A Bluetooth® Gateway refers to a device used to connect Bluetooth® products to other hardware. A stereo or audio Bluetooth® Gateway, for example, connects Bluetooth®-enabled devices to portable, external speakers. The focus of this article is on the cellular Bluetooth® Gateway that converges home landlines with cell phone accounts. This Bluetooth® Gateway will allow one to place or answer cell phone calls using standard telephones, with or without landline service.
Many millions of people have come to rely on mobile phones, with cell phone numbers becoming primary phone numbers. However, when at home it’s nice to use a standard telephone. How many times have you heard your cell phone ringing at home and been unable to locate it fast enough to catch the caller? Or conversely, how many times have you missed a call because your cell phone was ringing in another room and you never heard it? A cellular Bluetooth® Gateway solves these problems.
The Bluetooth® Gateway roughly resembles an external, wireless modem in size and shape, but performs a little like a network router. It comes with a power adapter to plug into a standard wall outlet. The device features ports in back for plugging in landline telephones or cordless bases, and sports an antenna for sending and receiving Bluetooth®signals.
Once powered up, setup is pretty straightforward. Just pair the device with a Bluetooth®-enabled cell phone and connect one or more standard telephones to the Gateway. Now when a call comes in for the mobile phone, all telephones in the house will ring and any of them can be used to answer the call. Outgoing calls can also be placed using any of the phones, with all phones operating off the cell phone account.
Have more than one cell phone in the family? No problem. A Bluetooth® Gateway can be paired with up to three cell phones and will assign a different ring pattern to each account so that you always know whose phone is ringing. If you happen to be in the middle of a call and need to run out, you can transfer the call from the standard telephone to a mobile phone by pressing a button. Call waiting, caller ID and other functions continue to operate normally.
If you have landline service, choose a Bluetooth® Gateway that features a line-in port. In this case, your standard telephones will do double-duty, ringing as usual for landline calls and for cell calls as well. As before, a distinctive ring pattern will indicate which number is being called.
Maybe you’ve noticed spotty cell service inside your home? If so, the Bluetooth® Gateway can be placed in the sweet spot, allowing you to use a cordless telephone to roam while enjoying the best possible signal strength. By harnessing a good signal, you can make better use of those free evening and weekend minutes too.
When shopping for a Bluetooth® Gateway there are a few things to watch for. Some devices require a special cable or proprietary Bluetooth® adapter for the phone in order to pair it with the Gateway. These products must be purchased separately. Better models will not require this extra hardware. Not all Bluetooth® Gateways accommodate landline service so if you have landline service, choose a model that has the line-in port. Finally, make sure the Gateway accommodates multiple cell phones if this is a requirement.
Bluetooth® Gateways are available at most electronic outlets and some department stores. Prices start at about $70 US Dollars (USD) with the average price for some of the more popular models running closer to $140 USD.