Not a phone for blondes IMPORTANT UPDATE (Synergy series)

Member Name: offy

Product:	Synergy series
Date:	30/12/01 (2942 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Loads of features, second handset is cheaper than having an extension installed, excellent reception

Disadvantages: Complicated instructions, fuzzy answerphone messages sometimes, it's broken!

This opinion is about the Synergy 2150.

Firstly, my partner dropped the phone and broke it and then my old answer machine packed up in sympathy. We found an old phone in the attic to plug in until I could get to the shops to replace the broken article, but it didn?t have the touch tones that various helpdesks recognise. More importantly BT 1571 answering service couldn?t understand what we wanted to do and so we had trouble listening to and deleting messages. I usually only use this as a back up answering service for when I am on-line.

So what did I want from a new phone? The only definite requirement was for it to be touch tone, but I had a secret hankering for a cordless (so it might as well be digital for better sound quality) and maybe an answer machine too. It?s been a while since I bought a phone so all the gadgets and jargon I found in the BT shop were a bit daunting. They had a 25% off sale on lots of telephones, but when I had a look round I couldn?t resist looking at the bargain ?ex-display? table which all had 30% off. I found myself drawn to the boxes that had an extra handset in them as we do not have an extension upstairs and I am often to be seen running down the stairs in a vain attempt to get to the phone before the answer machine kicks in. Indeed one day I tripped and hurt myself.

The BT Synergy 2150 was on offer from the normal price of £149.99 down to £104.99. Even this bargain was a bit of a shock to me, as the first phones I looked at in the Argos catalogue were £12.99! However, this phone is a must for all gadget lovers, as it is jam packed full of features. It is a digital cordless (DECT) phone with a digital answer machine (no tapes to ruin) and one extra handset and charger. I decided I had to have it.

It is on sale at the BT website for £99.99 for the base unit and one handset only. An additional handset and charger is priced £69.99, so I got a real bargain.

When I got it home it was obvious
it was not an ex-display model, as it had never been taken out of its tissue wrapping. It came with a 1 year guarantee. Mine is in charcoal grey but it also comes in silver. It is very neat, being smaller than my old answer machine alone. The base unit is 4cm deep x 12cm wide x 12cm long. The handsets are 1.9cm deep x 4.7cm wide x 13.5cm long, a similar size and weight to older mobile phones. The second charging base unit is 7cm wide x 8cm long x 5cm deep. Both handsets needed charging for 16 hours before use.

It was easy to put together, but when I began to read the instruction manual I decided I had taken on more than I could chew. As the title suggests, this may be due to me being blonde, but I don?t think so! There are just so many features and settings that the manual is bound to be complicated. Most features can be accessed by a button on the phone called ?options?, which is similar to my mobile phone?s button called ?menu?, and you page up and down to find the feature you want. Here is what it can do:

? 22 minutes digital recording time (even my friends couldn?t fill that)
? Caller display compatible (BT charge for this service ? useful for call screening)
? Logs 30 calls (with Caller Display)
? Hands free operation (useful to continue typing if you have two phone lines)
? 20 name and number directory for each handset
? Page the handsets from the main base unit (useful if you lose the handsets)
? Up to 5 handsets can work off one base unit
? Notepad facility (useful when you don?t have a pen handy to note a number)
? Make internal calls to another handset
? Transfer calls between handsets
? Conference call between the external caller and the handsets
? Choice of number of rings before answer phone kicks in
? Remote
access to answering machine
? Answer machine can take messages or just play your recording and not allow messages and there is a separate message available f
or each option
? Handsets can be used 300 metres from the base station outside or 50 metres inside in ideal conditions
? Choice of 6 ring tones including different ones for internal and external calls and also for 2 selected numbers
? Choose an order of ringing for the handsets, e.g. start downstairs then ring upstairs.
? Automated message or record you own.
? Keypad guard prevents accidental dialling whilst carrying handset around
? Belt clip provided for easy carrying
? Low battery warning
? Handset battery can give you up to 12 hours talk time (7 hours in hands free mode) or 150 hours standby
? Adjustable volume for the handsets and hands free
? Secrecy button (useful so that the mother-in-law can?t hear you swearing)
? Memo recording
? Play recorded messages through the handsets so you don?t need to be near the base unit, e.g. whilst gardening
? Choice of language for the display (German, French, Italian and Spanish)
? Call barring (e.g. to block premium rate calls)
? Last 5 numbers dialled recall
? Flexible ? if you have say 3 handsets, 1 can be on an external call, whilst the other2 could be on an internal call with each other

