Make Your Home Phones More Efficient with Panasonic Link2Cell Bluetooth Phones & Qi Mobile Chargers

Thank you to Panasonic for providing a sample Link2Cell Bluetooth® Enabled Phone with Answering Machine KX-TGH263B & 3 Cordless Handsets for us to base this review upon and for providing an additional set for our giveaway prize.  All opinions expressed are my own.

I love gadgets, so when I heard about Panasonic’s new Link2Cell Bluetooth Enabled Telephones, I was excited to try them out. We have VOIP service at home and just use a basic cordless phone, but the thing I really liked about the Panasonic ones is that they are equipped with Link2Cell technology. These phones not only connect to a land or VOIP line, they can receive the incoming calls to your cell phone!

When we received these, I immediately set them up and got them running. We received one main base and two secondary bases with three phones. I put the main unit in our living room and the secondary ones in the kitchen and our bedroom. The phones link via Bluetooth to up to two cell phones, so all of our phone calls to our home phone and to both my husband’s and my cell were coming through the same set of phones! I loved that these phones play our cell’s personalized ringtones, so there is no way to miss who the phone is ringing for. The phones even have voicemail capabilities, which would be a plus for many consumers.

I love that I can use these handsets even if my cell is not right next to me. Now when my phone dies, I can go plug it in at the charger in my bedroom, but not miss any calls with my handset. It doesn’t allow me to text from the handset, but that’s a feature I’m okay without. It does, however, have a text message alert option, so I know if I have a text on my cell phone. The handset itself has very clear reception and I’ve never had any issues with static. It even has a “noise reduction” button so you can remove background noise, such as from the children or the television, while you are on an important call.

In addition to the mentioned features, it has Talking Text Sender Alert which announces the phone number of incoming calls, a Locate Cell button that helps find your missing cell phone, Power Back-Up Operation which utilizes the large battery to keep the phones operating in a short power outage, Tone Equalizer which allows users to set bass and treble to equalize their voice, Eco Mode which saves power, Call Blocking, and complete personalization of the home screen on the units including wallpaper. Plus, it has a very sleek and stylish design that is nice and compact so as to not take up a ton of space on tabletops.

We also received the Panasonic Qi Mobile Charger, which retails for $39.99, so now I can charge my phone anywhere. This small but powerful charger is convenient to take anywhere -- in purses, the car, even in your pocket. It has the capability to charge any phone with a USB cord so it’s always ready to charge your device whenever you need it.  What a perfect gift idea for anyone who needs to stay connected no matter where they go!

The Panasonic Link2Cell Bluetooth Enabled Phone is an excellent product that exceeded my expectations. These retail for $119.95 at Shop.Panasonic.com, but is currently on sale for a limited time for just $91.99. What a great price if you have someone on your holiday list who needs a more efficient phone system at home!.

Enter to win a Link2Cell Bluetooth® Enabled Phone with Answering Machine with 3 Cordless Handsets (ARV $119.99) plus a Qi Mobile Charger (ARV $39.99) of your very own . . .

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Good luck in the drawing!

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. A random drawing will be held shortly after the contest closing. The winner will be announced here and will be contacted via email. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be drawn.

Review: VTech LS6375-3 Phone System with DECT 6.0 Headset

We recently received the Vtech LS6375-3 Two Handset Cordless Answering System with the Cordless DECT 6.0 Headset to test out in our home . . .

The Vtech LS6375-3 is sleek and compact. The base unit has a built in answering machine and charges one of the handsets. The additional handset and DECT 6.0 headset each have their own charging cradles and can be placed anywhere in your home.

Each handset is full featured and comes with all the bells and whistles you would expect a modern phone system to have...except one button speed dialing. Although the Vtech LS6375-3 is a great system, it boggles my mind that one button speed dialing was left out in a modern phone.  This is the same complaint we had with the Vtech DS6321-3 phone system.  The phone does have a directory, but you need to scroll through the contacts even if you jump to a particular letter of the alphabet. We had taught our oldest child to use the speed dial for emergencies, not an option with this system.  We had to resort to only programming the most important numbers into this phone so that it would be easier to use in case of an emergency.

The handsets can be used as speakerphones so you can talk while you do other things like cook or use your computer. My favorite feature is the press to talk intercom, it functions just like a walkie talkie. Our previous phone system's intercom functioned only like a phone call.  Having the option to use the handsets for either is much better.

