Carephone Landline SOS Pendant Alarm Phone

We have just got into stock The Carephone Landline phone which uses a waterproof pendant that you wear on your wrist to call an emergency number when needed. This is a great product for the elderly.

If you are worried about an elderly relative or friend then this landline phone from The Carephone is the ideal choice to put your mind at rest. Although this product can make landline calls that is not its main purpose. Firstly it is there to be of support of the user when they need to contact someone. 

How it works if you have a main base station which has a small display and an easy to use keypad. This is where you can adjust settings and programme numbers. This is also where you charge the pendant and make a call if you really have to. A bonus of this model is that the base can be customised with a 'skin' so you can make it look that bit more homely. 

The pendant to go with the base can be worn around the neck or on the wrist, the choice is yours, it comes with either accessory. The pendant itself connects easily with the wrist band or beck band. It has 2 buttons, SOS and cancel. To make an SOS call all you you have to do is hold the button for 2 seconds. If you do this by accident you can then press the cancel button to stop it. 

To help the pendant from getting damaged it has been built to be waterproof. This means you can wear it with confidence when your washing the dishes or even in the shower. The Carephone Landline phone is a small and smart looking product that can really take some of your worries off of your mind. 

New iPhone accessories from Tivizen!

A company called Tivizen have produced a couple of accessories that will work with an iPhone, iPod Touch or an iPad, that could revolutionise where and when we watch television! 

The first one is the Tivizen Mobile USB Dongle TV Tuner for iPad and iPhone DVB-T. This is a plug and play item that fits into the bottom of your device and then allows you to watch free-view TV! The biggest strength of the Tivizen gadgets are that anyone of any age will be able to use them, they are that simple and you will only truly realise this when you have a go! Because the dongle is fitted with a mobile DTV recieving antenna you wont have any added wireless data charges as your not using WiFi or 3G signal. 

The second gadget i will look at is the Tivizen Mobile WiFi Dongle TV Tuner for iPad and iPhone DVB-T. This also turns your iPhone, iPod or iPad into a television but in a slightly different way. This model is a WiFi dongle that captures DTV signal and transmits it to your device, offering seamless TV streaming, perfect for the office or at home. There is no added data charges so there is so need to worry about surprise phone bill amounts. Using the Tivizen exclusive player you can watch television on your PC and Mac as well! 

For more information on these items please use the links above!

Big button and easy to use telephones!

Here at DST we sell a range of easy to use phones that are ideal for the elderly or people who have hearing or vision issues. A lot of people aren't even aware that phones like this are made so i am going to look at the 3 different types that are available; a mobile phone, a desk phone and a cordless phone, to try and help you understand. 

The first model i am going to look at is the Doro PhoneEasy 505 Mobile Phone. This easy to use mobile phone has an excellent feature:value for money ratio as it is packed full of ability and costs less than £60! It comes with large and easy to read keys as well as a crystal clear colour display making this mobile great for people with slight visual problems. It has excellent practicality with features such as reminders, alarms, vibrating alert and one touch emergency dialling. The 505 also has 7 volume settings with the top ones going extra loud for those that may be hard of hearing. For a full list of features on this phone please use the link above!

The next phone I am going to look at is the Amplicom BigTel 208 Answermachine Telephone. As you can see from the picture this also has big and clear buttons. This model also has an answer machine with simple controls and an LED display on the base. The 208 comes with a speakerphone which would be helpful for elderly uses that may find it uncomfortable to hold the phone to their ear for a prolonged period of time. The display on the BigTel 208 is large, backlight orange with black text to make it as clear as possible. Another great feature with this phone is the 2 direct dial memory buttons and the 50 name and number phone book. These features are ideal for somebody that may have trouble remembering long phone numbers that they will need regularly. You simply programme the 2 number for them and all they need to do is dial this one number and it will do the rest for them! For more details on this phone please use the link above!

The third phone i have chosen to look at is the Doro 331Ph Big Button Corded Telephone. As you can again see form the picture this desk phone, not only does it have a huge clear keypad, it also has 3 picture buttons. These buttons are programmed to dial an allocated number at one touch, then you put a related photo on that button. This is another good feature for people that may struggle to remember long phone numbers. This model phone is also hearing aid compatible. This means that anyone with a hearing aid can use the phone still wearing it, without worrying about amplifying the handset. For more information on the 331Ph please use the link above!

The brand new Panasonic KX-TG6721 is here and with some major additions!

The brand new models from Panasonic have come in today and i am going to take a look at the KX-TG6721! It has 3 major additions to the previous model which will be explained in this article. 

The main addition in my eyes is the Smart Function Key or the 'top key'. This is a clear button that is located on the top of the phone and will flash in different patterns to signify different things. When this button is flashing rapidly it either means that you can answer a call, stop the alarm or stop paging. You can either answer an outside call or intercom using this button. When it is flashing slowly this means you can listen to new messages or view caller list of missed calls. To use this button you must first turn on the top key settings. If you are answering a call using the smart function key then it will automatically activate the speakerphone. If the phone is in the main base or charger then when you press the smart function key you can either listen to messages or chat without lifting the handset. 

