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BT Duet 20
by blissman70
In my humble home we have cordless phone, one in each room, except for toilet and bathroom of course as 'one shouldn't be disturbed whilst in those rooms', and these cordless phones are indeed a great thing to have around the home, for several reasons.
But one thing that cordless phones can't do is work during a power cut... a ... little like nor web repair personnel then..??, so if your home has a power cut, for some reason, then you're cordless house phone is as useful as a plastic frying pan.
This is why I decided to invest in a corded phone after my house, and several others around me, had experience a third 'power cut' within a month, which is a bit of a nuisance at the best of times.
But I didn't want to spend a fortune on a cordless phone as I knew that it would spend most of it's time in a cupboard somewhere and only brought out when needed, (a little like my parents then..!).
So, after a bit of a search around I decided to buy a cheap, yet quite stylish little number that would be useful in a power cut.
The one I went for was in fact the BT Duet corded telephone, in what they called chalk white colour, which at the end of the day is simply white.
The phone itself looks like any other corded slim line phone, with the ear piece being at the top and a little indent at the bottom which is the microphone where you speak into.
It's got the standard buttons, numbers 1 to 9 in rows of three, with some of these numbers having the letters of the alphabet on them in groups of three or four. Then the star key, the zero and the hash key in the bottom row.
The four other buttons are below the numbers, these are redial, pause, secrecy and call waiting/recall.
The ringer volume, or control, is on the side and is adjusted by a little sliding button which is small enough to stay hidden yet big enough to be able to slide up and down without slicing your fingers to pieces.
It's nothing special, being made of a white plastic material and moulded in such a way as to look and feel as sleek and comfortable as possible. There's no LCD display to show you what number you've called or who's calling you. But it has the basics that make it a phone worth having, such as...
Last number redial
Secrecy button
Ringer control, off, hi and low option
Recall button
Memory pause button
Call indicator light
Call waiting indicator, (if you're service provides this)
And there's no hands free options or external loud speaker.
The hand piece nestles very well in the cradle, with a little piece of plastic which, when pulled out slightly, grips the body of the phone in position when, or if, you have this wall mounted.
Personally, as I only bring this out in power cuts I don't have it wall mounted nor do I have it nestled on a desk for too long. But when it's out of the cupboard it looks nice enough to leave out without feeling embarrassed about being old fashioned with a corded phone.
It can be wall mounted or simply left on a desk or table, either way it doesn't look out of place at all. When the phone is in the cradle you can see the little red light flashing when a call is oncoming, and this light continues flashing during a call as well, which is pretty useful if the ringer is turned off, other wise you can here the ringer well enough so this light becomes redundant really
There are a choice of two ringer levels, yes two, hi and low, and a silent function as well, but that's enough for me, considering that I only use this in power cut emergency's.
The call quality is pretty good too, with very little back ground noise being heard as the ear piece is a good size, fitting snugly against the listeners ear, cutting out a lot of sound around the room.
And I've asked people who I've called about the sound coming from me when I make a call and they have never complained about loss of sound or cracking along the line, which is what you want really, a good clean phone line.
And what about the price for this sleek 'chalk' white corded telephone..?
Get ready for this...
You can pick this up at most retailers, both on and off line, such as Argos, amazon, and probably even you local pound plus shop for around £10.00, which is a bargain indeed.
In all, it's a fine looking phone that does what a phone is supposed to do without all the whistles and bells., it rings and you answer, you dial a number and the call gets put through. There's no complicated LCD screen, not is there a built in answer machine that takes a degree from Cambridge to figure out.
It does exactly what it says on the tin.
© Blissman70 2012
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Argos Value Range Corded Telephone
by alexandjef
I genuinely can't remember the last time I called someone on a home phone. 1997 I think. Its really easy to forget landlines exist, with people either using mobiles, texts or, if you're anything like me, Facebook as your primary means of communication. I was resigned to the fact I would never need a home phone again, this is the future. ... Communication on the go, why would I want a phone that was literally attached to my house when I had one on my person 24/7?
Odd thing is, I actually have a phone line - the way I have my Virgin Media account set up means I have to pay for a phone line, free minutes included, that I don't even have connected to a phone - let alone use. On the odd occasion I need to call a number that would be free from a lineline, but costly from a mobile - I just use my mobile and take the hit. Its not usually that much and sometimes I can get a call back - costing me very little. However, a few months ago I ran into problems with Virgin Media, and needed to make frequent calls to their customer services; very costly from my mobile and with no option to call back - I resigned to the fact I would be more cost effective to pick up a landline phone and plug it into the otherwise redundant hole in the wall.
