Telephone Reviews

I bought this and had to refund it because I had to keep pressing the "change channel" button in order to hear the calling party's voice. It's very inconvenient. I think they deduct some shipping cost from me when I refund, but it's better than keeping it because it's useless to me

This is really a very cool phone for the price paid, it's true, sometimes you get static, but that doesn't happens often, and you can solve it by charging your phone, but for the price paid, have you found something better??? this phone will make the job whithout you having to incurr in higher prices.

I got this phone for [price]...and have had no problems with it. It never gives me static, and the different rings are cool. The wall mounting feature is great if you have limited room on your desk, but, unfortunately no mounting screws are included. Overall an excellent phone for only [price]!

This phone is almost perfect. It has all the features you might want, is easy to use, priced reasonably.

Unfortunantly, it has the smallest range of any cordless phone I've ever tried. Even 15 feet from the base station my reception isn't perfect. At 75 feet it is unusable.

Two caveats: I haven't checked the manual to see if there is a magic incantation that's required to get it to work properly. I have only played with two base stations and three handsets so I may have just had bad luck.

in reponse to mr sharnoff comment on phone being unusable pass 75 ft.we use our portable in the 2-to 300 ft. range all the time as we have 2 business and use the phone between the 2,works great,maybe he needs to change location of base unit

A feature packed product with few disadvantages. Works well, is easy to set up and use. Range of the 900MHz cordless indoors is a little disappointing, and a 2.4GHz version would be nice. Build quality is not the best, but is commensurate with the important part, i.e. the price! The starter kit is particularly good value, but while it is capable of expansion to 12 extensions, it becomes pretty expensive to do that, although one has to bear in mind that it is a 4-line device! The addition of a headset of better quality than the "free $20 value" one that comes with the kit would be a nice touch.

All in all, as a good 4-line system for a small premises, I can wholeheartedly recommend it!

Because this machine uses a microcassette, when it picks up a call, it will make plenty of noise to rewind and set the tape etc..

If I am sleeping, this machine has never failed to wake me up everytime with its loud analog gears.. even if I have the volume down all the way, even if I am in a different room and I have a door closed . Also if you turn the machine off, it is programmed to pick up the call after 15 rings. I thought nobody would ring me 15 times, but I was wrong. People did that and it woke me up every single time.

If this machine won't interfere with your sleeeping, it might be a good buy. The sound is very good on it (better than the digital machines). Functionally it is fine.

You can't go wrong with this baby! It won't eat out your pocket and you will be glad you didn't go all out for the expensive stuff when you can have all the functionality for a lower price!! It's simple and reliable. Put your money to good use. That's my bid. Cheers.

Inexpensive, but functional and it works great. Nothing fancy but it serves its purpose.

Brighthand website did a review of screen protectors and this product came in dead last.

I'm currently using Fellowes WriteRIGHT on my I300 and I'm happy to have it. It does what it says it will do: protects your pda screen. It is, however, a real pain in the neck to put on without air bubbles. I ruined 4 of the packaged 12 getting one on that I could live with. Hense, only three stars.

I KNOW THAT THESE SCREENPROTECTORS ARE A NOT THE EASIEST THING TO INSTALL. BUT I GUARANTEE THAT IT IS WORTH IT..SPECIALLY IF THE SCREEN ITSELF OR THE PHONE IS OUT OF WARRANTY..THIS PHONE IS NOT CHEAP..

Whatever happened to the good old days, when caller ID boxes featured readable displays? I have a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old unit both of which are far easier to read than this one. The digits contrast poorly with the background, and the display is covered with a cheap, shiny material which reflects light. There are five adjustable contrast settings: bad, worse, awful, atrocious, and worst. The polarity of the feed-through is reversed, which means that an older push-tone phone cannot be plugged in through the box (you can't dial out). Newer phones, and rotary phones, should work OK. When the caller is UNKNOWN (unavailable, out-of-area) the words UNKNOWN NUMBER blink, but very slowly, in an annoying way that forces you to wait a second to see what's going on. This box, in common with most others, cannot be used with a 2-line phone plugged into it (not even the phone will work, let alone the caller ID) because the manufacturer was too cheap to include two extra wires in the feed-through. Another feature missing from this and other boxes is a way to delete all calls from a specific number simultaneously (this would be especially handy with UNKNOWN calls). Not a great product, GE, but you're not alone, I guess.

