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BT Duet 20
by J_Colly
To be honest, we hardly ever use landlines any more - we always have one or more mobile phones on us, and it's pretty cheap to call with that, and we're just used to it. There are times, though, when we need to or prefer to use the landline. For this purpose, of just making the occasional call, we really didn't need anything special or ... fancy, and didn't need any particular features - it just needed to be something basic and functional that wouldn't go, wouldn't need recharging or fixing, something that we could just pick up and use every now and then. For these needs, this is really the perfect phone for us, and only cost £10, so was a real bargain, I think.
-ooo- The Product -ooo-
As I mentioned, this is really a very basic product, and you more or less get what you'd imagine for the money. It makes calls - and that's it, really. It has a choice of two ring tones, and that's really the only feature. It's made of white plastic and is very lightweight, but also quite tough and strong - there's not really anything that you could break or damage on this phone.
The handset is connected to the base unit by a cord, so you can't walk around with the phone - in this sense, it's quite an old-fashioned design, but this does mean on the other hand that you don't need to worry about making sure the handset is charged, so there's less fuss about using this phone.
-ooo- Would I Recommend? -ooo-
For what we needed, this phone is just perfect. It was so easy to set up, and there have never been any problems with it. The sound quality is really good, and it's comfortable to hold and use. I like the fact that it's simple to use and doesn't have unnecessary features - if there could be one extra element to it, I'd like it to have a screen so that you can see the numbers that you're typing in, although this isn't a really big issue. Overall, I think if you only occasionally use a landline, and you just need something basic that looks fine and does a good job, this is ideal.
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BT Duet 20
by danny691
Although we often use our mobile phones in our household we still manage to get through landline phones like nobodies business. We have owned a number of telephones over the years and had varied success, overall the experiences have been bad, though!
The BT Duet 20 is a very basic landline telephone and offers very little by ... way of features. Priced at around the £10-£15 mark it is probably one of the cheapest and most basic BT handsets around. The plain white finish coupled with the clean lines and minimal buttons results in an uncluttered handset offering a simple and easy to use experience to the user. The keys are clearly labelled and it would be hard to get confused when using the phone, meaning it scores highly on ease of use. The handset is lightweight.
Obviously there are negatives to the BT Duet 20. If you are looking for something more 'techie' then the Duet 20 certainly wouldnt be of interest to you, but I find the simplicity hard to fault in times when mobile phones run our lives and we are able to control everything from our Facebook status' to our Ebay accounts at our fingertips. The simplicity is a breath of fresh air in my opinion, but some may find such a plain phone frustrating.
The BT Duet 20 has two ringtone volume levels to choose from and a silent mode, a red light flashes to indicate a call being received. Dialling a number is simple. Anyone with large digits will find the Duet 20 very easy to use and with so few buttons very little can go wrong!
The slimline design and minimalist approach means that for those with limited space the Duet 20 is easy to install anywhere in the home. If you are looking for a telephone for the kitchen then the Duet 20 is a live contender. The wire is of a decent length but can get tangled easily after a while of use.
Overall the BT Duet 20 is a very basic and simple to use phone. Tech geeks may hate this phone, but for those that don't miss their mobile phone when it isnt on their person I feel the Duet 20 will be popular.
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ATL Berkshire IP5000
by wonkybox
We've been using the Berkshire model all through our office for over five years since we switched from the last model and we're very happy with it so far.
Physically the phone is robust, being made of a (suitably corporate) grey plastic. The handset is ergonomic and quite slim, and I'm able to comfortably able to cradle it ... between shoulder and jowl when I need both hands. It's also easy to clean, being free of any mesh or recess where crud buildup can occur.
The IP5000 requires mains power, without this the phone doesn't ring and the display doesn't work. The underside of the phone holds the jacks for the phone line and also a jack for a headset.
The reception on the phone is clear both sending and receiving, the handset is sensitive enough that wrapping a hand over the mouthpiece won't baffle or conceal sound at all. If you don't want people to hear your there's a very handy mute button - you can still hear the person on the other end but they can't hear anything.
Transferring calls is very easy - just hit the transfer button and type in the extension. As soon as you hear the phone ring on the other end you can put the handset down. There's also a button to enable headset mode, volume control, redial and follow on call options.
Through the menu button you can set up contacts with either a full number or extension - a feature I have only used once or twice but it's easy enough to set up.
The display is the best bit however. It displays the number that is calling immediately (as long as it's not international, meaning that you can screen your calls if you don't want someone hassling you.
It also tells you the exact amount of time you've been on a call, which is a great feature for call logging if you're charging by the hour. The time and date are shown constantly at the top of the display
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