Digital Phones Reviews

by David R Norel What is electronic assembly and what is an electronic assembly company? Electronic assembly is the term used to describe the process of manufacturing different types of LCD modules including timers, voltmeters, frequency meters and graphic kits. Electronic assembly is also used to manufacture dot matrix and graphics displays. There are companies that arent interested in dealing with complex motherboards to they will send their plans for their motherboards and chip systems to a

Philips CD 4401 High DefVoice Cordless Speaker Phone

With voice clarity as clear as a face-to-face conversation, the CD4401B puts the emotion back into a call. High-Definition sound brings people and their feelings closer together thanks to an advanced digital technology. Calls are undisturbed by interferences from other devices and a built-in loud speaker to amplify the voice of the caller allows you to speak and listen during a call without holding the phone to your ear. The unique acoustic design provides a high-quality, rich communication experience. Enjoy high quality conversation with a level of clarity rarely heard before. The audio spectrum reaches far beyond what’s normally heard on a telephone. Ultra private calls Display colors – Black & White Lines of text – 2 Main Display Technology – STN Main Display Type – Dot-Matrix Handset ringers – Polyphonic Volume Control – Volume Control up/down Alarms – Alarm Clock Base Station keys – Paging key Battery charging indication Call Management – Call Waiting, Caller ID, Conference Call, Explicit Call Transfer Ease of Use – Keypad Lock and Menu Control Function – Baby Call Multi base capability – 4 Multi handset capability – Up to 5 handsets Signal strength indication VIP group with own melody – 3 groups Antenna – Integrated on base, Integrated on handset Compatible – GAP Dialing – Tone, Pulse Name and Caller ID Caller ID on call waiting Message counter on base Call log entries – 50 Phonebook – 100 names and numbers Battery capacity – 750 mAh Battery type – AAA NiMH Kind of Battery – Rechargeable Mains power – AC 120V – 60Hz Number of batteries – 2 per handset Standby time – Up to 150 hours Talk time – Up to 12 hours Base Dimensions – 114×107x80mm Handset Dimensions – 46×26x160mm

User Ratings and Reviews

2 Stars Not that good!
Battery doesnt last that long ..wish it wasnt this kind of batteries. All else good but take it seriously when it comes to batteries.

1 Star Disappointing
This is a case of a quality brand who put out a sub-par product. I, along with other people who’ve written reviews on this, encountered a lot of battery issues with this phone. It doesn’t hold a charge too well.

But now, a little after a year from purchase… the microphone stopped working completely! The people I call can’t hear a thing on their end, despite how well I can hear them.

For this brand, for this price, this unit should be much more dependable.

5 Stars Excellent phone that shouldn’t be overlooked/misunderstood
I am compelled to write this review because it has been reviewed poorly by other reviewers and I feel this is unfair. If you decide to purchase the phone, I highly recommend that you read through the instructions carefully. Everything is explained there quite simply. This is a smart phone with a lot of capabilities and options. In order to make use of the vast choices, you have to know what exists and how to access them. Once you do, it’s quite logical.

When I was shopping for a new phone, I looked for a variety of features. This phone had exactly what I wanted:

*No answering machine (I have digital voice mail through phone service.)

*Caller ID, Call waiting, Call waiting ID

*Nice looking

*Good quality

*Buttons that are easy to press and it is clear when buttons are depressed

*Headset Jack

*Speaker phone

I shopped for the phone in person at a store rather than online so that I could feel the phone and see its quality up close. I really liked the design and feel so I purchased it.

At first, it took some getting used to. As others have mentioned in their reviews of the same product but in different bundles (e.g.Philips CD4402B/37 DECT 6.0 Digital Cordless Phone System with 2 Handsets, there were a few features that were a bit odd:

1) When dialing, the key is registered not when you depress a button but when you release it.

2) To get to the caller ID list, you have to press “CID” then “OK,” whereas to get to the phonebook, you need only press “PBK.”

3) Its small size makes it tricky to rest it on your shoulder and hold it “hands free” while conversing.

