[CHiNNuTS]

Is there anyway to connect a landline wire to a Treo(or any cellphone for that matter) and use it as a landline? Why would I need this? I prefer the interface of the Treo, as opposed to the landline and Desktop at work. Also would prefer to use the treo when I'm using voip, calling the U.S. from China. Rather than use a panasonic and the treo at the same time.

[illustreous]

LOL, I looked at the thread title and thought you found a way to use it as a landline phone. You should probably put a question mark in there to make it clearer.

[primate]

I would love to be able to do this with a regular analog phone system. I know a company out there had a product that did something like this with a Nokia phone.
I would love to get rid of my home phone service and just use my cell as my home phone.

[the_nite_owl]

I am not aware of anything that does specifically what you asked but there are devices to connect your cell phone to a landline so that you can make cell calls from your landline phone.
Here are the products I have found. Most of them require specific models of phones to fit the cradles but I think some are generic in nature.

cellsocket - http://www.cellsocket.com/
Xcelis Pantheon - http://www.xcelis.com/
Cidco - http://www.cidcocom.com/
Dock-N-Talk - http://www.phonelabs.com/

Is there anyway to connect a landline wire to a Treo(or any cellphone for that matter) and use it as a landline? Why would I need this? I prefer the interface of the Treo, as opposed to the landline and Desktop at work. Also would prefer to use the treo when I'm using voip, calling the U.S. from China. Rather than use a panasonic and the treo at the same time.

[Treominator]

LOL, I looked at the thread title and thought you found a way to use it as a landline phone. You should probably put a question mark in there to make it clearer.

Ditto

[CHiNNuTS]

nite owl, thanks for the links. went over them, but i don't get it. what's the point of using those machines when i can just pick my my cell and use it in the first place. now if they found a way to connect my treo to a landline service, i'd be interested... it would make sure I use the same interface no matter where i am...

[dutchtrumpet]

LOL, I looked at the thread title and thought you found a way to use it as a landline phone. You should probably put a question mark in there to make it clearer.

ditto

[CHiNNuTS]

oh yea, I remember these use to be a machine for the handspring visor where you dock your visor to a home cordless phone, and the visor becomes your phonebook on the phone... I'm looking for something like that for the treo... but since the treo should have most of the hardware already...

[mitemom]

I think the benefit of this is not so much in making out bound calls, but for taking inbound calls at home. I don't carry my mobile phone with me around the house..........so when the mobile rings, I'm running to the cradle to pick it up. BUT.........if I could pick up any phone in the house, it would be much more useful.

[Yautja_cetanu]

LOL, I looked at the thread title and thought you found a way to use it as a landline phone. You should probably put a question mark in there to make it clearer.

ditto :P


Actually I have to admit. This would be INCREDIBALY cool. Like the wireless roaming of wifi on the MDA 3,

If something could be made where you plugged a receiver into a landline socket, then as soon as you walk in range of the receiver the treo switches to being a landline phone, and any phone calls to your phone are redirected to the landline. This would be amazing because then you'd just carry your phone everywhere.

Then if this was coupled with wifi (so true internet roaming) it would be amazing!

[the_nite_owl]

The primary reason for this is to allow you to use your cellphone from any regular phone in your house. An incoming cell call will ring through the regular house phone system and you could place calls from any phone in the house over either regular phone service or through the cellular service.

In my case, the cellphone in my house would need to be connected to an external antenna to get reception. Reception on the roof is good, inside the house it does not exist. So to use the cellphone at home I would have to have it wired to an antenna or use one of the landline connection devices to liberate me by allowing cellular use through one of my cordless phones.

The devices I left links to are all different. Some require the usage of a two line phone to use both services and some do not have the ability to connect external antennas so researching the device and comparing to your needs would be important.

nite owl, thanks for the links. went over them, but i don't get it. what's the point of using those machines when i can just pick my my cell and use it in the first place. now if they found a way to connect my treo to a landline service, i'd be interested... it would make sure I use the same interface no matter where i am...

[theguyyo]

In my case, the cellphone in my house would need to be connected to an external antenna to get reception. Reception on the roof is good, inside the house it does not exist. So to use the cellphone at home I would have to have it wired to an antenna or use one of the landline connection devices to liberate me by allowing cellular use through one of my cordless phones.

