Aside from these minor missteps and misrepresentations, there's plenty in this phone bundle to like. Both handsets share a central 50-name phone book stored in the base that can be changed from either handset, a feature lacking in many expandable phone systems of any price. However, the phone book can be accessed by only one user at a time. There's also a "message waiting" LED on the base for subscribers of the local phone company's voicemail service.
Also handy is the call timer, which starts counting as soon as you hit the On button and stays displayed on the top line of the LCD throughout the call for easy reference. And instead of hard-to-find proprietary batteries, the ip5825 is powered by standard AAA nickel-metal-hydride rechargeables that can be found at any large electronics retailer. However, you can't use alkaline AAAs.
As you'd expect for such an inexpensive phone, the VTech ip5825's sound quality, range, and battery life are slightly--but not fatally--below what you'd expect from more expensive models. Sound was slightly thinner compared to that of more expensive Panasonics and Unidens, but there's plenty of volume both through the earpiece and the handset's Superplex speakerphone (VTech's euphemism for full-duplex speakerphone, which means both conversationalists can talk at the same time). Likewise, effective range fell just short of that of other 5.8GHz models, and the AAA rechargeables last only about three days in standby mode, half the time of comparable 5.8GHz models. If you don't wander too far afield and are obsessive about replacing the handset on the base after each call, neither of these drawbacks will be an issue.
What You'll Pay
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