I?ve tried most of the features now (with the help of the instructions of course) and I have been very impressed. The sound is crystal clear, despite my base unit being located near my computer, which it advised not to do (but this is where my phone line is!). I still can?t get used to wandering around when I am on the phone and I keep forgetting to take the phone with me when I am outside. We have tried using the phone right up the garden and it worked excell
ently. I am slowly getting used to the key presses for the most common features I am using, but I can imagine the instruction booklet will be near the phone for some time to come. There is a Synergy customer service help line for any problems which is 0845 602 1041. I?m not sure if the rea
ssures me or worries me that there is a separate help line for this particular type of phone. I have since found out that my friend also has this exact phone and her family regularly abuse the handsets, which have proven to be very reliable and she is also impressed.

?? Warnings ??
? Alternative arrangements need to be made for emergency calls if the power fails.
? May cause problems with hearing aids.
? Remember to remove from belt clip when using the toilet as a friend lost hers down the loo when she forgot

?? Recommended if:
? You have mobility problems and don?t want to have to go to the phone ? just carry it with you
? You run a small business
? You move around a lot at home or at work
? You love gadgets
? You have a large house/garden, so you can keep in touch with others in the house
? You don?t have telephone extensions in the house

?? Suggested improvements ??
Not many here as I have been very impressed.
? The main thing for me would be to make the operation of the features more intuitive, as I still need to refer to the instructions for many things. Some of the names of the features could be made more obvious.
? Perhaps offer some tunes rather than ring tones to be more similar to mobile phones.
? Tucking the wires underneath the base units is very fiddly and would be impossible for people with arthritis. This should be improved.

So to conclude, I can?t think of anything this wonderful phone can?t do, apa
rt from the housework of course. Although it is early days, I can highly recommend this phone so far.

UPDATE 10/7/03
I have now had this phone for over 18 months, and thought it time to report on progress, which has not been all good. Firstly, the answerphone records some very fuzzy messages sometimes, which can be almost impossible to understand. Secondly and most importantly, my second handset has stopped working. I really did not ex
pect this from an 18 month old phone that cost over £100!

I rang the Synergy helpline (0845 6021041 in case anyone needs it) who took me through steps to reset both the handset and the base unit, but it still wasn't working. It was not the battery, as there was still a display, so the hunt was on to find a new handset. I was told that all BT shops have now been sold to O2, who do not sell spare parts. As the Synergy range has now been withdrawn from sale, they are not supported and no other High Street shop will have spare parts either, but I was given another number to try which sells new and reconditioned units (0845 6502020).

To cut a long story short, they will sell you reconditioned handsets if they have them (they didn't) or you have to buy the whole second unit, including charger, which I ordered for £46.99 - what a rip off! When I got the new handset, it came with no instructions to link it up with my existing phone and also no answerphone controls. When I rang them back they admited that although I would be able to use it as a phone, I would not be able to access my answerphone with it - something they neglected to tell me when I ordered it. They then offered me the correct handset for £69.99! I have seen the whole set up with both handsets for cheaper than this - what are they playing at?

I am hoping that posting this update will warn anyone thinking of buying a Synergy phone, as you will no longer be able to get parts anywhere apart from the number quoted above, and they rip you off by making you buy whole units for as much as a new telephone would cost. Apparently, other makes such as Philips do still sell individual handsets, so you may be better off with an alternative make.

I have downgraded the rating of this phone accordingly and written to BT to complain. Of course, they have ignored me so far!

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