Few problems
Pros:
Last 5 number redial; memory; speakerphones
Cons:
Caller ID History; numbers wearing off
The Bottom Line:
If you need a 2-Line phone, get this one but put some clear fingernail polish on the keypads first. This one's better than the last one I had.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I found this phone at Staples after searching for months. I needed one with a corded handset at the base as well as speakerphone. I also needed a 2 line phone to help me in my business. This one served my needs.
Can't find a decent headset to use with it, or any other phone I've had for that matter. I use the cordless more often than the base which may explain why the numbers on the keys are wearing off. The battery in the cordless seems to be acting up lately but it may just be time for a replacement, which may be due to the fact of me dropping the phone more than 5 times.
I've used the spare battery compartment in the base once and it works fine, but I only have the 1 cordless and only the 1 battery.
I've had no problems with the answering machine. The time is set by the phone company so it's always correct. I don't like that I can't change the outgoing message from the cordless handset, nor can I erase an incoming message from it.
The range of the cordless handset is tough for me to determine since my landlord used metal siding on the building but it works when I need it to so that's what matters. I like the speakerphone in both base and cordless handset - one reason I purchased it.
The audio quality of both base and handset, on speakerphone as well as normal use, seem good. I've had nobody complain about leaving a message and I haven't noticed people getting cut off in mid sentence.
I'm not too happy about the caller ID. It does show name and number but when a person calls that's stored in the phone book, it doesn't show it as it's saved, it shows it as the phone company has it, which can be annoying. The caller ID history has to be deleted from both handset and base separately if you want to remove them. If I want to return a call using the caller ID history and it's long distance, I have to find the number in history, select it, press Menu, scroll down to Dial Options then scroll down to select the number listed with 1 (number). I prefer the one on my cell phone but I guess local phone service still requires the 1 and cell phones don't. It is, however, good that the option to add the 1 to the number in caller ID history is there, it keeps me from writing down the number from history then dialing it but I'd almost prefer an option to press 1, then hit DIAL from the caller ID history.
The number memory is nice, but doesn't allow very many characters - 15 is the most, including spaces (my cell phone is worse though). To dial from memory, press MEM then the number corresponding to the first letter of the person's name. It saves me from scrolling through names since the ones I call the most are the first ones listed when I hit the button - 7 for example shows me S since I have nobody stored with a P, Q or R.
The back of the base has a CAT5 connection but nothing in the manual about it (it could be a phone network connection). It'd be nice if we could connect it to our LAN.