Another main feature on the KX-TG6721 is the one touch eco mode. When you activate eco mode it reduces the power usage by 90% when in standby mode. The default setting on the handset is normal but to activate it all you do is press [R/ECO]. This is a good feature if you only use your phone a couple of times a day as it will save electricity and therefore money!

A third main new addition to this model is the LED message counter on the main base which shows how many new messages you have. On the base it looks small but smart, and is a great size to quickly glance at when you get home to see if you have any messages, therefore cutting out the annoying time you wait when using 1571 service. 

An interesting feature on this model is the handset equaliser. This feature helps to clarify the incoming callers voice and give them a more natural sound that will be easier to hear and understand. This feature is easy to turn on in the settings and will only effect the handset audio and not the speakerphone. 

For more information on this model and others like it please use the link below.

Panasonic KX-TG6721

Orchid Telephone Systems

Orchid telephone systems play a key role in giving small businesses a cheap and easy to install method of making the most out of their telephones. Orchid's systems are some of our best selling products so I am going to take a look at what they actually do! 

To help me understand the systems i am going to look at certain model systems and at what features each of them offer. The first system i will look at is the Orchid PBX308+. This system can handle 3 different telephone lines which can then be controlled from up to 8 extensions. 

One of the key features on this system is not it has 99 programmable speed dial numbers. These speed dials can be set from any extension and then can be used all over the system, not just the phone they were entered on. These speed dials are used by putting ## before the assigned number, so ##1-##99. This is a key feature in saving time when needing to make a quick phone call. 

Another feature on the 308+ is the auto attendant. This means you can record an outgoing message (OGM) that tells customers what number to press on their keypad to get to the right extension they are looking for, 1 for sales and 2 for returns etc. When the system is in auto attendant mode the extensions will not ring for each incoming call, the 308+ will answer the call then the chosen extension will ring once the incoming caller has selected one. This is becoming increasingly popular for home offices when distinguishing between home and business calls. 

The 308+ is also caller display compatible. As long as your line has been set up for caller ID by BT and the extensions you are using have a caller ID function then then the number of the incoming phone call will appear on the display, and if the number has been saved then the corresponding name will appear also. This is great as you can identify who is calling you and no time is wasted in recognising who it is by voice or name. 

The Orchid 308+ also has an IP Access Code. Many people use IP calls or VOIP to make either free or low cost calls using the internet, but also use the traditional land line too. The 308 can be programmed so that the user presses 1 number before a BT line call, and another to use their IP gateway. This ensures the user maximises call cost savings. 

A very useful addition to the Orchid box is the music port. This allows you to plug in an mp3 player or other USB device to play music that incoming callers will listen to whilst they are on hold. This is good because default music is often boring for the customer whereas you can keep up to date with the latest music and essentially set the tone for the company! 

Most PBXs require you to Dial 9 to get a line, the Orchid PBXs can be programmed for Direct Dial. The User is then automatically given the next available line when they want to make a call without having to dial 9 in front of the number.

To find more details about the Orchid PBX 308+ please click here. 

Wireless connectivity in the home!

With various companies spending unthinkable amounts on development of technology for home appliances, I am going to take a look at what is happening and how development is going to affect our homes! 

Wireless technology has really evolved in the last 10-15 years and a crackling dial up internet connection seems a ridiculous idea now we have super fast broadband, that can be received anywhere in the range of you router! You can now walk round the home, surfing the internet without interruption on things like iPads and laptops. We are able to do this due to products such as the TP-Link Wireless N ADSL2+ Modem Router. This allows us to do such things as do a spot of internet shopping whilst in garden, which 15 years ago would have been unheard of! 

We can also walk round the home whilst mid conversation now thanks to the development of DECT cordless phones! Weather your in the garden enjoying nice weather or polishing the car in the garage you can now talk from anywhere within the range of your base station. You can then use your cordless phone, hands free by use of a cordless or Bluetooth headset! This means a wireless phone can be used wirelessly! 

The signal from a router or main phone base can then be extended so the range for broadband and DECT can be huge. This is done by repeaters such as the 4002 RTX DECT Generic Repeater. These are small devices that are programmed to extend the range of your cordless phone, essentially doubling the distance you can use it from your base in a chosen direction. 

There is plenty of wireless connections in your home that you use on a daily basis that you don't think about, or may not be as obvious as your phone or internet. This is things like your wireless controller for your games console, or the wireless remote for the garage door. Most of us take small things like this for granted and it is the small things like this that make day to day like run smoothly. 

So what can we expect in the future for wireless technology? Well various companies are trying to turn everyday appliances into user interfaces that use the internet to help make life easier. For example a fridge that recognises when you are running low on a certain food you like and automatically orders more for you. Or your regular dining table could have an interactive interface so you can customise its design for a dinner party, or have interactive games that guests can play with each other whilst waiting for their food. 

This is bound to keep advancing and i believe in a few decades time our home will be so advanced that daily tasks such as cooking will no longer be done manually, and instead by robots such as Honda's Asimo Humanoid. However as we all know, advances in technology unearth new problems of their own, the main one in this case being electricity demand. This problem will no doubt also be solved using advances in technology!

For now all we can do is sit back and think of our own ideas whilst companies spend millions to come up with cutting edge appliances!