Even though a lot of people use their cell phones as their primary means of contact, many are still hesitant to give up their landlines altogether. Not only is the call quality usually better, but the comfort of using a regular desk telephone can't compare to holding a little cell phone next to your ear, especially when on long calls. There is, however, a way to connect your cell phone to a normal telephone: you can use a Bluetooth gateway, like Grace Digital's Cell2Tel. Simply pair your cell phone with the Cell2Tel, connect it to a regular telephone, and you're good to go. The Cell2Tel can be paired with up to two cell phones, and you can use it with or without a landline. You can also use it with a cordless phone system. The Cell2Tel is available now for $99.99.
The Cell2Tel is really not much of a looker, design-wise. Measuring 5 inches long by 3.7 inches wide by 1.7 inches tall, the Cell2Tel looks a bit like a boring black answering machine. On the front are two LED indicators; the one on the left glows green to indicate that the power is on and the phone is connected, and the right one glows red when it isn't connected. Underneath that are two buttons, one for Cell Phone 1, and the other for Cell Phone 2. Next to both buttons are amber indicator lights, to show which cell phone is connected. On the back of the Cell2Tel are the connections for power, the USB port for firmware updates, a telephone line-in jack, and then the phone jack that leads to the desk telephone.
Setting up the Cell2Tel is quite easy. First, you attach the power supply and connect the appropriate phone jacks. If you still want to use your desk telephone for landline calls, be sure to connect the landline cable to the telephone line-in jack. If you don't have a landline, then you don't have to plug anything into the line-in. Next, you hold down one of the two cell phone buttons (let's say the Cell Phone 1 button) for 4 to 5 seconds. The amber light will begin to flash, and that's how you know the Cell2Tel is in Bluetooth pairing mode. You would now go to the Bluetooth menu in your phone and pair it like you normally would a Bluetooth headset. You can repeat this process for the second cell phone if you wish; be sure to select the Cell Phone 2 button if the Cell Phone 1 line is in use.