First stop, Argos. I have an Argos around the corner from my house - but its not its proximity that makes me a regular customer. Its the range in price, usually I can pick a product, pick a price range and match the two up. I want something that is value range, I can - want to pay more and have a more up market version of whatever I am after, no doubt they will have something to suit. My main requirement when purchasing a new phone was price, I was looking for a cost effective solution to making calls to numbers that were costly on my mobile, so I wanted to pay the absolute minimum for a phone. I wasn't even really bothered what it looked like, as long as it helped put an end to the hefty charges I was otherwise likely to see on my phone bill.
Right away, price, availability and function made themselves aware when I opened the catalogued, with the Argos Value Corded Telephone being instock, only £4.49 and it looked more or less like a phone.
A quick swipe of my debit card, a couple of minute wait and a short walk home - I plugged the phone in, and I made a quick call to my mobile to ensure it worked - reassuringly right out of the minimal packaging and ignoring the pretty minimal leaflet of instructions, it was working. The phone, as you imagine is very minimal - but for the price its a bargain, no fuss here. The phone has a cord (1.5m long) used to connect the base to the walled connection, and the base has a typical wound cable connecting the base unit to the hand set. Its a very typical, small phone. On the back of the base is a small hole that indicates you can hang the phone on a wall with a screw that you just hook the base onto. I didn't need to do this, I just sat it on a table and it looks fine - but like I mentioned I'm not fussed what it looks like.
Function wise it 'works' perfectly, in that it does everything you would expect. It makes and receives calls no problems, its the details that the £4.49 price tag makes itself know.
Firstly, the sound quality when making or receiving a call is far from perfect. It could just be the quality I am used to using mobiles almost all the time, but the Value Range phone sounds a little dull and muffled - a downgrade in the quality I have become accustomed to. Don't get me wrong, it sounds fine enough and works OK, its just it does have a value quality feel to it.
Secondly, the ringer could be described more as an alarm than a ringer. "SOMEONE IS CALLING YOU!!" it would say if it could speak. Again, this is a basic function of the phone that it does what you would expect it to, but the value side of things makes itself known when you can't turn it down, let alone change the tone. Maybe again, I'm used to just having a phone on the unobtrusiveness vibrate mode, so a phone screaming at me is a little odd. I must admit though, the sound of a landline ringing within a house did fill me with nostalgia the first time I heard it ring - it really has been a long time since I used a landline.
The only extra this phone has is a redial button, where you can call the last number you dialled. Handy if you are impatiently trying to get through to something or someone, or just a bit lazy.
The feel of the phone is value, with the buttons feeling a little flimsy and the casing feeling a little cheaply made - but not to the point its off putting. If I am to be honest, using this was a breath of fresh air compared to using my mobile to 'press option 1' meaning I had to fiddle with the touch screen and usually miss options. The simplicity of this phone was quite nice.
Being something I am not going to use often, and picked up to try and save me money this was a great by. I estimate this £4.49 phone has saved me about £50 in calls over the past month not using my mobile. A great buy for a device that most people will only have as a secondary device these days. Its super easy to use, feels reliable enough and does its job.
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Panasonic KX TG8522EB
by Doglovers
Like most things today, you often have to buy things with features you don't want, need and will never use. That is the case with this set of cordless telephones.
So although this cordless duo has an answering machine and can identify who is calling you, I don't use either of those features, so I can't really offer an opinion ... on them. Nor do I use the intercom or transfer calls from one handset to another. More about these features later
The Brand
I chose Panasonic as the phones I was replacing were Panasonic and I had been happy with them, plus I thought that the buttons and features would be the same, so I would not have to figure out how to set these up. I needed something I could do quickly as my mother was very ill and I needed to be sure we would hear and be able to get to the phone 24/7.
I also guessed that I would probably be able to register one of the old handsets that still worked and up the handsets to three. So hallway, kitchen and bedroom covered.
The Product
This is a two handset version, but you can buy them singly or in sets of three and four. I chose two as really I was simply looking for one handset as a replacement for the one I dropped in the washing up, and then dropped it on a tiled floor so I managed to finish it off.
For an extra £20 it seemed I could get a brand new set and what really sold it to me was that Panasonic claimed to have improved the sound quality which is the main thing I look for in a home phone.
There are two units, one is the base unit which is slightly larger and contains the answer machine, and the second is simply a handset that sits in a cradle, which holds them securely and they are also fit back easily.
They are a very shiny piano black finish and this version boasts a colour screen. The numbers and keys have vivid blue writing and are quite large. The keys are easy to read and the screen is quite clear around 2" in size, so is fine for me. This isn't up to mobile phone standards though.