GE unit works ok if line is not in use. If you have a call in progress and a new call beeps, I expect to see at least the number of the new call, but no new information occurs. My wife insists that since it has three display lines, it should indicate the new caller, because we have a phone with three display lines which works that way. We have tossed out the packing box. Maybe we expected more, because of the three line display on our phone. Anyway it works good before the call is answered, and the price was ok.

My thanks to everyone who's taken the time to write a review. Reading the reviews and the product manuals enabled me to choose a Caller ID Box that suits me well. Prospective buyers should note that GE's improved this product: The current version stores 99 entries rather than the 60 stored by the earlier model. Perhaps they've modified the reflective material as well: Propped at a handy angle, the three-line readout is sharp, clear and easy to read. I've noticed none of the hesitations reported by other reviewers. Also worth noting: GE includes the line cord you'll need to install the box. A small point perhaps, but not every manufacturer does.

Attached to a single-line cordless phone, the GE Caller ID box performs very well for me. It's bright, clear and reliable. I'm happy to recommend it.

This telephone is a piece of garbage that I will have to eat and weep, because, it started having the most horrible static imaginable, and wouldn't you know, it happpened as soon as the 90-day warranty expired. It is useless to me now and it is not worth the package it came in or even worth accepting if it were a free gift. Thanks a lot for robbing me of my time and money and creating a big headache for me with this crappy, piece of s*** telephone.

Bought this because I needed a basic headset phone. When I noticed the insulation of the headphone cord begin to wear out near the earpiece, I contacted Plantronics to see if they had replacement headsets. They told me that I would have to send in the entire unit if I there was a problem with the headset only.

Overall the phone is what I was looking for, sound quality is clear and has all the functions of a no-frills phone minus the ability to turn the ringer off. 3 stars because of the headset issue and no convenient way of turning the ringer off.

I use this phone for my work which involves hours of phone time every day. I have tried 7 or 8 hands free phones and this one has been the most dependable and offered the best quality. Amazingly, it is also the least expensive solution I have tried! Need I say more?

I have been using this phone for almost 1 year and I have no complaints. I have recommended it to several colleagues and they also like it a lot.

No more sore shoulders, no more neck pain...you forget you even have it on your ear! And the price...sweet.

This telephone is a piece of garbage that I will have to eat and weep, because, it started having the most horrible static imaginable, and wouldn't you know, it happpened as soon as the 90-day warranty expired. It is useless to me now and it is not worth the package it came in or even worth accepting if it were a free gift. Thanks a lot for robbing me of my time and money and creating a big headache for me with this crappy, piece of s*** telephone.

Bought this because I needed a basic headset phone. When I noticed the insulation of the headphone cord begin to wear out near the earpiece, I contacted Plantronics to see if they had replacement headsets. They told me that I would have to send in the entire unit if I there was a problem with the headset only.

Overall the phone is what I was looking for, sound quality is clear and has all the functions of a no-frills phone minus the ability to turn the ringer off. 3 stars because of the headset issue and no convenient way of turning the ringer off.

I use this phone for my work which involves hours of phone time every day. I have tried 7 or 8 hands free phones and this one has been the most dependable and offered the best quality. Amazingly, it is also the least expensive solution I have tried! Need I say more?

I have been using this phone for almost 1 year and I have no complaints. I have recommended it to several colleagues and they also like it a lot.

No more sore shoulders, no more neck pain...you forget you even have it on your ear! And the price...sweet.

After receiving a message this machine beeps to let you know you have one that hasn't been listened to. However, there is no way to turn this feature off--even lowering the volume. You still hear the beep beep beep every 5-7 seconds. It's annoying if you're working or resting or sleeping and want to get the messages later -- and don't want to be "woken up" by the message beep for the message you just got.

PLUSes:

Records and plays back with good sound quality for the price.

Has fast/slow/repeat/skip play modes (but no pause).

Has 3 "mailboxes" if you need to take messages
for different people, personal vs. business, etc.;
the caller can specify which "mailbox" (s)he wants
by pressing "*" then "2" or "3" for mailbox 2 or 3
(otherwise by default it goes to mailbox 1),
which you have to explain in your one greeting message,
if you are going to use that feature.

