The lowly landline as been the victim of smartphone proliferation. It’s seen the simple mobile phone rise from a simple flip phone with retractable antenna to today’s fancy smartphone. Now, Archos is providing the landlines ace in the hole: an Android based home phone. Perhaps the best feature of the phone, it can sync your more »

I know I’m not the only person who has had to search for his mobile phone while it rang or missed a call because my cell phone was in another room. For a lot of people, landlines have given way to cell phones, but there are still ways to get landline-like convenience with a cell more »

The landline telephone is on the way out. 20% of homes are now wireless only. Maybe you’re part of the 80% who still has a landline. What can you do to ditch that landline? Keep reading.

First off, unless you want to cut yourself off and try something very experimental, you’re going to need some other phone. Grab yourself a cell phone. Which cell phone is best for you is really a personal decision.

According to results just released from the National Health Interview Survey, more than 20 percent of United States households have only wireless phones. The survey was conducted between July and December 2008 and showed an increase of almost 3 percent since the first half of 2008. Additionally, one out of every seven homes receives all more »

Fun stats, right? According to XLINK, it is accurate and 20% of US households are doing just that by the end of this year, jumping off the landline bandwagon. But is going all cell going to work for your family? XLINK happens to make a product that it believes will make the transition super-easy. Stop more »

I have used my share of VoIP phones out there, so when Plantronics sent me the newish Calisto Pro Series, I didn’t have too high of expectations. However I became impressed quickly with the great Bluetooth integration, among other features. There are three ways you can talk on the phone (or Skype): speakerphone, on the handset, or on the included Bluetooth headset. This amount of flexibility is a great thing to have when you’re in an office — or even at home — since you have the choice to go anywhere in your house. So what if you want to sit in your living room, and the Bluetooth signal can’t make it that far? Don’t worry, the headset is paired with the handset, so just bring the handset with you!

Have I mentioned that the Calisto can also be used as your landline phone? Well, it sure can. The device has seemless integration with both Skype (and your computer) and your landline connection. So if you’re talking long distance to someone across the world, and hang up to make a local call, you don’t even have to switch anything… just hang up, dial the number, and press talk.

Design

Overall, the Calisto’s design is sleek, but not too fancy. The phone’s handset is a bit bulky, but it’s smaller than most traditional cordless phones, so we won’t dock them there. The Bluetooth headset is a big flimsy, and I had a hard time with it – but while you’re sitting at your desk, it’s really OK to have a flimsy headset on since you’re not making any sharp movements that will knock it off.

For those of you that need to find a tech stocking stuffer this year, there is the newly released Netgear SPH101 Wifi Skype 802.11g phone. Nearly a year after the handset was announced, Netgear has released the SPH101 this week that would allow free calls to be made anywhere with wireless services using the Skype more »