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A Cell Socket for Other Phones?

Posted by Cliff on from the interesting-twists-of-technology dept.

edstromp asks: "So I just heard about this neat device that lets you plug your cellphone into your home phone(s): CellSocket by Global Garden Group is one, but it only works on Nokia 5100's and 6100's. I am trying to convince my wife that we don't need a land line anymore (we both have cellphones), and I really think this would be the ticket. When you are home you can drop your cell into the cradle, and then all your home phone's will ring instead of your cell when someone calls your cell phone. Has anyone used one, and does anyone know if there are similar devices for other cellphones?"

39 comments

  1. Why not just go the whole VoIP deal. by Neck_of_the_Woods · · Score: 5, Informative

    We are using VoIP service from Vonage. We don't have a land line at all anymore and can have a area code anywhere in the world if we want. Currently we have in New York and Florida so that we can get local calls from all of our family, and all our toll calls are local as well. IE we pay 40 bucks in the north east and get unlimited toll and long distance with our family having just local calls to us. They send e-mail for your voice messages, and are I hear about to compress your voicemails into mp3 for email. You get to see all you incoming and outgoing call on the web. Everyting was just what we where looking for. Christ I sound like a commercial...

    We are planning on going to Cali or Col. for a contract job and just need to pack up our Cisco adapter and plug it in there. It does not care what network your on as long as it gets a dhcp address from somewhere.

    Only words of caution that I have is that is done not work well behind a software router. Any of the cheap hardware routers for broadband work fine so far. Hell I have even taken the thing down to florida and used it on a dialup network so I could make free calls for 2 weeks while I was down there.

    Anyway, not to sound like a comercial but it is a very cool way to save some money on your phone bill.

    www.vonage.com

    Enjoy,

    --
    Neck_of_the_Woods
    #/usr/local/surf/glassy/overhead
    1. Re:Why not just go the whole VoIP deal. by Twirlip+of+the+Mists · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Sounds kinda neat. It's not for me because I use DSL, so I have to have local telephone service anyway, but it's an interesting idea. How's the quality? Is there a noticeable echo or lag? Does it sound like a regular land line or more like a digital cell phone call? Have you ever had any problems with calls dropping or failing to go through?

      Thanks for any elaboration you can provide.

      --

      I write in my journal
    2. Re:Why not just go the whole VoIP deal. by Neck_of_the_Woods · · Score: 3, Informative

      Quality to land lines is the same, no one I call can tell the difference.

      I had a lot of droped calls at first going though a software proxy(ISA). Once I striped it out of the picture everything worked great. I have used it though a linksys, dlink, cisco, and one other little no name brand dsl router I can't remember at a friends house.

      We love it, although the only drawback is if your broadband goes down so does your phone. Alas that has not happend in over 8 months of use.

      Just to catch a couple of other questions I see coming. It has about a 33k stream from what I can tell and does not mess with anything else on your network. I could tell you the ports but that would just take the fun out of it. You can use a poor man's router set up if you like.

      What else...you really can't tell any differnce in this and a land line. Dial tone, call waiting, call blocking, called id...we use it with our normal phone. Any phone that plugs into a wall will work with it. I can't think of anyting else, if you have a question about it post it here I will try to answer it to the best of my knowledge from using the service.

      --
      Neck_of_the_Woods
      #/usr/local/surf/glassy/overhead
    3. Re:Why not just go the whole VoIP deal. by addaon · · Score: 2

      But there's no support for forwarding calls to a cell phone when you're not home, correct?

      --

      I've had this sig for three days.
    4. Re:Why not just go the whole VoIP deal. by Neck_of_the_Woods · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yes you can forward calls. In fact all of the services that you can do, including that is done though a webpage on the site.

      It is all pretty slick.

      --
      Neck_of_the_Woods
      #/usr/local/surf/glassy/overhead
    5. Re:Why not just go the whole VoIP deal. by thilmony · · Score: 1

      can I bring it to work and plug it into my ethernet switch at my desk and get my phone calls?

