Siemens' Gigaset SL370 isn't your run-of-the-mill cordless home phone: it has built-in Bluetooth for connecting a wireless headset and synchronising the phone's address book with your computer. The small and attractive headsets use DECT wireless technology to reduce the likelihood of interference with other wireless devices. The more expensive Gigaset SL375 ($299) also has an answering machine built into the base station. You can add up to six handsets to each base station, and each handset comes with a recharge cradle. You can also register handsets to multiple base stations to build a large cordless phone network.
Like many multi-handset systems, the Gigaset gear is flexible - you can make internal calls between handsets, transfer calls between handsets, and join a conversation from another handset. Handsets can be used as baby monitors or walkie-talkies.
Each handset's address book holds up to 250 phone numbers, as well as photos for your contacts, which pop up on the screen when they ring you. The handsets also have an alarm clock and basic calendar, along with a range of horrible ringtones.
The inclusion of Bluetooth lets you use the wireless headset from your mobile phone, which is handy if you want to move around the house on a hands-free call.
You can sync a handset's address book with the address book in Microsoft's Outlook or Outlook Express, but Mac and Linux users are left in the cold. Unfortunately, Siemens doesn't sell the USB sync cables in Australia, and syncing through Bluetooth can be hit and miss, which is as much Bluetooth's fault as the phone's.
With more functions comes complexity, and the Gigaset SL370 certainly isn't the world's most user- friendly handset. The advanced features, and resulting high price, make it a phone for tech-heads and gadget freaks.
