Telephone Reviews

I have owned this phone for about a month. Lots of nice features. However, the phone has started to cause a lot of static and cuts in and out occasionally. I would not recommend as an office phone.

This phone has a fatal flaw. When you talk even a bit loudly you hear a distorted echo of your own voice. This is so annoying that I had to return this phone. Another negative is that none of three headsets that I tried worked well with this phone. These problems are unfortunate since most other aspects of this product were quite good.

Overall satisfied with the phone. Best speakerphone at this price-point that I've seen. Decent feature-set for my needs. Biggest complaint is that the mute button "beeps" whenever you go on/off mute. I do conference calls extensively and company etiquette proscribes hitting a number when you want to say something. Many times when I go on/off mute the facilitator asks if someone wants to say something (AT&T says I cannot disable the beep). LCD user-interface a little cludgy, otherwise fine. Wish it had more speed dials; but they are very easy to program. Pressing the numbers takes a little getting used to (they're concave; convex is easier to me). Callers tell me I'm faint when using the headset (not supplied), speakerphone is fine.

I just picked up this phone today and it pulls in two radio stations! Advice for buyers in Manhattan: stay away from this phone. I tried both near and away from my windows. One station came in loud & clear while the other was a bit faded. Very annoying!

This phone is about what one would expect for the price. The sound quality is fine, and the caller ID stores enough numbers that you could be gone away for two weeks and know who all called. My only complaint is that the caller ID screen is difficult to read except when viewed straight on in good light.

I liked the fact that the caller ID works on batteries alone and does not require an outlet. The keypad numbers are large and well lit and the volume is fine. It is a good kitchen/second phone. The cord is short, so it does limit your movement, but that is the only drawback for the price.

I ordered one through Amazon.com, but when I received it I couldn't charge the battery (left it there for 15 hours). Then I returned it and asked for another one. Amazon.com was nice enough to send me another one 2nd day delivery at no charge, but UPS was not good enough and delivered the item to me after 7 working days!!! The new one has exactly the same problem. The handset is DEAD. The battery is not charging at all and it seems this IBM-4900 caused me enough problems to the point where I think I will return this one; go to an electronic shop and will pay double but I WONN'T BUY IBM again!!!

I have this phone and have purchased about 8 of the corded version (IBM 412CID) over time as one by one they have failed. Here are the problems:

(1) After about a year, buttons -- like "hold", "line 1", etc. --start to go dead on the phone.

(2) There is something strange about the electronics because occasionally, for no apparent reason, the telephone will pick up on speakerphone, so that you find a dialtone blaring into an empty room.

(3) Sometimes the cordless version will insist it has a low battery even though the battery is fully charged. There is an arcane procedure in the manual to fix this. (This may account for the other reviewers' comment about dead batteries.)

(4) Generally, it is very hard to use and program. You have to punch in an amazing number of codes to do simple things like changing the ringer.

(5) The phone is stupid about basic things link disconnecting if you hang up -- you have to push "End" or it stays connected even on the cradle, and if you put someone on hold and pick up in another room, the original phone will keep ringing to remind you that someone was once on hold.

I've read all five reviews. I've been looking for a well designed, affordable and reliable 4 line phone for over a year! I think I'm going to pass on the IBM 900 MHz Cordless, not only because of the problems identified but also because I, like some other reviewers, already have one four line phone (purchased as a make do strategy until I could find a phone more to my liking). I'm struck by the lack of variety and the extremely small number of manufacturers that offer 4 line cordless phones. I also find it amazing that features I've come to take for granted on l and 2 line phones (lighted displays, blinking lines, etc., seem to be lacking on the few 4 line cordless I've reviewed. If anyone knows of other brands, please let us know.

I have to agree with everyone. Two lines are very nice, but the lack of a mute button makes this phone unusable for conference calls. Unfortunately, I am going to have to replace it with another phone that has two lines and a mute button. Fatal design flaw. Lack of a lighted "message waiting indicator light" is also a big drawback, but there is a faint message waiting indicator on the LCD.

It's true, it's not perfect, but it doesn't cost a fortune either. There is no mute button, but I use the speakerphone to listen until I get off the endless hold of banks, tech support, whatever.. so that is not a problem for me. I like that I can use my headset, the handset OR the speaker. The sound quality is good. I set Line 1 as my default line, and I HAVE dialtone on Line 1 when there is no power. I have had the phone unplugged for up to an hour an NOT lost my settings, so I don't think that's all that much of a problem either. Yes, you have to be able to use a menu to set the ringer volume, but once it's set, I leave it, so again, no problem there. For me this phone was a good value for the money, and I am happy with it.

Great phone for 2 line use in my home office, however lacks a MUTE button for conference calls.

I bought this phone for Christmas of 2000; it gave a good performance until very recently. Sound was good on it, no echo, no static. However, exactly six months after purchase, the battery died and I've been informed that the battery is no longer made. There is no reason that the battery should have died this early, as we always kept the handset on the charge cradle. I'm glad this phone didn't cost much or I would be pretty mad about the 6-month life.

For the price, the phone is an excellent bargain. But the battery discharges too fast. Since since I got it really cheap using a coupon from UnderTag.com, I can't really complain.

I wasn't expecting much when I bought this phone since price was my main consideration. But I have been pleasently surprised. The phone is sleek, clear sound, has a good range, and holds a nice charge. The volume settings are perfect. The Loudest setting actually is LOUD! When I go outside while on the phone, I have yet to hear static. Great phone for the price! I'd buy one again.

