AlpineMan wrote:I have my Ooma hub connected to the side of our house where the main phone distribution wiring is located. This way, all phone jacks in our house are "Ooma'd". We don't use any Scouts at all. We already have DECT 6.0 phones. What does the Telo give us, that we don't already have today?
Getting all of your home phones
Ooma'd is a great move! By sourcing all phone jacks to the hub, you certainly do achieve that. The
Scout ensures an always accessible second line. (Someone else in the house can answer an incoming call while you continue, uninterrupted and unnoticed, on your call.) Another benefit the Scout provides is two simultaneous outgoing lines. If you are on line 1 and someone else wants to make a call, selecting line 2 on a Scout permits an independent, and simultaneous call.
I am not aware that this feature is accessible without a Scout.
Just the same, without the Scout, you do have call waiting and conference call capabilities. In the latter, if you are on a call on line 1 put that call on hold, call person 2, and then merge the calls together. I believe you need to have direct access to the hub to use this.
Call waiting, receiving a call while on a call, is a feature that doesn't require the Scout. You can place call 1 on hold, answer call 2, and then toggle back and forth as you like. (To merge the calls, you would again need direct hub access.)
The Telo incorporates the hub/scout features into each physical phone. Yes, like your current phone, they are (at least rumored to be) DECT 6.0. The Telo package may come with one or two hand pieces (I don't know), whatever the case, it is expandable to at least six hand pieces. All of which incorporate the features above. Additionally, as with the current hub/scouts, you can specify which physical phone should ring when the Caller ID meets certain specs... You can also have calls from work ring distinctively from calls from friends which are again distinctive from calls from family, and so on...
These are features; no one will get mad if you don't want or need them. I am not aware of any phones (DECT or otherwise) that provide these extras.