Recently I came across what appears to be a hybrid telephone! The Vtech 6110 slightly resembles a Treo or BlackBerry, but it isn’t a cell phone. Since this is NOT a cell phone, it’s very surprising to see a full Qwerty keyboard and mention of full IM and text messaging capabilities. Upon reading about this phone in Wired, I had to explore further…

As it turns out, this phone can act as a normal landline phone and use your home wireless (broadband) connection to allow you to IM and text message your buddies. You can even use it as a Voice over IP phone if you have cut the landline cord, making this a very flexible option.

Sounds great doesn’t? Well, I must admit I was quite intrigued. So intrigued, I read the fine print and discovered what I consider to be major flaws for such a phone. If you’re going to go as far as provide your customers with a semi-cell phone, you should go all the way and make sure it has syncing capabilities. The Vtech 6110 can store 50 addresses, which sounds great until you realize it is a stand-alone system. Who is willing to retype contact information that is already stored in at least three other places? Who would enter in all of their buddy contact information?

I began to wonder who exactly this phone is for, as it certainly isn’t for the cell phone-enabled community. That’s when I realized, this phone would be a great ALTERNATIVE for someone who isn’t allowed a cell phone, such as a teenager – who can then text message and IM anyone they want (while at home) and not have to worry about additional charges or monthly fees. All in all this seems like a great idea, but with poor execution. What do you think, would you find something like this useful?