Landline breakthrough: VTech announces a DECT 6.0 walkie-talkie
By Nilay Patel 
posted January 25th 2010 12:59PM
posted January 25th 2010 12:59PM
posted January 25th 2010 12:59PM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
@Solidstate89 You, me, and about 100 million other people in the US. Everyone keeps saying that landlines are dead, but I just don't see it. Everyone I know, except one, has a landline. That number is probably skewed a little seeing that everyone I know is at least in their mid-30s and owns their own home, except one.
@baltwade
I'm a bit younger (early thirties) and after reading your post I tried to think of the people I know around my age and whether they have landlines. I realized that I have no clue whether any of my friends have landlines or not. I assume some of them do, but I bet a majority of them do not. Since many of my friends moved quite a bit in their younger years I always just used their cell phone # to contact them. Now even though many are settled in homes they own, I still use their cell #'s to contact them.
Wow its not like they changed the case or anything....
@hdawggy ya... they brought 2 scoops... of horse shish
The phones I have had for a few years can kinda do this. You just "page" another phone and you can talk to each other.
@decypher44 Agreed. My phones do the same thing. I think most multiple handset cordless systems do this by now.
@decypher44 But if this is a true push-to-talk setup, then it's definitely something new. I can just imagine the possibilities for annoying my wife.
@decypher44
I assume the vtech is about not needing the base station to do that?!
Anyhow, most Siemens Gigaset phones I know have been able to do this for years.
@microlomaniac Not quite, from an MMI perspective. Those Europeans are all about privacy and a true PTT MMI setup runs against all European DECT phone designs.
1,500 feet? No ideas what that is in meters... Ok it's about 457.2 m...
in deed not bad !
Apple should make a walkie-talkie version of the iPhone !
Walkie-App !
D-2 ...
@SuperCharly It's not only just an app that is needed. It needs radios!! First, let them work on a proper FM radio on the iphone.
If anyone at VTech is listening, one feature I'd really like is a remote controlled toilet flusher. I can't count the number of times I've had to let more than yellow mellow because I didn't want the person on the other end of the line to know I was in the bathroom. 2011 would be a great year for that feature!
@Bosco
Leave this to iPhone. iPhone is a "do all" gadget.
@Bosco
"...one feature I'd really like is a remote controlled toilet flusher... I didn't want the person on the other end of the line to know I was in the bathroom."
So whats wrong w/ flushing and running?
why do companies insist on putting answering devices in these things? I can understand people's need/want for a land line but voicemail is included in virtually all phone contracts now.
@scwtech
I'll buy this phone when they release a version with integrated fax, modem, and telex.
@scwtech : Because all you have to do is push a button to hear your messages. You don't have to dial a number, enter a password, and then push 1 to hear new messages.
A lot of phone contracts cost more now because of the voice mail included. I would rather save the $5/month or so AND have the convenience of pushing only one button to hear my messages.
I have a set of cordless GE cell fusion Dect 6.0 phones that have a push to talk button on the side. I bought them a month ago so these Vtech certainly aren't the first to have it.
@justinmc Thank you.
When the Zombie Apocalypse comes and I can still communicate with the world via my landline, and you're stuck with your useless cell phone or voip phone; we'll see who the squ
@Critic2029
fail :(
@Critic2029
well played
@Critic2029 Landlines are for emergency like insurance, remember cell phones fail in a power outage i.e. Katrina landlines work until your home is underwater.
1,500 feet? what the...?
How come no one has said "what a blatant rip off of ______ [insert apple product name here]" yet?
Usually there's some "sharp" commenter out there, lol...
I don't know whether to be proud or doubtful...
@geolemon because it's a blatant rip off of the GE Cell Fusion product that came out in 2007.
Hate to break this to you Engadget, but GE's Cell Fusion had push-to-talk (walkie-talkie) feature back when they introduced it in late 2007 (just do a search on CNET's review of the product from October 2007). VTECH is 2+ years late to the table and all the innovations GE brought from 2005 to 2008 in the home phone category are now being blatantly copied left & right by Panasonic and VTECH. Just because the GE brand in PSTN phones has been out of the market for a year doesn't mean VTECH can spread outright lies or for you guys not to do some due diligence on this matter.
How about a phone without an answering machine? The options for a good multi-handset without answering machine are few and far between. I don't want to pay for an answering machine if I have voicemail with unlimited storage and voice to text. Come on
Yes, but will it work in my live-in Faraday cage built in 1901? I think not.
Why on earth do all these things come with answering machines? Doesn't everyone have voice-mail?
I am looking to replace my wireless landline headsets (I use a VOIP "landline), but I can't find any sets that don't have a freakin' answering machine on them. VOIP services all have built in voice-mail. Heck, so do most regular land-line accounts. What's the point?
@pmbAustin
I didn't know they started pushing free voicemail on landlines. The last time I had a landline (4 years ago?) it cost extra.
@pmbAustin : No. Just like not everyone has a cell phone, and not everyone with a landline uses the junky VOIP version. I have a real landline (one that will work in a power outage or lost internet connection), and voice mail isn't included in my plan unless I pay extra for it every month. I would rather save the money and have an answering machine at home.
I completely agree.
"the first DECT 6.0 push-to-talk cordless"
Sigh. "Push to talk" is an instruction on the mic button, not the name of a feature. The feature is walkie-talkie mode. You push the button to talk.
Does anyone not think the human race is getting dumber all the time?
I've had this feature on all my landline phones.
What's new here?