The DECT 6.0 Headset looks and wears just like an oversized Bluetooth mobile phone headset. It is comfortable to wear, the sound quality is excellent, and it works anywhere in the house. You can press one button and answer an incoming call or join a call already in progress.  It does not have the capability of dialing out, however.  Still it is very handy for talking on the phone while keeping your hands free for other things, such as typing on your computer, preparing dinner, and other household tasks.

Overall the Vtech LS6375-3 is an excellent expandable phone system and we should get years of use out of it. The two-handset system with the headset retails for $99.95 .  We have already ordered an additional handset for the middle floor. If Vtech chose to add one press speed dialing for your 10 favorite people the Vtech LS6375-3 would be perfect.

To learn more about the Vtech LS6375-3, visit VtechPhones.com.  You can also find Vtech Phones on Facebook.

Thank you to Vtech for sending us a complimentary product sample to base this review upon.

Review: VTech DS6321-3 DECT 6.0 Bluetooth Cordless Phone System

When VoIP was first introduced and we owned our first expandable cordless phone system, my husband and I were impressed. Then when our old Uniden handsets stopped holding their charge and started dropping intercom calls from the first floor to the third floor of our house, the honeymoon was over. What use to be a major convenience turned into a huge inconvenience, especially when you had to run up to the 3rd floor to make an important phone call because that was the handset that performed the best. This is why I was thrilled to be able to review a VTech expandable phone system with DECT 6.0 technology.

This phone system comes with 3 handsets, but can be expanded to up to 12, which is perfect for a business. There are many things about this phone system that are extremely impressive. There are also a few things that I would like to see changed.

What I thought about the VTech DS6321-3 Expandable Cordless Phone System:

1) The handsets on these phones are compact, sleek, and shaped so that they fit naturally in the hand.

2) I was pleasantly surprised that, in spite of it's thin body, the handsets still stand upright independently on a table or desk.

3) This phone has Bluetooth capabilities that allows you to answer incoming and make outgoing calls for up to two mobile phones from your VTech handsets. This is great for households that do not subscribe to a phone service and only use their mobile phones.

4) One of the most convenient features is being able to transfer the mobile phone book data for up to 4 mobile phones onto your handsets. VTech could not have made the transfer process any simpler. The one thing I would like to have seen is the ability to add entries into the mobile phone directory after it has been transferred. Instead it is a separate directory from your home phone directory, so if you want to manually add a contact, it can only be added to the home directory.

5) Normally, I would prefer to have all my phone numbers in one directory, but having a separate home directory is a must for this phone. The reason is because these handsets do not have speed dial. This is a basic feature I am having trouble adjusting to living without. Having a separate home directory at least allows me to keep the handful of important and frequently dialed phone numbers that I use to have on speed dial in a separate directory.

6) The sound quality of the DECT 6.0 technology is too good. The sound is crystal clear and the phone picks up every sound no matter how small.

7) The handset to handset intercom is a feature we cannot live without. I think my husband and I call each other within the house more than we make outgoing calls. I only wish I did not have to go into a menu to access the intercom and that there was a button to access it directly on the handsets' keypads.

8) Our previous phone system did not have a built-in answering machine, so we have voicemail included in our phone service. At first I tried to continue to use our voicemail, but there is something about this VTech phone system that makes it inconvenient. First, I need to dial our voicemail number to check it without the convenience of speed dial. Second, after I check the voicemail, the indicator that reads "new voicemail" does not disappear. You have to go into a menu to manually clear the alert. This might be fine for offices, but for home use, it was a lot of extra work. So I've switched us over to using the digital answering machine.

9) Since I was use to listening to my voicemail messages in my ear, I was surprised when I proceeded to check our answering machine messages and the messages played out loud through speakerphone. If you are concerned about privacy, then you will have to remember not to check your messages while having company.

Here are some other great features of the VTech DS6321-3:

• This cordless phone system is ENERGY STAR qualified
• You can set the incoming calls to the home and mobile phone numbers to all have distinctive rings
• Your handsets can be programmed for English, Spanish, or French
• Digital security makes your line more secure
• Wireless computer networks will not get interference from this WiFi-friendly phone system
• The handsets have a large easy-to-read screen display

This 3-handset phone system retails for $99.95 . The quality of the equipment as well as the sound technology is outstanding. If you can get past not having the convenience of speed dialing, then I would recommend this phone for a busy household. I am looking forward to possibly trying out a Bluetooth headset with this phone system.

You can purchase this phone right on VTechPhones.com where you can receive Free Shipping on all orders of $50 or more.

Thank you to VTech for sending us a sample phone system free of charge to base this review upon.