Items tagged with Telephone
Some of you may have woken up today and seen an ad for a working Fisher Price Chatter Telephone seemingly aimed at adults (and/or high-tech children), and thought it was April already. Well, it is not April Fool’s Day because you can indeed pre-order an actual working version of the nostalgic Chatter Telephone, complete with Bluetooth connectivity, as of today! Why? Uh, we'll try to get back to you on that one. Fisher Price has brought to life what so many of us have desired since we were toddlers—the ability to actually hear who we called on our childhood Chatter Phone instead of playing make pretend. No more listening to an imaginary person as you ramble on about how you wish you...
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Ready. Set. GO! If you've been patiently waiting to port your existing phone number over to Google Voice and flip the bird at your cellular company, start flexing your middle finger because your time has come. Following a limited preview of the service (Google initially only tagged a certain number of accounts that were allowed to port their number over), all existing users are now welcome to retain their phone number while using Google Voice. "One of the most frequent requests we hear from people who use (or want to use) Google Voice is that they'd like to get all of Google Voice's features without having to give up their long-time phone numbers," Google said in a blog post. "Today, we're excited...
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It already happened in the home, and now it's happening on college campuses everywhere: landline phones are vanishing. With the proliferation of cellphones, it has made it harder and harder for landline services to prove necessary. Even VoIP-based services such as digital phone from a cable company or Vonage seem limited in use, with the only true benefit being cheap/free calling overseas. But with the iPhone able to handle cheap Skype Out calls now, even that point is becoming moot. There's no question that landline use has been declining in the home while mobile use has been on the rise, and it's only a matter of time before the landline as we know takes a very secondary position in our hierarchy...
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It's not uncommon for us to miss a call when we're at home, particularly if our cell phone is in the other room and we can't hear it ring or simply can't get to it in time. Thanks to Panasonic's new Link-to-Cell system, you may not miss quite as many calls. The system targets busy professionals and multitasking parents who want the ability to answer their cell phone from multiple handsets. Link-to-Cell uses Bluetooth technology to connect your cell phone to a Panasonic handset. With the system, you can make and receive phone calls using Panasonic handsets placed throughout the house. Simply place the Panasonic base unit in a place where the mobile phone receives a good connection to the cellular...
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According to data reported by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four households has traded in their landline telephone for a cell phone. As you may expect, this trend is increasing. In the beginning of 2006, just 11 percent of homes had only a cell and no landline. This move away from traditional landline phones has had a far-reaching effect. Telephone companies are not the only ones affected, either. Polling firms and government agencies that gather data also face additional challenges as a result of the decrease in landlines. Additionally, 911 service providers have had to find additional options when it comes to locating people who are in need of help. Today, just...
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France Telecom-owned Orange is planning to make high definition telephone calls available to British customers sometime this year. The HD voice service will require customers to buy new handsets. In return for upgrading to HD voice service, customers will enjoy clearer mobile phone calls that are said to make you feel as if you're in the same room with the person on the other end of the call. Orange is the first mobile phone company to announce a British HD voice service. The company hopes the service will help encourage a new standard throughout the industry. "HD Voice really does inject a level of innovation into mobile phone calls, making it sound as if callers are actually in the same room....
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Verizon's chief has already declared the landline "dead," but if you're still hanging onto your landline phone while the grave is being dug, you just might be interested in this. VTech is taking landline phones where they've never gone before, with its DS6321-3 being the first cordless phone system capable of downloading cellular phonebook directory entries using Bluetooth technology.Furthermore, users can connect up to four Bluetooth devices (two of which can be mobile phones) to the phone, enabling them to actually have mobile calls with the landline handset. In other words, you can have your cellphone charging in your bedroom, and if someone calls it, you can answer the call via your landline...
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Landline phones are dead. Done. Over with. Old hat. So last year. In effect, that's exactly how Verizon Communications chief Ivan Seidenberg feels, and you know when Verizon's head honcho says landlines are done, they're done. But really, everyone knew this day was coming. People have been shutting off their landlines and going mobile-only for years now. With mobile minutes easier to come by, Skype becoming pervasive and Google Voice taking things even further into the digital realm, there's hardly a need for standard landlines anymore. Mr. Seidenberg, while speaking at a Goldman Sachs investor conference, noted that Verizon simply wasn't concerned any longer with phones connected to wires. Granted,...
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Ah, the videophone. Is it a dying breed, or simply a wonderful gadget being introduced too far ahead of its time. After seeing Verizon's Hub launch and then fall flat shortly thereafter, we're guessing it's the former. Frankly, hardly anyone has time these days to sit down and take a call at home, so we definitely don't have time to sit down, get pretty, and take a videophone call at home. For those lucky enough to know exactly what "free time" truly is, though, Asus is making sure there's an option. The AiGuru SV1T is said to be the most intuitive way to make a VoIP call, boasting a 7" touch panel, built-in webcam, speaker, microphone and Wi-Fi capabilities to let users make unlimited video...
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Back in February, Verizon sought to revolution the home phone with the introduction of its Hub. Half telephone, half Internet tablet, the Hub really was a huge departure from the norm for Verizon Wireless and a unique device overall.Today, we're learning that the carrier is hoping to add a bit of oomph already by preparing an application market for the Hub, and we're even told that a Hub 2 (which detaches the phone from the screen) is in the works. The Hub will soon come bundled with a specialized app mart, which will presumably enable users to tap into even more Internet-enabled widgets to make better use of the VoIP device. Of course, it doesn't help that Americans are abandoning home...
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