The BluePhone Project

[tugrik]

This is something I saw in testing many years ago -- admittedly using a different wireless tech than bluetooth. It cropped up again today on one of my gadget-watching sites called Mobile Burn.

The idea is to have a module that clips to a landline (such as your home phone line) and broadcasts on bluetooth. A bluetooth cellular phone can then link to it and use the landline as needed. When used right this means that you can have one handset of your choice and travel between home, mobile and work and simply have the phone use whatever line it's near (news blurb is here).

Back when I first saw this and cel airtime was insanely priced this would have been a wonderful thing. Nowadays it's less important as there are many cel plans that are far cheaper than a landline, especially for intra-LATA calls. Still... fun infrasatructure. We're slowly getting closer and closer to seamless data and voice that follows us wherever we roam.

Comments

[ralesk.livejournal.com]

I'd personally like it here :)

[athelind.livejournal.com]

The big reason we didn't just give up a landline entirely in favor of our cell phones was because the one place we consistently CAN'T get a signal is IN OUR OWN APARTMENT. That was true in Marina, and it's just as true here in Santa Clara. Having some kind of Cell Phone Node that plugged into our wiring would really simplify that.

[kibbles.livejournal.com]

This year my cheapness paid off.

Not only do I not have a cell phone, I don't even have a cordless (kids kept wandering off with it, or I would misplace it).

So when the blackout came, I actually was able to use my phone. Of course I don't expect any more blackouts. . .

I do live in an old pre-war building, though, and cannot get a signal in here either. (Well, no one else can.)

[perlandria.livejournal.com]

The only place to get reception in the Santa Clara house (i've moved) was to hug the first aid kit we had mounted to the hallway wall.