      --
      YES, there is a McDonald's in Hanoi Square.
    6. Re:Why not just go the whole VoIP deal. by dissy · · Score: 2

      I was looking over their website. I can see why your description got carried away and almost comercial sounding.. From what Ive read they look great!

      Unfortunatly they do not cover the areacodes I am in (Aparently only two citys in Ohio, nether of which are mine)

      I emailed to ask if they had plans to support my areacode soon or not, so hopefully Ill get a good reply from that soon.

      Do you know of any other companys that provide this same service?
      I would love to use something like this to replace my landline, but needs to have POPs in atleast my areacode heh others for family and friends are just a perk.

      Thanks

    7. Re:Why not just go the whole VoIP deal. by thilmony · · Score: 1

      heck, I am so impressed I ordered it. Within a minute I logged into my voicemail and the web page and the number works! I set up forwarding until the Cisco thing arrives and it forwards already so I can give that number out!

      --
      YES, there is a McDonald's in Hanoi Square.
    8. Re:Why not just go the whole VoIP deal. by Neck_of_the_Woods · · Score: 2


      This would have more to do with the way your company network is set up. This is one of those questions that you would find in a certification book with the answer "This questions and answer session does not cover the scoop required to answer this question".

      Short answer is if it was my network, no because it would end up being blocked...and you would end up going out a proxy..which would hose it up most of the time.

      Just set the thing to forward to your phone at your desk.

      --
      Neck_of_the_Woods
      #/usr/local/surf/glassy/overhead
    9. Re:Why not just go the whole VoIP deal. by austad · · Score: 2

      I had this for about 2 months. It worked well initially, but ATT Broadband decided that they would block all SIP (5060/udp) traffic to Vonage.com's network. I was able to get SIP traffic through to other places on the net, but not to Vonage. I verified this with a sniffer outside of my firewall to make sure the packets were going out, and then a Vonage tech verified he wasn't receiving them on his side.

      For awhile ATT was NAT'ing the traffic, but *only* the SIP traffic. Regular tcp connections and traffic on other UDP ports were not NAT'd. But eventually, they blocked it completely. I called them and finally got someone to fix it, but two weeks later, it stopped working again and I cancelled the phone service because I didn't want to spend 3 hours on the phone with ATT every 2 weeks.

      I would assume they blocked it because of their own competing service. Vonage does have customers using ATTBI, so it does work for some people. But if you're in Minneapolis, chances are you may have some problems.

      --
      Need Free Juniper/NetScreen Support? JuniperForum
    10. Re:Why not just go the whole VoIP deal. by Insightfill · · Score: 2
      It's not for me because I use DSL, so I have to have local telephone service anyway...

      When my DSL was set up I had that as a question, and the ISP said that they specifically set up my service so that would be a non-issue. While I must have wires to the CLEC, I don't have to have any phone service at all. They said that they rig it that way now because they had expected problems where people would kill (or lose) phone service, but blame the ISP for lost connectivity. Since the ISP/CLEC relationship is sometimes shaky at best, they said it saves lots of phone calls. They've had a fair number of customers go all-cellular, or switch local carriers and worry about lost DSL in the interim.

      If your DSL company doesn't do it and you're willing to hop, shop around for someone who's willing to do it.

      My ISP (Soltec) is a little more expensive than others, but the service is incredible; they're willing to remotely administer my Speedstream (5861) router*, but also willing to let me take over if I want. The tech who helped set me up is a former student of mine when I taught high-school, so there was no jerking around.

      * a cool piece of equipment if ever there was one!

  2. Re:Hmm by mrmez · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Oh, come on. even if you do have an opportunity to post the first reply, please come up with something better than "hmm" or don't post. at least type an actual word.

  3. cell socket? by TREETOP · · Score: 1

    Didnt they try this in Florida a while back with cell phones that acted like a cordless as long as you were within range of the home base unit? If you went too far away, the cordless phone changed over into a bona-fide cellphone and started charging against your connect minutes.

    1. Re:cell socket? by captainbonehead · · Score: 1

      GTE Wireless and their affiliates had that service -- named something like "Cell2Go". A friend of mine had it here in Nashville, and it was pretty cool. I think it got killed by the cheap cell boom, since it cost $75 on top of your local carrier.