The handsets have a standard phone layout with the keys laid out like a mobile telephone, so they are easy to navigate from the get go.
I have not used the answer phone as I don't need or want to. If I am at home and I don't want to take calls, I simply don't answer the phone. I use 1471 and then ring them back if it is someone I want to talk to. If someone desperately needs to speak, they will ring my mobile. Also the person who rings me most is my mother and no way would she leave a message on an answerphone!
If you do want to use the answer machine it can record 40 minutes of messages.
There is also the caller ID facility which allows you to see who is calling, however you have to have that service with your telephone provider. I don't subscribe to that.
You can also use the handsets as an intercom system, again something I don't need in my average size house, we simply shout.
Another feature is the eco button which saves on battery life, plus you can SMS message.
What I did notice when I was looking for the current price is there is also something called call barring. I can't find my manual to see how this works, but I assume you can enter telephone numbers that you don't wish to take calls from. Again not something I have used, but I may do now if I can figure this out, which without the manual may take some time as the menu structure and navigation through them is not a strong feature on this phone.
You can also transfer calls from one handset to another, again another feature I don't use as although I am sure it is easy, it is much easier to walk up or down stairs. The only problem is we end up with all the handsets in one room, which rather defeats the object of having several handsets.
To be honest I can't be bothered learning how to use the features.
What I do mostly is make and receive calls and these are by far the best cordless phones I have used as they are exceptionally clear and the sound quality is excellent. Even better than my previous model so for me that is exactly what I want from a home telephone, so 5 stars from me for sound quality. The handset is comfortable to use and the loudspeaker function works very well, so hands free does not sound like you are calling from the toilet which rather gives the game away to the person you are speaking to.
They also work out doors and there does not seem to be any reduction in the in sound quality. I don't have a massive garden, but I do make calls outside without any problem.
The people I call have commented on how clear the sound is, so Panasonic have got this spot on.
Set Up
I think it is fairly easy with the help of the instruction manual. This model has the unit already registered to the base station, but if that does not work it is straightforward to do this manually. I successfully set this up and registered an old handset without too much difficulty. Just followed the steps in the manual.
The handsets need batteries and they seem to last for ages as I can't remember when I last changed them . Battery life while using the phone is not an issue as I often make and receive really long calls and the battery indicator barely changes. Similarly the phones hold their charge if you forget to put them back in their cradle after use. I would recommend changing or checking them the regularly though just in case the batteries deteriorate.
Adding contacts and telephone numbers is a little clunky and I do think this could be improved. I guess we are spoiled with how easy contacts are added to mobile phones. So having to type them in manually and then transferring them to each handset is a bit of a pain. To be honest I set them up on one handset and use that mostly, or get my contacts from my mobile and dial manually. You can have up to 200 contacts and put them in categories if you wish. Again I don't do that.
There is a choice of ringtones and wallpapers, but I am so over changing ringtones and different wallpapers, so I chose the one I liked best, which was straightforward and haven't changed it since. If you like doing that sort of thing then there are lots to choose from
Would I Recommend
Yes absolutely these are the best cordless handsets I have owned and what I like best about them is the sound quality, which for me is the most important feature on a phone. I want to be able to hear people clearly and want them to be able to hear me . On previous phones we have used the sound level seemed very low and I found it difficult to hear some people, so had to concentrate hardtop catch every word. Also my husband is nearly deaf and really struggles , but does not have that problem as the volume can be set very high.
I rarely miss calls as the ring tones are loud enough for me. The only time I struggle to hear is when I am vacuuming as that is incredibly loud. Hubby can also hear despite being hard of hearing, but usually adopts the ' it won't be for me approach to answering the phone' so doesn't bother answering. To be fair he is usually right.
This set has lots of other features that I don't use, but the ones I do use suit me very well.
Last number redial, a phone book and the ability to take calls in several rooms, talk hands free and a loud ringtone work really well.
Adding contacts is a bit of a pain, but I don't do that very often and I am not sure there are other models that do this better, but if there were, I personally would not look to change these phones. I think Panasonic should work on this though as it seems very laborious now and I don't feel they have updated this feature much over the years.
I do quite like the look of them; they are a nice shiny black. I think they should add a green and red to the answer and end call keys to make them stand out more as they are black on a black background. I would prefer another colour though as shiny black things really show dust and marks.
A great home phone set in my opinion with an answerphone and lots of functions i don't use but would be useful if you live in a very large house and pay for caller ID
Price and Availability
Currently £53.99 from Amazon, which I think is good value for two cordless phones with an answerphone. I bought mine a couple of years ago, but my previous Panasonics were still functioning well, until I submerged one in water and also dropped it on a tiled floor, so they are quite sturdy.
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