Your cell phone is your “lifeline.” It keeps you connected at work, on the road, even at home. And now, there’s a better way to make and receive calls at home with ultimate comfort and convenience. Panasonic Link-to-Cell uses Bluetooth technology to connect your cell calls to your home handset extensions. No more running for your cell, walking around for good reception, or cradling that little phone on your shoulder. Better yet, you get to tap into your free cell minutes for talk time and you can charge your cell while using the home handsets. Now, that’s convenience! How Does It Work? Just link any Bluetooth-enabled cell phone to your Link-to-Cell base unit and you’re good to go. It’s that easy. Set up takes only seconds, and you can link up to two phones at once. Talking Caller-ID lets you know who’s calling and custom ring tones tell you which cell phone is ringing.
With Link-to-Cell, You Can: Frequency/Technology 1.9 GHz DECT 6.0 Multi-Handset Capability 2 Maximum of 6 handset capable with optional upgrades Phone Lines 1 LCD Language English and Spanish 60 Channels Link to Cell technology up to 2 cell phones Caller ID Memory 50 / Phone Book up to 50 entries Battery Life (Talk Time) 5 hours Battery Life (Standby Time) 11 days Charge Time 7 hours Selectable Night Mode Lighted Indicator with Ringer/Message Alert Illuminated handset keypad Intercom among handsets Handset Locator function Belt Clip Handset accepts optional headset LCD (Handset) 1.4 Dot 16 Digits x 3 Line White Backlit Color Ringer and Talk volume controls
3 Stars Great when it worked
I bought this phone because I just moved and no longer have a land line. I wanted to use my cell phone only. The phones worked great… when they worked. The unit repeatedly dropped calls. Actually, every call I made I would have to call back two or three times. I verified that the problem was not with my cell phone (the phone never dropped any calls and I never had any problems before I got the unit when I used my BT headset).
Sometimes the handsets would give me an error message saying that there was a problem w/ the AC connection at the base (which there never was. The phone was plugged directly into the outlet & I even tried a different outlet with the same problems). Other times there would be no message and the phone would just end the call. The lights on the base never changed (from green to red, flashing to solid…) and neither my phone, the base unit, or the handsets moved. I never could determine what the problem was and Panasonic’s tech support suggested I return the unit to Amazon…
When it worked it was great. Sound quality was on par w/ my BT headset. Features were good and it was nice to have the functionality and freedom of a cordless handset plus Caller ID (so I didn’t have to run to my cell phone to see who was calling). I’m going to assume that I just had a lemon, but I don’t want to risk having to return another unit so back it went.
2 Stars Too many dropped connections
I really wish this thing would work great, but the problem I have is that way too often calls will get dropped via the bluetooth connection. I will be talking on the handset one moment and then nothing. Occasionally when this happens if I go over to my cell phone the audio will have been transferred back to the cell phone, other times the call is gone.
I tried the de-register and re-register the handset as recommended by Panasonic technical support and it still occurs.
1 Star Unreliable bluetooth connections (surprise, surprise)
I really, really wanted this to work. Unfortunately, the link-to-cell feature is unreliable (likely due to bluetooth issues). But before I get into that, I will say, it has EXTREMELY limited cell phone support. Check their website. While they say it should work with most bluetooth 1.1, 1.2 and 2.0 phones, it will not work with my wife’s Treo 650 (which is bluetooth 1.1). In fact, they only confirm the phone works with a couple dozen phones.
That disappointment aside, I was thrilled when I saw that it seemed to work flawlessly with my Treo 750 (which has a newer bluetooth stack). I’ve had the phone for several days, and each day, until today, it has automatically made a connection to my Treo 750 when I get home from work. (And my phone is only about 15 feet away.) So, what now? I’d need to reestablish the connection, which just isn’t worth the effort every few days.
So, unfortunately, this slick little system is going back. Who knows — you might have better luck.
UPDATE: Okay, I haven’t returned the unit yet. But now I’m really going to. I was just on the phone with my father, and the phone just cut out. Then, there was a message on the handset saying it lost its connection with the base unit, and that I should unplug the base unit and replug it in. Well, I did that, and it’s still not connecting. I know there’s another procedure to go through to reestablish a connection, but come on, this is ridiculous. I should not have early-adopted this product, but I was too tempted by the link-to-cell feature. I’d say, wait until the next version.
4 Stars Packed with features but still quirky for a first try
We use 2 Motorola cell phones to connect to this system. One is the original Q and the original Razor. These work OK, but I feel this system really needs Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR cell phones to shine. Tons of features. the voicemail dial plus Pause and password is very nice, but sometimes you will try to connect and get denied from the handset and have to try again. Some times you will go to answer the cell phone from it, and the cell wont work and then disconnect from the system and then reconnect. and this also has happened when answering calls. It seems to happen a lot more on the Razor which makes me question our older Bluetooth chipsets. If I buy a new cellphone soon I will update this review.
5 Stars Great Phone
This is an excellent unit. I’ve had the Dock-N-Talk and the XLink in the past. This product performs much better than those products, and it has 2 integrated handsets at a lower price versus the standalone units.
No it doesn’t have an answering machine, but you know that before you purchase it. That wasn’t an issue for me; if it is for you, there are other options. No need for a bluetooth headset option; you can do that via your cell.
The unit integrates seamlessly with the various BT handsets I have. The DECT handsets perform superbly and are very lightweight.
As mentioned previously, the batteries are AAA NiMH; a big plus over proprietary batteries which are very expensive.
It would have been nice to have simultaneous landline and/or cellular usage on different handsets. It would have been also nice to have battery back-up at the base, which should be standard given the propensity of cordless phones.
One caveat may be the Bluetooth compatibility; but this has been the Achilles’ heel of BT since it’s inception.
After being on the Cellular/Landline telephone merry-go-round for a few years, I’ve finally found a winner. Panasonic has done a great job.
Corrections from other reviews:
1)There is in fact handset to handset intercom.
2)There is a shared phonebook feature between all DECT handsets.
