Hello? (BT Reveal)

Member Name: ButterBear

Product:	BT Reveal
Date:	26/09/07 (918 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good twin set of phones

Disadvantages: Kids run off with the handset

I must be getting all sensible in my old age because when my sister asked me, just before Christmas last year, what she could get me as a gift I suggested a new telephone for my house. When I’d moved in with my husband we’d been kindly donate many household items, including telephones, but we’ve reached a point where we’d like things of our own now, so as requested my sister bought us the BT Freestyle 3500 Duo.

The duo set comes with 2 handsets, 1 main docking station with telephone line cord, 1 small docking station and 2 mains power cables(with plugs) as well as a detailed user manual to help you through the set up process and any problems you might face, it uses both a combination of step by step instructions as well as illustrations.

The duo set comes in a titanium grey colour with a silvery accent to parts of the front of the phone, it is quite lightweight and fits nicely into my delicate hands, long enough to comfortably reach from ear to mouth it is not bulky or cumbersome. The belt clip on the back of each hand set allows you to clip the phone to you ensuring you hear your calls even if out in the garden away from the main unit. The buttons/keys are made of 2 different materials, the option keys are made of solid silvery plastic while the number keys are more rubbery and spongey.

Setting up the phone is really simple, the mains cable and telephone line cord plug into the back of the main phone unit and then into the power sources, once the handset is in the docking station it starts to charge. The secondary handset only needs the power cable plugged into it, this will also charge the handset when plugged in. In the back of both handsets are 2 AAA sized rechargeable batteries, these take 16 hours to fully charge but can be used before this time.

The phone has many features including-

-Inbuilt digital answering machine with up to 15 minutes recording time (will store both
old and new messages)
-Number directory for up to 30 names and numbers (names will show on LCD display
when calling)
-Back lit LCD display and clock (within handset)
-Range of 300m from main unit
-Caller display when signed up to BT Privacy At Home service
-Speaker phone (easily accessed by simply pressing the frosted button with the speaker
icon)
-Key lock (to stop those pesky little hands from making unwanted calls)
-Re-dial
-Hand set locate
-6 ring tones
-5 volumes
-Call waiting
-Calls list (holds details of up to 10 missed calls)
-3 way conversation

All the features are explained fully within the user guide

Navigation through the “menu” is simple with each relevant button clearly marked. “menu” takes you through the menu options and allows you to select which one you want while “clear” takes you back to the previous screen, the up and down arrow keys allow you to scroll through the different options available. Retrieving answer messages, adding names and numbers, checking missed calls etc etc… everything is done via this menu.

The telephone itself is quite comfortable to use, although I have better hearing in one ear than the other so tend to use one side to listen to calls all the time, this will occasionally cause a little discomfort to the ear in the case of long conversations (usually with hubby or mum!) The number keys are well spaced and of a decent size meaning you wont press the wrong keys when dialing a number but the menu keys are all bunched together meaning it is easy to press the wrong one. Dialing out is easy as the dial button is the largest, you can choose your number before pressing the dial button (pictured with a green phone receiver) or by typing in the number after it’s been pressed, unlike with mobile phones ringing off of a call is done via the same button (unless they hang up first)

The batteries seem to have a good life span when away from the charger units, when I was packing up my house to move I had boxed up the smaller unit but not its handset, it lasted a week before the batteries ran down. The company do advise though that occasionally the batteries are allowed to drain completely, apparently this will increase their overall longevity. A helpful little feature of the phones is that they will beep when put back in their units properly, this allows you to know they are charging properly, if the phone doesn’t beep it’s not in properly and needs to be put back in otherwise it will start to drain. I always use the phone when on the move around the house or in the back garden and have never had problems hearing the other person or with interference, in the act of being on the move and on the phone (as many of us busy parents are) I’ve discovered the phone is very durable and bounces well after it had a tumble down the stairs, of course this isn’t something I’d recommend doing regularly!

The phones look good, modern but not in a sci-fi futuristic way and because they’re quite compact don’t take up too much space. The cable provided is of a good length both in the power cable and the telephone line cable, allowing the phone to be a reasonable distance from the mains. The phones are really clear both in how they ring and what you hear from the person on the other end, you’ll only get a volume problem if there’s a fault on their end. The aerial is integrated so there’s no worry of catching it or it getting snapped.

3 way calling is a handy little feature and of course caller display is invaluable, it allows me to screen my calls so if I see a number I don’t recognize or appears to be a call centre I can simply ignore it, this also helps if there’s someone you’re trying to avoid talking to but so far I’ve not needed the feature for that reason. I think that the phone can store the details of up to 10 missed calls is brilliant, many people (like me) don’t like leaving answer phone messages and often wont, with this feature you can see 10 missed calls rather than just find out the who the last missed caller was, meaning you’re likely to see everyone who’s tried to get hold of you while you were out (unless of course you’re really popular and get 100 calls a day)

Overall I’d say this is a great little set of phones, they look good and are easy to use, they have many handy features and are fairly priced. If you’re looking for a new set of phones I would certainly recommend these. I’ve had mine now for 6 months and have had no problems.

The phones are also available in single, triple and quad packs, each varying in price. The duo set is approximately £49.99 and is available direct from BT, from their site www.shop.bt.com and from most electronics stores.

Summary: Great phone

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