Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with landline and cell

How to replace my landline for 4 cell users?

gfroese — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 10:58:54 -0800

Require a replacement for my landline and the 30 bucks a month that it costs me as I now have 4 cell phones in the house. Require a telephone device that (a) rings on more than one handset (b) has access to cheap long distance (c) good quality and dependable. I realize Google Voice does a lot of this, but I'm in Canada and we don't have Google Voice available here yet or any indication of how soon it could be arriving. Is all of this possible without a landline? What services can you recommend to get me closer to my goal?

Smith residence, Sally speaking!

Eyebrows McGee — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:39:44 -0800

How do children learn phone etiquette in a world with no landlines? I was wondering about this the other day, as fewer of my friends have landlines and more have cell phones only, where cell numbers are tethered to particular PERSON, not a family unit. How do you teach children phone etiquette, since, "Smith residence, Sally speaking" is no longer applicable? When do you let them use/answer your phone? When do they get their own? How do they set up playdates with friends when they're 5? when they're 10? when they're 12? What IS the etiquette, particularly in the family where both adults have cells and there's no landline? Is it always mom's phone that gets the call? (Assuming a heteronormative household; also interested to hear in two-mom or two-dad households, of course!) Does mom make the dates and junior just doesn't until he's old enough for his own phone?

I'm interested in both cell-only households and cell-landline hybrids.

How to consolidate landline, Skype, cordless heaset, etc.

4midori — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:57:53 -0800

Consolidating landline, Skype, and headset(s) in to one neat system? I run a web design business from home. I use Windows XP and will upgrade to Windows 7 when the cash is there.

Right now I have:

A landline and cordless phone w/a plug-in headset (corded)

Skype on my PC, with a USB corded headset. Also used for voice recognition, though I'll do this a lot more often when I get Windows 7

So here's the issue: if possible, I'd like to have one, high quality cordless headset, maybe Bluetooth-style, that handles all these functions. I won't be dumping my landline, because I prefer the quality over cell phone. I also don't currently make business calls from Skype, because I already pay for landline long distance. Additonally, Skype calls appear to come from a different phone number, and caller ID doesn't work for the call recipient.

Essentially, I want a high-quality wireless headset with which I can walk around my house and access all this stuff.

If having an all-in-one device isn't possible, I'd at least like a way to run a high-quality cordless headset for my landline. There is one model for at least $200, but I would prefer to somehow use a $100 Bluetooth instead.

Long distance cell phones between Hamilton and Peterborough

ndicecco — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:16:38 -0800

My girlfriend and I are going to different universities in the fall - hers in Peterborough, mine in Hamilton. What should we do about long distance phone calls? Since the cell phone world seems to change every year, I didn't find any previous posts that were very helpful.

Neither of us have ever had cell phones... so it may be time that we left the stone age. It would be nice to have a phone we could take with us, considering that we both have very active lifestyles. The drawback, of course, is that cell phone companies in Canada are apparently evil.

Based on the research I've done so far, the Telus Share plan looks like our best option. Should we be wary? Are there better options?

I think Voip would be the cheapest way to go, since the basic idea is unlimited long distance between us (it would be nice to call our parents in Toronto and Vancouver once in awhile too)... but I have no idea where to go to set that up in either Hamilton or Peterborough.

Other things to know:

-she doesn't care about what phone she uses. I would like something I could sync with my Mac. The iPhone hits Canada in July...
-local outgoing calls would be minimal: 100 minutes/month each should suffice
-texting between us would be nice, but not necessary
-local texting doesn't really matter

Any advice on long distance plans, cell phone companies, voip, or even landlines would be useful.

Docking the Casbah - cell phone at home?

msamye — Fri, 02 May 2008 11:42:53 -0800

Any good options to connect a cell phone into a residential phone? So, I'm moving into a new apartment and miss having the convenience of a residential phone. Which is to say, the phone that will ring that I will hear even if I am 2 rooms away. I'm debating about just plugging my nice landline phone into a Skype adapter, and that'd be cool, but really only works for calling out.
What would be even -better- is if there was a way to plug my cell phone into the residential phone to make and receive calls, like a docking station. Any ideas?

Should I lose my landline phone in favor of my cell phone?

TwilightKid — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 11:33:46 -0800

The pro's and con's of killing my land line phone service in favor or going purely cell phone.....Go! I pretty much make all my call during the day at work, or on my cell phone at night. Meanwhile I still have my landline, basically cause thats how I grew up, and it seems odd not to have it. My bill is about 28 bux a month, and about 20 of it is random taxes and services. (note: I have the most basic of phone plans).

Is there any good reason, not to just abandon the land line at this point and live strictly off my cell? for the most part, my cell service is fine. I get good reception where I am. I have 'yet' to be in a situation where i needed my cell in an emergency at home, and it did not work....

but part of me still feels a bit awkward in losing the landline and saving myself about $300 a year in wasted conveinence.

thoughts?