==Overview==

After being thoroughly fed up of cordless phones being left askew all around the house after use or cutting out half way through a conversation, I decided to go all 80's retro and get a corded house phone for my office. It is my favourite phone in the house because it just works without any faffing about. You can pick these phones up for around £20-£25 and they are produced by British Telecom. I have had my phone for over ten years and it is still going strong, here are some of my favourite and least favourite things about the phone...

==Positive points==

1. The phone is corded so you know where it is at all times.

2. The phone is chunky and comfortable for speaking on for a long time. The ear piece and mouth piece mould to the shape of your face as the handle is slightly curved. This is better for me than the very flat cordless handsets which don't have any curve on them. I prefer the slight curve of this phone.

3. The buttons are quite big. You can get bigger buttoned phones but these buttons are big and easy to read. They are also touch tone so they aren't quite 80's retro, more like 90's retro. You can use the phone for all the many menus you have to press buttons for when you are on the phone to call centres.

4. There is a giant hands free button. This gives you freedom to wander the local vicinity of the phone when you are on the phone. I find this ideal compared to cordless phones which insist you hold them most of the time.

5. There is a good volume control. The volume control is not loud enough for someone with audio-impairment (I suggest BT Big Button for that) but is fine for some one who is able to hear normally. Sometimes call centre staff can seem quite quiet but that isn't always a bad thing now is it?! :)

6. It has an automatic 1571 button. It saves wear and tear on your fingers, no longer do you have to punch the numbers 1-5-7-1 in individually, this phone does it for you, one simple press of the 1571 button and hey presto you can hear all of your messages.

7. The secrecy button is good for if you want to put someone on hold/mute. They will remain muted as long as the red light is on. I think this could be useful in office situations but I rarely use it at home as it is mainly my Mum I talk to!


==Negative points==

1. The phone is corded so the cord is regularly tangled up and is a pain to untangle. This needs doing every couple of weeks.

2. Because the phone has a cord, it has limited reach so you are fixed to one position.

3. It doesn't look very sexy. It is primarily a functional phone, it doesn't look nice, it doesn't look fancy but it does do the job. If you want it to fit in with your super duper lounge with its 21st century decor, this phone is not the phone for you.

==Overall==

If you are looking for a cheap, corded phone that ticks all the boxes in the phone department, this phone would be highly recommended by me. It also has the function to store numbers in the menu and requires 4 AA batteries for the display to work correctly. I have never used the address book function, that seems like one step too far in the technological world for me ! :) (says she with the iPad!) so I am unable to comment on how well that works. This phone has lasted me over 10 years and is still going strong. I think it is great value if you want a basic phone without style!