But, because the phone is so good in other ways, I found it easy to forgive Philips for these now seemingly minor issues. Not only did it meet the criteria I had listed above, I also found that…

*The sound quality is excellent.

*It does not interfere with my wireless internet service.

*It was easy to add on an extra handset: Philips CD4450B High Def Voice Cordless Phone Handset for CD440 & CD445 Series

*I could easily transfer my phonebook to the new handset.

*I could label each handset with a name that described where it’s base/charger is located in my home (e.g. “by printer” or “dining rm”)

*The light that indicates you have a new call not only shuts off when you view the caller ID on one handset but shuts off on the other handset.

In a nutshell, this phone doesn’t have the stuff I don’t want yet has the stuff I now realize I needed.

2 Stars Poor sound quality and everything else.
This phone is one of the few I can find that does a few simple things:

-Make a phone call

-Mute

-Hold

-Have a standard headset jack input

-*Not* have multiple handset or an attached answering machine

However, there is a low static in the background of every call. I checked the manual, and it says to keep the device away from other electronics (done) and away from … metal objects! Interesting that my previous $25 cordless phone didn’t have that requirement, but this “high tech” phone does. I moved the base away from metal (which pretty much means putting it on the floor)… still no improvement.

Plus, the device is poorly made. The plastic is junk, the menu options are hard to navigate, and the ringing options are hideous.

This is the second phone I’ve tried to buy (the last one was a lovely Panasonic but despite what the Best Buy salesperson insisted, there was no headset jack). It just shouldn’t be so hard to make a decent fixed-line phone. I resent that Philips should design something that takes more time than simply plug and play. Sheesh. I’d return it but life is too short.

1 Star portable phone

Philips CD 4401 High DefVoice Cordless Speaker Phone is terrible. It is hard to hear, hard to program and hard to work with in general. I will try to return it.

Buy/More Info

Panasonic Dect 6 0 Black Cordless Phone with Answering Machine and ChoiceMail KX TG7433B

Engineered to work in 1.9GHz frequency, Panasonic’s DECT 6.0 phones won’t conflict with common wireless devices such as 2.4GHz routers, wireless keyboards and mouses, microwave ovens and other household items. And because it’s digital, you’ll enjoy long range and clear Sound while deterring eavesdropping. Store the Caller ID info of any and all unwanted callers into your phone’s Call Block list so that you can eliminate future pesky calls from them. After their information is stored, they’ll get a busy signal if they call you again. Dial Keypad on Base Intercom Handset to Base

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Almost perfect!
One of the best features of these handsets is the extremely large LCD display that is backlit in a bright white with LARGE black dot matrix lettering (great for my mom who has poor vision without her glasses)…. this LCD is simply heaven! However, because the LCD is so large, the ear piece is just a single tiny hole at the very top of the phone instead of a large speaker with multiple holes, as is found on most traditional handsets. This forces you to position the phone against the ear in an awkward position, with the very top edge of the phone crossing the center of your ear. Otherwise, if you hold it comfortably on your ear as you would any other phone, the volume is lower because the single hole for the speaker would then be near the back/top of the ear. It takes about a week to adjust to this minor design inconvenience. That being said, the adjustable volume does need to be louder, and if it were louder you could probably position the phone normally at the top or back eadge of the ear.

One of my other favorite features of this handset trio is the talking caller ID. The phone can be across the room, out of sight, and you will always know who is calling. It doesn’t speak perfect English all the time, but you can overcome this by saving your most frequent callers in the phone’s “phonebook”. Once saved in the phone book, you can title the caller’s name however you’d like and the talking caller ID will read (and show) the saved version of the person’s name. Then, if the talking caller ID can’t perfectly pronounce your saved spelling of the caller’s name, you can go into the phonebook and edit the name so that it will pronounce it correctly. For example, the talking caller ID says the name “Tracy” like “Tray-zee”, but you can save the caller’s phone number in the phonebook and edit their name to be “Traysee” and it will pronounce it correctly. “Associates” is another one that it really has problems pronouncing, but just save the caller’s number in the phonebook and edit the name to be “Uh so she ettes” and it works great. 80% of the time, though, the talking caller ID gets it right.

