BT launches Glide bluetooth home phone

by Ryan Block, posted May 26th 2006 at 9:21AM

Not surprising that along with BT's Fusion wireless / landline service, they're launching the BT Glide, another foray shoehorning cellphone tech into the landline handset (this time Bluetooth). Doesn't seem like it does all the interesting things we'd hope it would, like pair with our computers or have built-in VoIP (then again, why would it?), but it does use Bluetooth to communicate to the base and can sync contacts, sends texts, and basically generally pretend to be smart enough to make it seem appealing to use when even your lower end cellphones nowadays have features never even considered for most landline handsets. That £179.99 ($336 US) sale price though, ouch; somehow even a heavy carrier subsidy (which you're not gonna get) makes it a tough sell.

[Via TechDigest]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Wireless

Tags: bt, fusion, glide

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

Sasha S. @ May 26th 2006 9:51AM

This is a nice looking gadget, however I must say I feel very much against the whole fusion concept. This is a typical case where a technological solution is developed to solve what is esentially a billing problem. Mobile calls are too expensive and they do not need to be - mobile operators operating costs (network related) are tiny compared with fixed network and still the cost of their calls are huge.

I am all for fixed - mobile convergence but this is a wrong way if I have ever seen one. In my opinion DECT standard is far more superior to anything that hacked Bluetooth can offer. BT had a solution like that with specifically made Ericsson phone (GSM + DECT), hoever that product failed as BT had too complex billing and usage system.

One fixed mobile convergence service which is made well and it is actually working is Duet in Denmark. Simple (no extra hardware needed - evrything is handled in the network)

I predict that this service will be gone within a 12 - 18 months .

Neutral

henryaj @ May 26th 2006 10:21AM

If it uses Bluetooth, isn't the range of the handset only about 10 metres? How crap a cordless phone does that make it?!

Neutral

Brian from Texas @ May 26th 2006 10:36AM

There must be a better term to use here:

"This is a transitory product, one of those ugly stepchildren that results from technology miscegneation."

miscegenation
: a mixture of races; especially : marriage, cohabitation, or sexual intercourse between a white person and a member of another race

Neutral

Brian from Texas @ May 26th 2006 10:38AM

Well, now that I see your website domain is "adventures in defecation" I totally understand your racist comment. You're disgusting.

Neutral

-sun @ May 26th 2006 12:30PM

Brian

your opinions will make you miss so many wonderful things in this life. I hope that you open up enough to understand this at some point. Take Care.

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