The Desk Phone That Refuses To Quit (Answercall SP100)

Member Name: Nar2

Product:	Answercall SP100
Date:	13/03/09 (363 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap price, nicely designed, easy to keep clean and maintain, speakerphone

Disadvantages: Speakerphone not loud enough, some issues, appears seasonally for buyers.

To me, a landline telephone should be a landline telephone that offers the basics without being overly complicated. Whenever I look at catalogues online and endless reviews about telephones, most consumers have changed over to the cordless DECT idea rather than stuck in one place determined by a corded telephone and unable to move when the caller is put on hold. It was only in 2001 that consumers were faced with info that they may not have been aware of in terms of the differences to cordless phones such DECT (Digitally enhanced) and Analogue types, respectively but for my office I need something that is going to be permanent and doesn't involve having to find the button to hear someone speak or faff about trying to push buttons in a hurry if I have a day full of business calls to make. I also need a phone that's pretty robust if it falls off my hand accidently and hits the floor or table I'm working at. I recall my last analogue cordless BT phones used to crack open whenever they fell on the table.


The Answercall company are no strangers to Argos stores where for many years their brand and products had an almost exclusivity amongst other brands fighting for the consumer's consideration. Budget buyers opted, if they could pull themselves away from Binatone or BT to Answercall primarily on the grounds of price and their inoffensive looks. Answercall however have largely disappeared from Argos although from time to time their corded desk phones such as this one, the SP100 appears in office sellers as well as online such as EBay, cosmetically re-dressed appearing at Tesco (black and silver model) as well as old faithful Argos.


The SP100 is a basic phone according to Answercall's product standards and are owned by Alba who haven't always been known for the best quality let alone trusting brand name. I've owned mine since 2001 and in its time the handset has been dropped, the phone has received its fair share of knocks and scrapes, but the model still looks new and unblemished since the day I bought it. Back in 2001 the SP100 cost me £9-99 and at the time of purchase I recall I was swayed by the more qualitable, substantial BT phones that had less features. However in the eight years I've had the SP100, three further BT phones have hit the dust despite being made of stronger plastic and general features. The SP100 has a good level of speech whilst many callers can be heard clearly - for an analogue landline telephone using a digital service, it's a thumbs up all round. But there's a bit more to the SP100 than just call/speech quality.


The key to the SP100 is its simplicity; it has a clear number pad that has well spaced and easy to read white buttons with dark blue numbers, nicely cushioned without being audible in its plastic construction, a strip of buttons on the right hand side that are clearly labelled and obviously on this model, a blanking plate at the top where you can write telephone numbers down (their more specified TT100 model has an answer machine tape in that area). Another blanking plate, oval in shape covers over a paging facility that was available on other models of the same family but it doesn't look too basic regardless of the amounts of blanking plates that have been added. The design is plain white and blue, has worked well as a bedroom phone as well as a telephone used in a hall way for main communication.


Originally when I purchased this phone, it replaced a few BT landline corded telephones in its wake and the more welcome one piece design of its main body means no further cages were needed to be slid on at the back for the purpose of being wall mounted. In this way, the SP100 is better designed, very lightweight than many of the corded BT telephones of similar age and doesn't involve having to faff about with a plastic grid that has to be slid on the back before it can be wall mounted, never mind having to unclip the cord at the back so that it can be free moving, if the phone has to involve stretch when using it. The handset is curvy, has a simple lightly textured feel to it and can feel too small in my hands at times. A flush fitted nib where the ear piece can also be turned around so that it holds the handset in as well as a further hook at the top if the phone has to be left on hold in temporary situations.


One trick of the SP100 is the fact that whilst it has a three memory button facility to store just three telephone numbers (my other DECT phone has space for 10 but I never seem to need to store anymore than 2 at the most) has a Recall button if it was used on a network of telephones, or a Redial button - the major selling factor of the SP100 is its speakerphone function. Who needs a cordless handset now if you're looking for an office phone? Well, in essence although the speakerphone button is a good idea and lights up whenever the button is pushed, therefore no need to lift the handset to make a call, unlike my BT phones, I don't need to keep my finger on the button when I'm talking.


There are however a few downsides. For a start it's easy to see where the budget origins in this phone are; the volume control set at the right hand side of the phones moves too weakly and easily reveals that the only volume you get is the volume of your own voice and not the volume of the ear piece if someone is talking to you. This is where the major difference of more modern telephones has been amped up - quite literally. When made to go on Speakerphone mode, the SP100 has a sharp feedback if the volume is raised to its highest just for a split second, and this can be disconcerting if you are making an important call to someone. Thanks to its low features and general components, if sitting away any more than 20 cm, the caller listening won't be able to hear you very well. Sadly this is a downside with this phone. A privacy button which also has its own red LED light has to be continually pushed down if you want to listen into a call, other BT phones I've had in the past just employed a one button activation.


One of the aspects I love about the SP100 though is keeping the phone clean; thanks to its sloping nature if it attracts dust, it can be wiped down in one single wipe, either with a dry cloth or a slightly damp cloth. Regardless of the choice, over my rubber keyed and LCD fitted DECT phone, this phone is a heck of a lot easier to keep in terms of general maintenance. The cord on the handset also stretches quite well to 1.5 metres, the phone sits on flat surfaces thanks to four individual feet and it doesn't permit sliding too much on my table even when the handset and cord are stretched to the limit. Those in a nutshell are my requirements for an office/study telephone that sits in one place.


There are three ringer options on this phone too; high, low and nothing. Given that I have a further three telephones dotted about elsewhere in the house, the 1980's digital alarm clock "ring," this phone permits isn't annoying in the least. There is however a strange partition on the base of the phone where obviously higher models that lack the address book blanking plate to make room for more features would have had a possible slide out address card; I recall one of my Binatone phones had this feature. It's not much of a bother to get worked up about really, which is what I require from a telephone. What a great pity then that the Answercall SP100 is no longer on sale, but if you do see it creep up on EBay (there was a recent one going for £6-99) or elsewhere, then it doesn't deserve to be left out despite its more traditional analogue or corded design. Sometimes the more traditional telephone is justifiable, even if we are living in a fast paced society these days. Thanks for reading. ©Nar2 2009

www.albaplc.com

Summary: Its outlasted eight years of abuse and fended off BT phones; basic but well made.

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