4 Stars 4 out of 5 so far
I have had these phones less than a week, but so far they seem great. The main reason I bought them was because of the call blocking feature. I get so many sales calls that the thought of being able to block specific numbers from calling me in the future was a big bonus. (You are however, limited to 30 blocked phone numbers).

I miss the “Room monitor” feature which my previous Uniden phones had. (Being able to listen to what’s going on in any given room where the phone is located.) These phones do not have that to my knowledge.

The talking caller-ID is nice. I can know who is calling without having to get up and see the caller-ID readout.

I have NOT used the built-in answering machine because I use the voicemail provided by Vonage. I have programmed these phone to call Vonage with my PIN number which is convenient. These phones will also blink when I have Vonage voicemail.

5 Stars Beautiful Design, Tons of Features, and Great Sound Quality
After my last Panasonic DECT 6.0 3-phone system inexplicably stopped working, I sought a similar replacement set. I’ve generally found Panasonic phones to be very reliable and figured my last purchase was simply a lemon (occasionally happens to the best). I ended up purchasing the KX-TG7433. The first thing I have to say is that the phone is gorgeous. The black shiny finish is much more sleek and attractive than the previous bland beige Panasonic I owned. The display is also much larger and vivid with a high-contrast black on gray LCD with large easily readable characters. The LCD and keypad are both well illuminated when any button is pushed. The time and date are prominently displayed on the LCD in standby mode. When you have a missed call or message waiting, it is also clearly displayed on the handset LCD, as well as a flashing amber LED on top of the handset. The set comes with three handsets, a base with built-in digital answering machine, and two charging bases for the extra handsets. In addition to the time and date, the LCD also displays icons for phone book, menu, and redial above their respective buttons. The center menu joystick is nice and intuitive, but it also brings about my only gripe. On my previous Panasonic phones, the most important buttons (caller ID, voice mail, redial, and phone book) were all one touch access. On this model, you have a few one touch items (mentioned above), but most features have to be accessed through the menu. Phone book items entered on one handset are automatically shared with the other handsets.

Voice quality is excellent as usual for Panasonic. Although I personally would prefer the volume to be a tad bit louder at the higher end, both the handset and speaker phone have adequate loudness and clarity for most people. There are no sudden drop outs or other sound issues like I occasionally experienced with the prior DECT 6.0 phone. The phone features talking caller ID, which is really cool. A female robotic voice will announce (or sometimes comically try her best to announce), the name of the caller (the voice cannot be changed, like on a GPS). The announcement is loud and clear and really comes in handy because you can decide whether or not to answer the phone if you are away from the handset, without disrupting whatever you’re doing. The voice will also function as an alarm clock and even alert you when the battery is low. This model also has a new feature called “Choice Mail”, which allows you to view caller ID info for pending messages and selectively choose and play them in any order. Sadly, this feature only works with the built in digital answer machine. If you subscribe to your telephone service provider’s voice mail service, as I do, you’re out of luck. Panasonic did not completely leave telecom voice mail service subscribers out of the equation. There are separate icons in the menu for the built-in answer device and subscription voice mail service. Like previous Panasonic models, the handset will automatically dial your voice mail service access number if you select the option. If you do plan to use the built-in answer service, it offers 18 minutes of record time and the choice mail feature, so that’s a major plus. However, I can’t comment on the built-in voice mail quality because I don’t use the feature. The phone also features a privacy mode which allows you to choose periods when all, or select, phones will alert you with visual lights instead of an audible ring, and call block mode which allows you to block unwanted numbers from ringing. Battery life is better than average. Even with all the extra bells and whistles like talking caller ID and the larger LCD, I still get basically the same battery life, (approx 2 days between charges with several hrs accumulated talk time), as my previous phone which had a smaller dimmer LCD and non-illuminated keypad. I believe I can get even more battery life, because I have yet to hear the robotic battery alarm. However, I tend to recharge when the meter reaches one bar, just to be on the safe side. This model still uses the AAA size Ni-MH batteries.

