of a problem. But this year, rather than ditching the idea, VTech has actually expanded the concept in its new IS6110 model to include instant messaging when connected to a computer, as well as a QWERTY keypad, according to Electronic House.
So let's get this straight: VTech is making land-line handsets that resemble smartphones, which were originally created to perform tasks that weren't otherwise available away from home. But if you're already at home--presumably within a few feet of a computer--is an IM phone really necessary? Apparently we're missing something here.
(Credit:
VTech Communications)
Home telephones are like TV sets of the '70s and '80s--except for the cordless breakthrough, technology has seen scant change compared with other consumer products. VTech wants to change that with its new "infoPhone" (not to be confused with the iPhone, thank you very much).
The landline handset is designed to handle many functions that most people reserve for the computer. As Gadgetell says, "The new ip8300 infoPhone uses the Internet to access information directly on the cordless handset's color LCD screen, including news headlines, weather reports, horoscopes, local directory searches and more"--all according to personalized feeds carried wirelessly through new DECT 6.0 technology (which, as every schoolboy knows, stands for Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications).
If it makes sense for any phone manufacturer to go in this direction, it would be VTech. The company has long tried to make technology friendly to the everyday consumer, starting with its extensive line of toys. But trying to turn the home phone into a household's main Internet conduit is a risky proposition: Other industries have made similar attempts with TV sets and game consoles, only to lose out to the computer. And if any phone is going to horn in on this turf, a mobile handset would seem to make more sense.
Then again, at least some companies seem to think that viable markets exist for such products as a computerless e-mail printer. And remember, some people out there are still using some variation of WebTV. Enough said.
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