Labor & Employment Law

Will The Xlink Bluetooth Adapter Kill Landlines?

By Dobin & Jenks

I just spent the weekend using the Xlink BTTN bluetooth adapter. And if this device doesn't scare landline-based phone companies, I'm not sure what will.

I'm a Bluetooth addict. I have three Bluetooth headsets. All of my cars have BT hands-free kits. Even my laptop has Bluetooth. The interconnectivity it provides is very useful, although the implementation is sometimes clumsy.

I got to wondering why I was paying for a home phone line when only telemarketers use it (and my mother, but she's got a cell phone she can use, too.) So I started thinking that I should become part of the growing group of people who ditch their home phone for their cell phone. Then I wondered if there was a way to hook up my cell to my existing 6-handset DECT cordless phone system. I found two devices and decided, based upon my review of the specs and web information, that the XLINK was for me.

It comes in two flavors, BT and BTTN. The BT is for cell phone integration only. The BTTN adds the ability of integrating a landline as well. Since the phone company reduced my monthly bill to a price where it made sense to keep the landline, I bought the BTTN. It took less than 10 minutes to set up the unit and pair two phones.

But the real beauty is the upgrade path. Yesterday I downloaded the upgrade "wizard" software and connected the BTTN to my laptop. Everything worked great and, in about ten minutes, the software had been upgraded. And the sound quality, which was OK, had improved dramatically.

While I haven't cut the cord completely, at least I'm not running all over the house looking for my cell when it starts to ring. A caller rings my cell and all six of the handsets ring. And the caller has no idea that they're not talking to me on my cellphone handset.

The Xlink. These guys are brilliant.

That's the connected view from The Law Planet - Jupiter, Florida.

Full post as published by The Law Planet Blog on February 16, 2009 (boomark / email).