We don’t use our home phone often. Like a lot of people, these days we rely on our cell phones most of the time – I doubt our family even knows our home number without looking it up. (My dad actually didn’t know we had a home phone until the other day…) We’ve had our current cordless phone system since we moved into the house (about six years ago), and it has been showing its age lately. I can only talk for about 15 minutes before the batteries die. So when the opportunity came to review a new phone from VTech, I quickly took advantage of the opportunity.
The VTech DS6421-3 DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone proves that cordless phones have come along way. This set includes three handsets, and only the base needs to be plugged into a phone line. The other two stations can be placed anywhere in the house. You can expand the system to up to 12 total handsets, but three is plenty for us. This is definitely a “fully-loaded” phone with great features including a Digital Answering System, Voice Announce Caller ID, HD Audio, Push-to-Talk Walkie Talkies, Handset Speakerphones and Connect to Cell. The phone even says the name of the caller when it rings (based on the caller id), so if your tied up (with a new baby for example), you can decide if you want to get up and answer it. (This feature cracks me up every time the phone rings because the digital pronunciation of names is hilarious.)
In a survey by VTech, 92% of parents ranked a device that could help you multi-task and get more things done as very/somewhat important. This is one of those devices.
By far the coolest new feature is Connect to Cell. This technology allows you to link up to four Bluetooth-capable cell phones to the VTech DS6421-3 phone (note, only two can be active at any given time). Now you can make and receive cell phone’s calls on the cordless phone handsets. I LOVE this feature because at any give time I have lost my cell in my house, so when it rings I regularly miss calls because I can’t find my phone. Now, I can answer any phone in the house to get my cell phone calls.
Once you pair your cell phone to the VTech DS6421-3, which is an easy process, it automatically connects each time you come home without any extra effort from you. You can even assign unique rings to your home line and each cell phone, so you know which phone line is getting a call when it rings. The one caveat is that Bluetooth is limited to 30 feet, so cell phones need to be close to the Vtech base to work. Unfortunately, in our house the base is located in our office, so we have learned that if our cell phones are in our bedroom the Bluetooth won’t connect. But it works great when the cells are closer to the base! (I am working on finding a more central location for the base in the house.)
If you’re one of the increasing many who don’t have a land line, you can still use the VTech DS6421-3 to answer cell phone calls around the house. The VTech DS6421-3 is also a good solution if you don’t get good cell coverage throughout your house. Just leave your phone where you do have good coverage and you use the VTech DS6421-3 handsets everywhere else without worrying about dropping calls.
We have been using the VTech for over a week now, and it has proven to work great. Everything you’d expect a phone to do well, with some cool extras. We did have a problem with the first one we received, but after trying a couple quick suggestions by tech support, VTech replaced our unit and the new one has been working flawlessly.
According to survey by VTech, nearly half of consumers ranked a phone call as the best present a distant friend or family member could give them for the holidays. So if you owe a family member a call, pick up the phone this holiday season and make that call.
The VTech DS6421-3 is available on Amazon for less than $100, and would be a great gift or a worthy replacement for your old phone.
Disclosure – I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by MomCentral Consulting on behalf of VTech and received a product sample to facilitate my review.