Once everything is set up, actually using the Link-to-Cell is easy. When a call comes in you will hear the handset ring. Each cell phone can be given a unique ring tone, so you can tell which cell phone is being called. You simply pick up the handset and press the Talk button to answer the call. Unfortunately, when your cell phone is paired with the device, you can only answer through the handset. It would be much more convenient if you could answer by picking up either the cell phone or the handset.

The cordless handset comes with a base stand that plugs into the wall, as shown in Figure 4. It is fairly standard as far as cordless handsets go. The buttons are small, but clearly marked. The screen has black text on a lighted white background.



The Link-to-Cell and its cordless handset has several nice features including speaker phone, talking caller ID, night mode, call blocking, ringer volume control, talk volume control, flash, mute, hold, and redial. It also has a 50-entry address book. The phone can be set to display in either English or Spanish. You can assign a special ring tone to certain callers. There are seven ring tones, but only four melodies. Three are variations of the same melody, like a slightly different old-fashioned telephone ring.

You can also purchase up to five additional handsets, and unless you are in very small quarters, you will probably want to do so. Although we only had one handset to try, if you get two or more you can also use the built-in intercom feature to communicate between handsets.
The Link-to-Cell can be used with or without a landline. If you have a landline you can answer and make calls from either the landline or the cell phone. This is a nice feature for those who have not yet given in to the urge to eliminate their landlines. However, when using the Link-to-Cell with a landline it works a little differently than when you use it only for cell phones. This is not a bad thing, however, it seems to further complicate the already confusing instructions. Panasonic should rewrite their instructions and divide the manual into two sections, one for using the unit with a landline and one for using it without a landline.

If you have two cell phones connected, when you make a call you make the choice of which cell phone to use. This is quite good if you have cell phones that are on different packages and one may have more minutes than the other. However, we didn’t see a way to set a default cell phone to use for outgoing calls. If both of your cell phones are on the same package, it would be nice to not have to make a selection of which phone to use every time you make a call.

On the other hand, the Link-to-cell makes calling from the cell phone a bit easier by allowing you to choose a default area code. Just program in your area code and you won’t have to dial it for calls in the same area code.

One of the best things about using the Link-to-Cell is that if you have pockets in your house where your cell reception is poor, you can place your cell phone in the place where you get the best reception and can take and receive calls on the handset with this clarity throughout the house. You can also charge your cell phone and talk on the handset without having to have to be tethered to the charging cable.
When receiving calls through the Link-to-Cell, there is a slight delay. So you pick up the handset and say hello, but the other person doesn’t hear you say hello unless you pause before you speak. This can be a little hard to get used to. The unit has better clarity than other devices of this type that we tried. The unit also recognized the cell phones and quickly reconnected when they came into the area.

There were however, a few problems during our testing. Sometimes, when two calls in a row came in, the second call would go directly to voice mail even if the first call was completed before the second came in. Several times, the calls were dropped after the first ring on the cordless phone. Again several times, our iPhone lost the connection and would not reconnect until we unplugged the base unit, canceled the Bluetooth connection on the cell completely, turned the cell phone off, and re-established the Bluetooth connection.