Can take "voice memos" using local microphone.

Pretty simple to use.

Resists "hacking" of only a 2-digit remote access code
by hanging up on caller after three wrong attempts.

MINUSES:

Long and slow voice menu confirmations slow down operations
and can't be skipped; a minor issue if you get few
messages, but more problematic if you get many messages,
especially when you are dialing in from elsewhere
to retrieve messages. The "remote operation codes"
are also all at least two keys (e.g. "#" then "4"
to repeat a message). When you hang up after checking
messages remotely, the unit doesn't seem to recognize
that you've hung up; it goes on playing its very long
voice menu instructions for another minute, and thus
neither you nor anyone else can quickly call back.

It tends to record excessive "busy tones" after
a caller has hung up (see important next point below).

The worst problem is that when I call remotely
to listen to messages, it seems that the TAM-100
"listens" to its own playing of those recorded extra
"busy tones," concludes that *I* have hung up,
and then hangs up on me! -- and what's worse,
in this situation, many times it has also erased
my *greeting*message* when it's done this!
(certainly an engineering flaw there, I would say)

Sometimes it has also responded to other
digit tones recorded in the messages,
as if I had pressed them myself;
of course, these problems won't bother you
if you primarily check your messages at home,
rather than remotely by phone, but for those who
primarily phone their machine to get messages,
this tendency (especially when it hangs up on *you*
from hearing other *recorded* hangups, and then also
may delete your greeting message) could be annoying.

SUMMARY:

Now quite cheap

Good for casual, home use.

Has flaws if you dial in from elsewhere to get messages.

John H. Meyers' review pretty much says it all, so I won't go on and on here. I did want to correct another reviewer, however. The beep feature mentioned CAN be turned off completely following simple instructions in the manual. Perhaps the reviewer had a defective item, but I had no trouble at all turning off that beep (and I do agree it is pretty darn annoying if you leave it on!) This is a fine little answering machine at a good price.

This phone is [inexpensive] to buy, but we found that its sending audio quality was poor and faded in and out. The wall mount brack is very large and clumsy looking. If you want a 2.4 Ghz DSS phone, spend the extra money. You'll be happier.

This phone had everything I wanted without the frills. I wanted a 2.4 Ghz SST with caller ID that wasn't a panasonic. The phone is pretty decent, but the sound is a little tin-canny and the range wasn't as great as they claim. I walked to the back of my yard which is about 200 feet from the base. The phone maintained the connection, but it did click a lot and I had to repeat myself once or twice. Overall, it's a good phone, but probably not worth what I paid for it.

I looked into a variety of other 2.4Ghz CallerID phones. Here is what did it for me: 1. Large lighted Caller ID (I need to see this number/name) 2. Headphone attachment (wife needs this to walk around the house) 3. Price! I seems about $50 dollars cheaper than the next competitor 4. Weight (far lighter than our current 900mz DSS Uniden (which cost $450 when it was new). Since we have had it - I find it works perfectly, and was a snap to setup. The only problems seem to be: 1. I wish the lighted dial would stay on longer. It dims to a very dim level after a few seconds off hook. 2. It seems to be in a lot of demand. Amazon said it would take two weeks but it was more like 5 weeks.

I was in the market for a new message machine, since my 1990 AT&T tape machine broke. Sound quality, above all, was the most important quality for me. I scoured the web for something that would get the job done -- the Swatch seemed to fit the bill. Not so. I am appauled with the sound quality. It is very bad. Both the outgoing and incoming messages are muddy. Don't confuse volume for clarity. The volume can reach high levels, which is nice. However, because the messagesare so muddy, it is very difficult to hear what is being said, despite playing it at a high volume. I can't believe that some company can't manufacture a DIGITAL answering machine that is high quality, and sounds as good, or better than a tape machine. I'm willing to pay for one if it exists. Sadly, the Swatch is not that machine, and I CANNOT recommend it to anyone.

If you are looking for a cute answering machine, you got it. The sound is not the best but but overall it works fine. Regarding the color it is more tangerine than yellow to me, but still very cute.

The sound isn't that perfect. You could probably get better sound with tape, but why not be the first on the block with this cool looking machine! And you can count on a company like Swatch!