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"Great quality and features"
on by ssahnanPros great reception, nice color screen, usb configurable
Cons limited phonebook configurabilty and space, no speed dial keys on handhelds
Summary I have one of the older expandable phone systems from uniden so upgradeing to a newer set has brought along some welcome advancements with it. I love the ability to be able to have multiple handhelds in on the same call. Being able to add the phonebook via the usb cable was also a huge addition as opposed to adding it thru the phone keys. Of course having the picture id's, wallpapers and custom ringers all packeged into a phone with a nice color screen is great. The answering machine has 21 minutes of space which is a huge imporvement over my older machine. It touts a new fhss range system which not sure if its all it promises to be but it does seem to be a clean reception and descent range for a 5.8 ghz phone. Not having any issues with my 2.4 ghz wireless network either, but then theoretically, i shouldn't have. Having a two year old son, the monitor feature of it is a nice welcome addition especially when he takes naps in various spots of the house. One cool feature it does is if someone calls and has a name associated with its caller id information, the phone can speak it out with the number along with the ringer. So far its worked pretty good allthough it completely dependant on the caller id info being complete. It would have been nice if it could recognize that allthough the id info was not complete, the number and name were stored in your phonebook and could still speak it out but it doesn't. The software to add the phonebook entries, custom ringers, wallpapers and picture id's is simple but functional. The memory is big enough, i have added two wallpapers and 14 picture id's and am at 6% full for the phone so good there, wish i could devote more of that memory to the phonebook entries (something i mention below). I imagine the custom rigners would take up quite a bit. It also comes with a audioplug you can hook to any external source to record any custom stuff directly to the phone.
While I am impressed, it did have a few drawbacks that held it back. For one, you can't have speed keys on the handhelds, just on the base. This seems really asanine to me, hard to figure out that choice in design. Also, the phonebook can only hold a max 50 entries where i needed closer to the 100 mark. I didn't even think about looking into that, i figured it would be a 100 by default. That has been very dissapointing about it. My last complaint would be its phonebook configuration. While it is nice and much faster to download the phonebook via the software included or imported thr outlook, you have to manually go into each phone and add the picture id's, custom ringers and the custom lights (the antenna lights up different colors). Once you have one phone setup, while you can transfer the phonebook to the other or re-download it from the pc, all the pic, light, and ringer settings are lost for each entry and have to be re-done on the newer handset. So that takes some time but then your saving so much time from being able to do the phonebook over a pc anyway. -
"Great Phone, BUT...."
on by gadgetlvrPros Features, Sound Quality, Ergonomics, Build Quality, Toys, Toys, Toys
Cons Talking Caller ID
Summary This has the most features of any phone/answering machine I've ever seen. The features are quite extensive: Semi-custom rings/colors/pictures, customization of the same by downloading from a PC.
For example, you can download a picture of your friend's family and every time they call their family portrait will appear on the color screen of the handset. Their favorite song will be heard when the phone rings, and the color on the antenae will coorespond with their family.
The unit feels very sturdy. The sound quality is terrific and when you go outside with it the sound can improved further to help with wind noise and other outside factors.
Adding and deleting info to the phone is very intuitive.
Negatives: The caller id voice doesn't work properly. It doesn't say what you've loaded on the phone. When my wife or I call from our respective cell phones the CID voice says "New Jersey" which is silly. The CID on the handset is correct, but the voice is wrong. The voice is picking up something from Verizon instead of it's own loaded commands. Our cell phones aren't blocked in any way. When I call from my business line the CID voice says "<last name, first name, middle initial>" -
"Great so far!"
on by SherryBPros Every feature you can think of, great clarity, decent range. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to use the basic features.
Cons Expensive, handset battery life is not that great, no battery backup for the base.
Summary We researched every expandable cordless 5.8 answering system before buying this one. The clarity is great, the range is great, the battery life is not that great but tolerable, and the amount of gadgetry is overwhelming but cool. I've spent a lot of time correcting all 50 imported Outlook phonebook entries because it doesn't dial a "1" before the LD numbers and the local numbers need the area codes removed for our local service. Kind of a pain, but nice once its setup. Pretty cool that you can load your own ringtones and wallpaper. We don't have Caller ID, so I don't know if those features work well or not. The room monitor feature is great, and so is the walkie-talkie feature. Checking answering machine messages from the handsets is SO handy, esp. in our 2-story house. The prices on this phone are starting to come down, so we're holding out for a few months before buying our 3rd & 4th handsets. The only disappointment was - no battery backup! It wouldn't have hurt them to put a 9-volt compartment in the bottom for that much dinero. We ended up buying a low-end office UPS for it.
Updated
Still working well, no technical problems. Still amazed at the range, I can walk around the block with it. Have noticed the color display is easy to scratch and is always greasy-smudgey-looking, no matter how often you wash your hair, LOL. May invest in some of those PDA screen protector sheets. -
"Best Portable Manufactured"
on by blue55Pros Superior Voice Clarity, Extreme Range,Features,Quality
Cons None Discovered
Summary Of all the portable phones I've purchased, this one has to rate a 10+. It has a digital voice enhancer which is very, very good. The distance is surprising. I can walk several hundred feet from the base and it sounds as clear as next to the base. I'm a realtor and need a superior quality phone that has good tonal quality. This superceeds my expectations. The long list of extras make this phone fun to operate (the handset USB2 cord plugs into your computer to organize backround screens, sounds, phone book). Highly recommend.
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