Dock-N-Talk Disadvantages

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You may feel like you're ready to cut the cord with your home phone, but consider the cons of Dock-N-Talk first.

You're finally ready to buy the Dock-N-Talk and cancel your land line phone service. There are some considerations before you tell the phone company to take a hike:

  • The Dock-N-Talk can only connect to one cell phone at a time. There are also different cords to buy for different models. If you have more than one cell phone in the household, you'll either have to decide which phone is your "home phone" or you'll have to buy additional Dock-N-Talks.
  • If you do decide on one phone for the landline, the rest of the household doesn't have a phone line when you take your cell phone with you. If you want one cell phone to be the home phone, the best option is to buy a second cell phone that's on the same line as your current one and leave the second permanently connected to the Dock-N-Talk.
  • Compatibility is an issue, since some cell phones don't work with the Dock-N-Talk. Bluetooth also requires a special connector for an additional fee. Even if you're giving up your landline completely, there's still the initial expense of the Dock-N-Talk.
  • Your reception is only as good as your cell connection. Even if the phone is docked in the part of the house with the strongest signal, your home phone lines' sound quality will be your cell phone's sound quality (source: Taub).
  • If you're building a new home, you still need a phone line installed for the Dock-N-Talk to work.
Dock-N-Talk Alternatives?

There are alternatives to buying the Dock-N-Talk, although most have their own pros and cons. For example, the Intellitouch Xlink Cellular Bluetooth Gateway can connect three cell phones to the same device, but it only works with Bluetooth-enabled phones [source: XLink]. You could turn your home into a WiFi phone center with the T-Mobile HotSpot @ Home, since it allows you to make unlimited calls through your wireless network. But it works with a limited number of brands and requires WiFi service [source: T-Mobile].­

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­­There are plenty of situations in which the Dock-N-Talk may be an acceptable alternative to a regular land-line phone, but it depends on how comfortable you are with shelling out the money for the new technology as well as getting used to plugging in your cell phone to get land-line service. For more information on the Dock-N-Talk, please see the links on the following page.