Recently Filed in Telephones

Double Plays, Triple Plays, and Quadruple Plays are not new concepts. Ever since service providers began offering more than one service the marketing departments have blitzed consumers with packaged services promising bill-saving deals. Comparing and contrasting every provider and every service can be an exhausting task, though in reality most consumers will have one or maybe two of the big cable companies to choose from, one of AT&T’s options if you’re lucky, and FiOS if you are really lucky. Some words of advice: ask questions.… View this story
Networking and Communication • Cable • Internet • Telephones • Networking • Info and Answers

It’s no secret that more people are ditching their landlines in favor of cell phones. According to Mediamark Research, the percentage of adults living in cell-only households has risen from 1.2% to the current 14.0% in the past seven years. In this article, we’ll look at the pros and cons of ditching your landline; whether cell boosters, which claim to boost cell phone signals, are worth the investment; and the validity of VoIP becoming the new landline. Ditching the Landline: The Good and The Bad… View this story
Networking and Communication • Telephones • VoIP • Info and Answers

I hate the phone. At work or at play, most will know that I am not the type that springs for the ring. Also, you’d better leave a message and let me know what my callback will entail; your name and number on Caller ID are not the same as a message. Email and instant message, on the other hand, are my friends. We’re close. In fact, we’re so close, it’s the first “face” that I see in the morning and the last I see… View this story
Networking and Communication • Telephones • Reviews • Networking • Product News

Now you no longer need to be tethered to the computer to express your feelings via emoticon. VTech’s latest DECT cordless phone is the IS6110, and it’s packing the ability to instant message from anywhere in the house. While IM is nothing new for VTech and its band of gab geeks, the design certainly lends a hand to the instant message feature. “With instant messaging becoming part of the fabric of everyday communication – particularly for young adults – we sought to deliver a product… View this story
Telephones • WiFi • Gadgets • Networking • Product News

People are ditching landlines left and right, but VTech might give the service providers a much needed boost with the IS6110. This cordless phone has a full-QWERTY keyboard, a USB connection and support for MSN, AIM and Windows Live Messenger. Hook it up to your landline and PC and you can choose to chat with your face or fingers. Other features for this DECT handset include a color LCD, multiple ringtone options, a speakerphone, click-to-talk for IM voice chats, and a 50-name/number phonebook. The IS6110… View this story
Telephones • Web Services • CES • Networking • Product News

Instead of trying to make a device that does everything, Creative was concentrating on making sure their new videoconferencing device did its main task well—and with a name like inPerson, you’d better be able to deliver. The $700 system allows you to connect with a slew of different meetings, via any Wi-Fi or LAN connection. The 7-inch screen can also connect to a TV or projector, so people can dissect your pores like you’re Brad Pitt. One neat perk is the inPerson Audio Technology, which… View this story
Web Cameras • Telephones • WiFi • Gadgets • Web Services • CES • Networking • Product News

Here’s the 411 on the GE DECT 6.0—at least the GOOG-411. Thomson just announced that they have made nice with Google so that they can add the GOOG-411 button to its DECT 6.0 phones. So what does that get you besides an extra button imprint on your cheek? It’s free, voice-activated directory assistance via web giant Google. What more could you ask for? Well, you can also ask for the same service on your cell phone… and you can have it too, but you may… View this story
Telephones • Web Services • Enhancements • Product News

Apparently everyone hates their cell phone service. Ask your friends, family, co-workers, mailman—everyone seems to have at least one thing they’d like to change about their current carrier. It would then make sense that the new study done by Consumer Reports found that less than half of respondents were satisfied with their current plans. We can’t give you the money to get out of your contract, but we can give you (courtesy of Consumer Reports) a few of their tips to help save a few… View this story
Portables • Cell Phones • Telephones • Networking • Product News

In “Zoolander,” Will Ferrell took a call on a cell phone the size of a Chiclet. He must have been talking on Think Geek’s Mini Boombox, a slider phone that measures a wee 3.5 inches wide. This tiny talker packs a lot into its small frame. It’s a boombox, a 1.3-megapixel camera, a speakerphone, and we’re guessing that with a few tweaks, it could probably julienne some fries as well. Gadgetell says that it also has a 1.5-inch screen, MP3 and MP4 support, and 256MB… View this story
Wireless Speakers • Portables • Cell Phones • Telephones • Gadgets • Audio • Networking • Product News

If you think your kids are just text messaging and chatting away innocently to friends, well—think again. Being that most cell phones function as a mini computer these days, they are just as susceptible to the creepy crawlers that want your kids over your home’s web connection. Alltel Wireless is taking on the bad guys with Alltel Parental Controls, a new wireless application designed for filtering out the funk on your kid’s mobile phone. Your children may be chatting up some serious charges, but this… View this story
Cell Phones • Telephones • Software • Web Services • Networking • Enhancements • Product News

Let the fun begin—Nokia just announced that they are shipping the N81 and N81 8GB “multimedia computers.” Each unit packs dedicated game and music keys into a tiny mobile phone. That’s right; it does make calls. You wouldn’t know that from the press release, but that apparently is not much of a selling point these days. Something that might be a selling point: This unit allows for direct music downloads via the Nokia Music Store and a wireless LAN or 3G network. Other features include… View this story
Bluetooth • Cell Phones • Telephones • WiFi • Gadgets • Networking • Product News

The idea sounded great: Giving your kids a Disney Mobile phone. How could things go wrong? Well, Disney put the kibosh on the service, leaving thousands of children everywhere without a cell provider. Talk about a life lesson! Enter Firefly Mobile. They just announced a deal for former Disney subscribers that would include a free phone. Sign up for the Easy Fill airtime program by October 31 and you can choose between the company’s original phone and the new multimedia flyPhone (pictured). Those choosing the… View this story
Cell Phones • Telephones • Gadgets • Networking • Product News