Future Looks Smart for Landlines
Is the domestic landline telephone about to surge into a new era? A recent product launch from BT might suggest so. The new Home SmartPhone S brings a whole new look to the plug-in phone.
Although, like the previous generation, it docks into the cradle of a base station, which in turn houses an answerphone, it looks like, and has the functions of, a modern mobile. The on board Android operating system, touch screen, front facing camera and 2 GB of memory provide for taking and storing pictures, listening to and cataloguing music, catching up with emails, browsing the Internet and running Apps. For social media enthusiasts, Facebook and Twitter Apps are preinstalled.
Welcome added value from this device is Nuisance Call Blocking, introduced by BT last year on a select range of handsets. Most of us, even those who have taken the usual precautions, including going ex-directory and registering with the Telephone Preference Service, are still plagued with silent calls, abandoned calls, sickeningly cheery recorded messages from payment protection insurance claim agents and ambulance chasers.
Users of this phone can select which called they want to block. International calls and those with withheld numbers account for a large proportion of unwanted calls and can be selectedfor blocking, as can up to 10 specific numbers. It is not an inexpensive option at £170, but this fusion of smartphone functions into our home phone seems to finally bring the landline into the 21st-century.
Whether it will fly remains to be seen, though. At the end of the day, will a mobile in the pocket be more convenient than the device cradled in the hallway?
