Top deals on CNET here
- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 7 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
-
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
3.5 stars
"Best phone/headset combo I've tried but could be better"
Pros: -GREAT sound quality
-looks good on your desk
-good battery life
-easy bluetooth pairingCons: -while it looks good on your desk it does take up a fair bit of real estate
Summary: Bought this to replace a Plantronics CT11 that has served me well for many years but was time for an upgrade. I tried a few different models and finally decided to bite the bullet and spend the $330 (Canadian Dollars, Office Depot) on the Calisto. Like most high end Plantronics product it was well packaged and came with all the accessories, software, etc. you require to get it set up. As suggested in the manual I fully charged both the headset and the phone before using. Set things up on my desk and got to trying things out. Can't stress enough how good the sound quality is with the bluetooth headset. I tried pairing the phone with different bluetooth headsets (both Plantronics and others) and they weren't nearly as clear or was noticeable static. The phone is alright but the keypad is slightly cramped making it easy to mis-dial numbers. That said its a good size to keep in your hand (I like to walk and pace when I'm on long calls) and feels solidly made. The battery life is inline with the published numbers from Plantronics.
-small buttons on the handset make it easy to mis-dial
-lacks basic phone programming/customization
-poor software to integrate with MS Outlook
There are however a few shortcomings with the Calisto. The phone lacks basic customization abilities such as the ability to turn off all call logging. In the Plantronics site they show the phone being used as a total replacement for a traditional desk phone. There are a number of problems with this. First, even though the Calisto does have a speaker phone its of mediocre quality and not suitable for conference calls or multiple users in the same room. Second, it only supports a single line so in my situation I still need to have another phone on my desk. Finally, the software included to synch with MS Outlook is very rudimentary and seems like an afterthought. What I'd rather have seen is a TAPI feature allowing me to click to dial from within MS Outlook. Another feature that would be appreciated is the ability to program the phone, including adding your own ringtones, from a PC interface.
If you're looking for a basic cordless phone offering amazing sound quality with the headset then the Calisto fits the bill.
- 1 reply to this review
-
Very good review. Thanks for the tips. It looks like they could do some of the recommendations you made in a V2 release. This would be a hands-down no-brainer for me if it connected with Microsoft Office Communicator and/or Cisco VoIP. Most corporate people working from home are not going to use consumer-grade VOIP software (some will). They need to embrace to two major players for Enterprise Software-based Voice services and continue to support services like Skype, Live Messenger, and Yahoo!.
Where to buy
Plantronics Calisto Pro Series Cordless Landline/VoIP Phone, Silver/Black:
$209.86 - $259.99
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
|
$209.88 | Yes |
|
|
$214.04 | Yes |
|
|
$229.99 | Yes |
|
|
Amazon.com Marketplace
|
$209.86 | Yes |
|
|
$259.99 | Yes |
|
