According to a recent MarketWatch article, the recession has forced many families to cancel their landline service and seek less expensive wireless options from their cell provider. In fact, Nielsen says about 17 percent of American households -- or about 20 million homes -- have already ditched their home phone, relying instead on cell phones.

The Xlink (myxlink) from Xtreme Technologies Corp., a company based in Calgary, Canada, promises to give you the best of both worlds. This small box, which resembles a modem, uses Bluetooth technology to sync up to three cell phones, and when plugged into a phone jack in your home, it lets you use any landline phone (e.g., a cordless handset) to make or receive calls.

In other words, these "gateway" products route cell phone calls through the regular phone system -- even if you decide to abandon your landline service altogether. If you choose to keep both, however, you can choose to make a call using either your cellular line or the landline before dialing a number.

Each cell phone line has a distinct ring, making the line easy to identify. Home chatters can simultaneously communicate with up to three cell phones at once, and caller ID and speed-dialing info transfers from your cell phone to your landline phone.

Downloadable Xlink upgrades this year will include support for Skype VoIP calls. Or you can opt now for a long-distance call service solution, provided by Xlink, offering unlimited long-distance calling for $25 a month.

A foreseeable obstacle, however, is when you leave the house with your cell phone. If you cancel your landline service you can't call home unless another cell phone is connected to the Xlink.