Yeah, but with a device like that you could just leave your Treo on the roof. hehe

[Galahad]

[...] In my case, the cellphone in my house would need to be connected to an external antenna to get reception. Reception on the roof is good, inside the house it does not exist. So to use the cellphone at home I would have to have it wired to an antenna or use one of the landline connection devices to liberate me by allowing cellular use through one of my cordless phones. [...]

My reception was OK until we got a metal roof. Now the reception is no bars at all. Is there a kind of antenna that will overcome a metal roof?

[the_nite_owl]

There are two things you can do.
The least expensive method is to get an antenna that you can mount on your roof, run the cable into your house and plug it into your phone with an antenna adaptor.

The more expensive option is to get a cellular repeater system.
This would put an antenna on your roof to pick up the signal, route it to the repeater box (often this is also an amplifier system to improve performance) and then rebroadcast it into the house via an internal antenna. This allows all cell phones in the house to operate rather than just one and it does not have to be plugged into an antenna cable to work.
The big question with this setup is what service you use and what frequencies they operate at so you can purchase the appropriate model repeater.

With both solutions though, it is required that you have reasonable reception at roof level to begin with.
I have seen dual frequency repeaters that would work with my ATT/Cingular phone/frequencies for as little as $419. They are really popular devices for marine craft and RVs.

My reception was OK until we got a metal roof. Now the reception is no bars at all. Is there a kind of antenna that will overcome a metal roof?

[Gaurav]

You could also just forward all your calls from your landline phone to your Treo! That seems like the simplest solution imo...

[the_nite_owl]

It IS simpler to forward your calls but then you do not have any data functions from your phone or the ability to use the long distance plan for calling out while at home. You also pay an additional monthly charge for the call forwarding.
I know, it would take a long time at $5. a month to equal the cost of a repeater system but I get much more functionality out of it, do not have to remember to turn forwarding on/off and have the satisfaction of not paying an extra $5. a month to those corporate skeezes.

You could also just forward all your calls from your landline phone to your Treo! That seems like the simplest solution imo...

[SamS]

Why don't you just port your home number over to your treo?

[the_nite_owl]

Not sure what you mean by port.
I could either have my home number converted to a cellular number and give up the home line or forward my cellular calls to my home line when there.
Giving up my landline is a problem primarily because I just do not have the reception needed to get calls at home without adding in expensive hardware.
Secondly, we would no longer have a landline phone so when my wife or kids are at home and I am not, they would not have phone access unless they each carry their own cellphone which again runs into the problem of not having a good signal in the house.
Forwarding calls from my cell to landline is just another montly charge those scumbags at the phone company would charge me for. I get enough hassle arguing with them over all the extra services they keep tacking onto my bill without asking me. I never asked for a text messaging package, I never asked for a voicedial service, etc. Yet somehow they keep showing up on my bill and I have to call and argue with them to get them taken off and then they say, "Oh well this month's bill will be pro-rated so you will have to call back when you get your next bill to get that amount taken off." Why can I not charge them for the 5 phone calls I have had to make to get charges and services removed that I NEVER requested?
Sorry for the rant. My point is I do not want to pay them for any additional services. Besides, remembering to forward/unforward the calls every time I leave the house would be a hassle.
My solution if I ever decide to try it is to use a docking cradle that ties into a roof mounted antenna and hooks to a phone inside the house so that when at home my cell will have signal and I can access it while moving about the house freely with a cordless.
The other alternative is to buy a $400. repeater/amplifier so that my cellphone works without being connected to an antenna.

Why don't you just port your home number over to your treo?

[CHiNNuTS]

Great Input Guys,
I want to refocus this thread on the orignal topic I intended. I basically want to use my Treo using a VOIP line when I'm in China to call the USA. That way, I can keep a cell phone for local China use and continue to do business in the USA with using local VOIP rates. It would be great to earn American dollars and spend it in China and live like a King. A contraption that can allow the Treo to be attached to a landline would make this possible.

[MarkEagle]

You should probably put a question mark in there to make it clearer.

Done.