  4. Expensive? by TripleA · · Score: 1

    I don't know about the states, but in Sweden it is dirt cheap (2 cents /minute) calling from land-lines, and costly (60 cents /minute) to use a cellphone. So loosing the land line is not very cost-effective.

    1. Re:Expensive? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yeah, in the US it is quite the opposite. my home phone has long distance rates of 7 c/m while my cell has free (continental US) long distance with no time limits.

      we forget that things are not the same everywhere else sometimes.

      and others just don't know to begin with.

      as for the device itself... it requires a 2 line cordless phone. those things are pricey!

      as long as you get good reception on your cell at home, and the pricing is right, why bother with this device? just dump the land line and forget about it...

      plus the money you save can be given to the MPAA... i mean to buy dvd's..... ;-)

    2. Re:Expensive? by cdrudge · · Score: 2

      Maybe in your case but not for everyone. Last October I ditched my land line for a family plan with T-mobile. I pay 69.99 for 800 shared minutes, "free" long distance, unlimited weekends and unlimited to any T-mobile customer. I've yet to come close to my limit with the two lines. It was cheaper for 2 cell phones then it was for my single cell phone and a land line.

    3. Re:Expensive? by anonymous+cupboard · · Score: 2

      How much does it cost to call a cellphone from the land-line? It would be kind of nice to be able to route outgoing cell phone calls via something like this automatically - certainly an issue with European style billing (caller pays mobile charges) rather than US (recipient pays).

  5. Amazon link? by cybermace5 · · Score: 3, Informative

    I would think that, if you really wanted people to know anything about the device, you would have linked to cellsocket.com.

    --
    ...
  6. This thing by XO · · Score: 1

    RadioShack sells a model for the Nokia 51/6100 as well, and that manufacturer makes one for the old StarTAC and MicroTAC cell phones, I think, but that's all I've been able to find.

    --
    "Champagne for my real friends - and real pain for my sham friends!" http://ericblade.postalboard.com/
  7. I will always have a land line... by bihoy · · Score: 2

    For two BIG reasons:

    1. I will never give out my cell number to a company that wants my phone number in order to provide me with a service or product. I HATE telemarketers.

    2. I like the security of having a land line as a backup. They are reliable and cheap. When my mother comes to babysit she knows how to use it.

    1. Re:I will always have a land line... by MasterMnd · · Score: 1

      On the other hand I ALWAYS give my cell number to companies that might sell my name. It's illegal for telemarketers to call a cell phone, and I haven't gotten one sales call on it yet.

    2. Re:I will always have a land line... by Drakino · · Score: 2

      I HATE telemarketers.

      Same here, this is why my cell phone has been my only phone for the past 4 years. I've had two telemarketers call, both from companies I have services from (Credit card and TV service). Before they even got far into the call, I interrupted them with "Do you know this is a cell phone?" Their response was to apologize and promptly hang up. Telemarketing to cell phones is against the law in the US.

      To answer the question of the poster, Vox.Link was another product that worked with the same Nokia phones, plus some Motorola and Ericsson phones. Their website is www.vox2.com, though right now I can't resolve the IP.

      Since these devices all seem to be a bit behind modern phones, anyone know if it's possible to have two GSM phones on the same phone number? That way, I can stick the Nokia 5100 into this device, but continue to carry around my small 8200 phone.

    3. Re:I will always have a land line... by zztzed · · Score: 2

      If the phones are from the same provider, or if your SIM card is unlocked, you can just swap the card between the phones.

    4. Re:I will always have a land line... by Drakino · · Score: 2

      MY SIM is unlocked last I checked, hmmm... How durable are they? I can see noticible tracks left in the card from being used for a few years now (and being removed out of boredom several times).

      Thats somewhat of a pain, but a possibility I suppose.

    5. Re:I will always have a land line... by zztzed · · Score: 2

      I don't really know. I doubt it will break, but it wouldn't hurt to try to break your habit of removing it when you're bored anyway. :P

    6. Re:I will always have a land line... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >How durable are they?

      Very. The technology is the same as ISO 7816 smartcards. Should be good for 100 or more insertion/removal cycles.