I got it for my home office because I really needed a dual-keypad speakerphone. The instructions warn not to put it near electronic equipment and they weren't kidding! First of all, very few real perks to this phone. I like performing all my options from the base, and this simply isn't the phone for that. To use the speed dial, you HAVE TO use the handset speakerphone, which is horribly low in volume (and static-y next to my computer). The base speakerphone is not a whole lot better when it comes to clarity of sound. All things considered, I guess it's worth the $70, but I'm giving it to my teenager because she REALLY wants a speakerphone and won't know the difference. Boo-hiss for this one.

I was really pleased with the base/speaker phone when I purchased the original unit. Usually people cannot tell when I am on the handset or the base speakerphone because of the excellent sound quality. But the reason we purchased this unit was to be able to add additional handsets. The sound quality from the second handset is extremely poor. Moreover, sometimes when both handsets are in use that seems to cause both handsets to lose contact with the base and the call is lost.

I don't want any special features on my phone, other than multiple handsets. This phone seems to have a lot of neat futures. If I had designed this, however, I would have dropped some of the features and designed a system which allows the person with whom you are talking to actually understand what you are saying. Maybe you need to buy a more expensive model to get that particular feature.

This is an above average phone systems with many features of phones twice as much $. It has good sound quality and an extended range feature that improves communications over larger distances than standard 2.4GHz phones. It performs much beter than the Seimens 2415&2400 system that it is replacing. I was actually quite surprised to see a high level of build quality and function in a VTech phone system this cheap. 5.8GHz is not worth the bump in price when this phone performs this well in the city.

Very poor sound quality and reception is poor. STAY AWAY from this phone!

I have two of these phones and I LOVE them! they look good, they keep a good charge, and the caller ID in the handset in great because it's face up when the phone is charging so you can see who it is without picking up the phone.

Some of the other reviews have talked about noise problems. I haven't had ANY problems whatsoever. I do know that sometimes if you have a wireless network that operates on the 2.4 GHz frequency and the router is too close to the base unit for the phone that can cause problems.

Overall, terrific phone for a great price!

This is my second AT&T 1430. After the first, I vowed never to buy another because of the constant static in the background. However, I could not find another cordless that has all the features of the 1430. So I decided to live with the static and I purchased a new one. After charging the battery and dialing my first call, to my very great surprise, I found the sound quality excellent. Not even the slightest hint of background static. Has AT&T finally improved this phone? I don't know. I'm just glad I gave it a second chance.

I have bought two Conair HandsFre phones, the SW8260 and the SW9260 models, both have a convenient price and functionality, but after around a year of use they begin to fail. Noise problems, interrupted calls, etc. take you to replace it for another phone.

The previous reviews are all true -- it can buzz (depending on the quality of the phone line), its plastic parts are delicate, and the headset is very comfortable to wear.

I would like to add that I used the phone all day at work for months, and it had problems the previous reviews did not mention: the connection between the headset and the phone was very touchy. When on the phone, I would often lose microphone connectivity (I could hear them but they could not hear me). I would have to play with the connection to reestablish contact.

After 3 months of use, the connection to the headset died completely. I took the phone apart and rewired it by hard-wiring the headset directly to the phone. The phone worked 3 more months before the buzz gradually got unbearably loud. I took it apart again, resoldered the connections, and got it working for another month, before something else inside failed. I replaced it with a much better and slightly more expensive phone.

Unless you like an occasional electical engineering challenge, this phone is not for you.

Don

I bought this for a work-at-home position making many phone calls. Works great. It has great reception, fits well and it is very light, I can't even tell I have it on. I also like having my hands free to write while I talk to customers.

We purchased this machine because it looked like it had all the features we wanted at a reasonable price. You know that old saying "you get what you pay for," well we did! It lasted about 1 month at which time it started acting strange. One day it just stopped recording messeges, the next day it would and so on. This lasted about a week, then it just locked up. We are looking for a new machine now. Maybe you'll have better luck!

This phone worked well for about a month. I travel a lot and it is very unreliable on the road. Twice in the past two months it has just shut off and deleted messages. Missed all my birthday calls! Now the machine has just stopped working. Receives calls and shuts off after 7 seconds. This was a waste of money, even if it wasn't expensive. Because now I have to buy a new one and for the two prices combined, I could have had a great machine!

There is better stuff out there. Difficult to figure out how to use. Actually, impossible. Don't buy this one.

The Caller ID information is replaced on the next ring with the word "ringing"

I bought this phone because it offered Caller ID and two-line conferencing. In my experience, neither feature works well.

All too often, but not every time, the Caller ID information is replaced on the next ring with the word "ringing" (not terribly useful information) before I've had a chance to comprehend it. I've had to resort to placing a Caller ID box next to the phone.

When using the conferencing feature, I've found that while I can hear the two outside parties just fine, they can barely hear each other. Conference calls are so filled with "can you repeat that" that I've had to abandon them entirely with this phone.

I bought this phone almost 2 years ago. I was very surprised by the reviews that I read. Maybe I bought the only good one out there, but have never had a problem with it. It sits on my kitchen countertop and has dropped on our tile floor several times and is still working great. I love the call waiting/caller ID feature (which is why I bought it). I have been happy with my purchase.