VTech makes the home phone useful with security features

The days where we all relied on a home phone are mostly gone, and as more of us use our smartphones instead of the dedicated call and answer line at home, companies have had to add features.

In fact, thanks to our dependency on the mobile phone, it’s not enough to just release a home phone and hope for the best, because people won’t buy into its need at all.

One of the bastions in home phones has a solution, however, and that’s to make the home phone connect to your home security.

If you don’t have any, either, that’s ok, as VTech’s VS150 plans to bring some to the table, with a home phone base station able to connect to motion sensors placed around the home, contact sensors for doors and windows, and a garage door sensor if you need one.

When either of the sensors is triggered, an alarm is sent to the home phone base station, and if you’re not home, the phone can be programmed to silently call up to three external numbers, informing you at work if somebody has tripped the sensors.

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Outside of the sensor technology, there is still a phone here, with two DECT6.0 cordless phones on the system and a 22 minute-record time answering machine system, while the phones can last up to 12 hours of talk time for the batteries and almost a full week on batteries doing nothing.

Like most people, you’ll probably end up leave these on charge most of the time, but it’s nice to know they’ll survive if you ever leave them off the charger for long periods.

But the sensors are the part that will likely bring people back to the home phone, with two contact sensors in the box, and up to 30 supported by the system.

One thing of note is that while VTech supports sensors, it does not work with sensors made by any other manufacturer, with only VTech produced hardware supported at this time.

Cameras are also missed out on here, though we were told that the company is working to expand the range later on.

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“The VS150 is unique, affordable and innovative and the really interesting part is that users are able to remotely interact with the home once the alarm has triggered,” said Mark Franklin, Managing Director of VTech in Australia.

“This could be as critical as alerting intruders that the police are coming or as practical as letting the kids know you’re aware they are home when they should be at school.”

VTech’s VS150 is available now from JB HiFi and Harvey Norman for a recommended retail price of $249.