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BT Graphite 1100 Trio
by Lydsabug
I have owned these 3 BT Graphite phones for over a year now and they are wonderful quality for such basic home units. I really wanted an answer machine but I have an office phone at home also and a mobile so didn't feel it was absolutely necessary now family and friends try the mobile when I don't answer
They are sturdy phones ... with a slightly wide barrel to them that tapers off towards the top of the handset, and each one has a lit plastic panel on the front. They use half the amount of electricity than the average house phone but I am particularly impressed with the sound quality of the calls. I own a Philips phone for my business and the sound on that is nowhere near as good as my BT Graphite phones and to the point I am thinking of swapping them out.
These phones are cordless and sit on a base unit for charging. The backlight colour is blue and the menu is easy to navigate on the phones. They have a phonebook which can store up to 50 numbers, on the website I purchased them from they did say it was 100 numbers but this isn't the case.
Each phone has caller display so its easy to decide whether to answer or not, I believe my husband filters calls when he thinks the 'monster in law' is calling! There is a handsfree option if you fancy sharing your calls or like me, usually have your hands tied to some food preparation episode and are unable to hold said phone to your ear. There is also a 50 number all log which is great, it enables you to redial at your leisure, its an easy scroll on the menu to see each call and also there is a facility to delete each call individually or delete all at once.
I love the choice of ringtones but in fairness, there would only be about 3 I would use out of the total 16 available. They are fair quality and the ones I would chose are pretty gentle on the ear, they don't blast around the house but generally have you running to find the phone which will often prove difficult as they are not that loud on the ring itself.
Once you have drained the battery in each unit, it will give an audible bleep in your ear as a warning, giving a few minutes to swap the phone over if needed, thankfully its only you who hears this as your caller hears nothing but your conversation. They can take a little time to recharge (over and hour to enable you to make a few calls) but this isn't a problem when you have 3 sitting around. I have tried to use these phones anywhere but in the house and garden and the range for them is pretty good for that, my garden is about 20 feet long and the sound doesn't falter even when im at the bottom of the garden.
The setup is really quick and easy, you plug one unit into the mains and the phone line and the other then only need a power supply (no extra lines needed) so I have 1 unit upstairs, 1 in the lounge and 1 in the kitchen although I do tend for find all 3 phones sitting on my sofa by the end of the day!
There is no facility for text on this phone but again, I wasn't expecting that when I bought them.
One downside to these phones is that once you enter your phone number s into the phone you need to update on all the other phones as they don't automatically port across, I usually just go to redial as mostly I have called the people from each unit at some point and their numbers are then stored.
Great little phones on a basic level, good sound quality and reliable
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BT Freelance XB2500
by Jcm222
INTRODUCTION
Just a year or two ago, I was moving from Virgin Cable to Sky TV and Phone. In the process I decided to ditch my ten year old single corded phone, in place of these new cordless sets. I have one, the main unit in the dining room, a further secondary one in the kitchen, and the final in my bedroom. ...
DESIGN
You can get this range of handsets in single, twin, triple and quad set-ups. I have the triple unit. The telephones all sit in a small hub, but the main phone has a larger base with the controls and the answering machine display. The phones themselves are traditional rectangular shape and are a matt black in colour, with a bright blue display. The handsets are very light indeed, and as I mentioned they do not have leads. However each port or hub is connected to the mains so you need to have sockets available.
FEATURES
When you first plug in the phone you are taken through a very simple set up procedure, where you can set the time and name each handset. For example I have mine named according to the rooms in which they are situated.
When you key in the number, you can look to see you have typed it in correctly before pressing the dial number, so you can correct any mistakes. One problem here is that, say for example the second digit is incorrect; you have to delete every subsequent number, a bit like the backspace button on the computer. There is no arrow to scroll to the number in question.
The phone itself has an indoor range of 20 metres which should suffice in most common situations. The battery life allows for 10 hours of talking, without charge, although I can admit I have never tested this feature! Because it has rechargeable batteries, when you place the phone in the dock it charges up. You can also store up to fifty numbers in the telephone which is straightforward and very easy then to call the numbers back up again.
The phone has a built in answering machine, which you can turn on and off, and it can hold up to 15 minutes of recording. You can listen to your messages either through the speaker on the base of the main phone, or through each individual phone, by going to the answering machine menu - a very easy process.
One other good feature is the built in loudspeaker which means you can set the phone down, particularly useful if you have been placed on hold by a call centre.
PROBLEMS
To me there are two problems. The first one is the volume of the phone. People often speak at a regular tone, but I struggle to hear even when the phone is turned up completely. This could be a problem for many people, considering I actually have very good hearing.
The other problem is that sometimes the phone just decides to lose connection to the network, and will display 'NONE FOUND' on the screen, meaning you have to place it back into the base to get it to register.
SUMMARY
I recommend the phone, as for only £50 you can have three wireless individual home phones. This is good if you need to move around or if you want to make internal calls or pages to your family!
Despite its few hitches, I would recommend the phone.
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BT Big Button 200
by tirial
I first encountered an earlier version of this phone at work when I damaged a hand and had to use a brace, and my experience was good enough that I ended up finding this one for a neighbour with arthritis and hearing problems.
This is an extremely sturdy phone - you don't need to worry if you drop or knock it. The phone sits ... on a moulded base, supported by rubber feet that hold it firmly in place, so it won't move while dialling. This is raised and slightly angled to present the buttons towards you. It is a fairly big phone, but the controls and features are clearly laid out and enlarged to make them easier to use.
Physically the number buttons are large, and clear enough that even with visual problems they should be useable by most. Even with visual issues a user should be able to use this to call for help in an emergency. With a hand locked in a brace I could happily press these buttons, while I had trouble with standard ones. The smaller buttons may require a bit of a squint, but they are for advanced features like divert, which are less necessary. This may not be suitable for blind users - it has a double bump on the 5 to locate it, and raised one, two, and three dots on the "most important number" buttons, but there are no braille markings on the buttons.
Speaking of advanced features the phone has a broad range of extras. It has standard call transfer, call waiting and divert facilities, but these aren't ones we use often so I can't comment. A thirteen phone-number memory is also useful, but as a telephone luddite I didn't find this very easy to configure, even though the three most important numbers get their own dedicated buttons!
The extremely adjustable speaker volume and hands-free settings are very useful, even if you are just using it to let several people in the house to join in the same conversation. The ringer volume can also be controlled, making it easier to tell when it rings. With three ring tones you have some ability to choose one you like (or can hear better). I can't personally comment, but I have heard it works very well with a hearing loop.
There are some nice touches - the large print manual and the default settings being at maximum makes it very easy for users to get to grips with it. Also, since it's corded there is no risk of losing the handset round the house! The display lights are bright and clearly visible, so there's no confusion about what it is trying to tell you.
It is worth shopping around if you want to buy this phone. It is available for under £20 online, but can cost up to twice that in stores. Second hand and refurbished models are available more cheaply, so it is within the price range of most.
I found this very useful, and while it may be a bit large for a home phone, it is ideal for people with visual or audio problems who find a standard phone difficult to use. It also provides an excellent range of features for the price, and at less than £20, is a bit of a bargain.
(Please discount Update Possibilities and Processing below as irrelevant: To update this phone you'd be buying a new one. I've rated Quality at five due to the phone's durability)
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