  8. FYI - don't do net by TheSHAD0W · · Score: 2

    Just for your information -- unless you can lock the phone into analog operation, don't even try hooking a modem to this thing. I wouldn't even recommend using a fax on it. The audio compression used in digital cellular and PCS will ruin your throughput.

    1. Re:FYI - don't do net by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You'd be a fool to use analog. Most cellular providers offer QNC connections using your voice minutes. It's limited in speed to 14.4kbit. It has nothing to do with compression. Analog has the same maximum throughput as digital -- and since the max speed of faxing is 14.4kbit, it won't matter one bit for faxes.

      I don't know where you got this info, but it's not correct.

    2. Re:FYI - don't do net by TheSHAD0W · · Score: 2

      Digital cellular and PCS use a voice-grade compression, which squeezes your conversation down to about 4kbps, in each direction. Your 14.4kbps, 9.6kbps or even 4.8kbps fax connection will not handle the compression at all well, and in the case of data transmission, even at 2400bps or less you're going to see data corruption.

      With analog cellular, on the other hand, you've got two actual analog radio channels dedicated to the conversation, and while noise would be a concern, a modem signal with error correction can squeeze through it.

    3. Re:FYI - don't do net by anonymous+cupboard · · Score: 2
      Yes, fax devices and modems must be linked directly to the digital feed. Without a modem, PCS can got at 9.6 or more without problems. In such a case a computer deals with the phone as if it was a fake modem and the phone recodes the info as frames to go over the net which get converted back to analog at the provider's end.

      Useless with this thing because the digital connection can only be made through the base of the unit (where this unit connects).

  9. I have the Andrew Extensis by thilmony · · Score: 1

    http://www.thilmony.com/nophone.htm

    --
    YES, there is a McDonald's in Hanoi Square.
  10. Hey, I worked on one of these! by Matt_Bennett · · Score: 2

    I worked on one of these- when I worked for Andrew corporation, I did some hardware and coding for the Extensis (mentioned below). Trying to get it to act like a landline was pretty tough- there is no really set way to determine when the call should actually go through- I ended up with a complex state machine based on a bunch of inputs, like how many numbers dialed, pause between the digits, and what number was dialed. (911 gets you right through, for example) The biggest downside I see is that 911 doesn't give the operator your address instantly in case of an emergency (yet, at least). Also, you're going to be pretty limited in the number of telephones that the device can power- You're probably not going to get one of these cradles that will drive the normal phone company max load of 5B (about 5 normal old telephones with mechanical ringers)

    You can't use a digital phone for any sort of modem, but otherwise, it should work great. The first generation I worked on was for a motorola Star-Tac type phone. These are pretty complex little devices.

  11. Other way around? by jonr · · Score: 2

    I want the opposide: A cell phone station that plugs into my land line, so I can use my mobile phone on land line rates. (Cell phone rates here are criminal!) I can't see any technical reason why this wouldn't work.
    J.

  12. Turn your cell phone into a cordless phone? by Nonesuch · · Score: 2
    I want the opposide: A cell phone station that plugs into my land line, so I can use my mobile phone on land line rates. (Cell phone rates here are criminal!) I can't see any technical reason why this wouldn't work.
    Motorola actually had this back in the early 90's. Basically, they just built in the internals of a cordless phone into a standard cell phone. The prototypes I saw looked exactly like the original "flip phone", except the case was black instead of grey.

    You'd set up a base station at home that looks and functions exactly like any portable wireless phone base, and when you are at home, your "cell phone" would just be another extension of your home phone line.

    The same Motorola facility also had a way-cool "microcell" attached to the local office PBX, so your cell phone would work just like your desk phone when on the local Motorola campus.

    --

    I do not deploy Linux. Ever.
  13. Other docking stations for oher phones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ericsson
    http://store.yahoo.com/1800mobiles/newus eyource1.h tml

    Motorola
    http://cellantenna.com/Dockingstations /Vox2docking station.htm

    Kyocera
    http://cellantenna.com/Dockingstations/ kyocera.htm

  14. Re:Hmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i smell a hint of jealously here.

    hmmmm