I am really happy with this phone, especially at the current price. It’s an unbeatable bargain. It has features galore, good sound quality, solid build, and a gorgeous design.

Buy/More Info

Philips Digital Cordless Phone Handset DECT2250G 37

Additional Handset and Charger Base for all DECT2211 and DECT2251 Phones / Does not work as a cordless phone itself DECT 6.0 Technology 25 Station Name / Number Caller ID Memory 30 Station Name / Number Phone Directory / Dialer Call Transfer 3-Way Conferencing 9 Selectable Polyphonic Ring Tones Backlit LCD Display Mute / Redial functions Page / Handset Locator Tone / Pulse Dialing selectable Adjustable Ringer / Handset Volume Control Color – Silver

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star 1 YEAR WARARANTY, 1 YEAR and 2 week lifespan…
I purchased four of these phones to go along with the base station and have a few mild complaints:

- Full names do not display on caller ID

- Updating one phone with a number DOES NOT update all phones with that number

Pros:

easy set up

clear sound

But… beyond that, 2 weeks outside of the warranty period, all of the letters and numbers started to disappear from the display. 1 year and 2 weeks later, these phones are pretty much worthless. I highly advice against their purchase.

4 Stars Good phone
We wanted to add a phone in a room that doesn’t have a line run to it.

This was the perfect way to do it since we had a main system that was upgradeable.

phone has great reception even 200 feet away in our yard.

One warning though, it doesn’t work well in old farmhouses with 3 brick think walls. My inlaws wanted to do the same thing as we did but the reception was terrible if it had to go past more than one of their brick walls.

2 Stars good looks and good sound quality; lacks basic functions and non-intuitive User Interface
PROS: Looks good, voice quality is great, no interference, Answering Machine quality (for the base set) is good.

CONS:

a) text is not dot-matrix and is huge. Even a full 10/11 digits number does not show up on the screen. Very inconvenient if you are looking for CID info

b) poor view angle. Unless you are looking at it straight, you can’t see anything on the screen.

c) Phone book Character limit is ‘limited’. It allows only what fits on single line on the screen. And I think it is only 11 characters as in point sequence a) above.

d) can’t assign multiple phone numbers to an entry

e) can’t share phone book between handsets. Although I knew that before I bought it, I didn’t know this feature becomes handy when using multiple handset in the household.

f) I may not have figured out, but it does not seem it have Date and Time Stamp. It’s major as there seem to be no way to know when a message was recorded or see timestamp on CID info…

g) (for unit with base/ answering system) can’t seem to check voice mail from handset. Have to be at the base…

For a regular phone (voice, basic Voice Mail) I would say it’s good. Beyond that, it’s waste.

5 Stars Best kept secret in the industry!
I’ve tried many cordless phones in the last 25 years, but absolutely none compare with the Philips DECT 6.0 line of cordless phones.

To begin with, the line clarity is unsurpassed, which has always been my major bone of contention with other cordless phones. The ergonomic design of the handset is a big plus also. It’s easy to hold. To me, both the handsets and the answering machine base unit are works of art. The handset can be set upright on any flat surface if so desired. The keypad is easy to use and the menu options are diverse.

To test the range, I walked outside at least 100 feet away from the house and went behind a detached garage. To my amazement, the unit worked just as if I were standing right on top of the base unit.

The battery life is excellent.

The answering machine is amazingly simple to use but very effective. Other than the ease of use and compact design, one of the other things that caught my attention immediately is that I didn’t have to listen to my outgoing message before hearing my incoming ones. Also, the default answering voice is different than any I had heard before. Definitely not mechanical in nature. I was very pleased with it, I believe the accent is British.

I bought several expansion handsets

4 Stars Easy and clear!
Just added another handset to my two existing and it was easy! Love this phone since the operation is clear and the buttons are simple to learn.

Buy/More Info

Philips CD4451B 37 DECT 6 0 Phone with Answering Machine

With voice clarity as clear as a face-to-face conversation, the CD4451B puts the emotion back into a call. High-Definition sound brings people and their feelings closer together thanks to an advanced digital technology. Calls are undisturbed by interferences from other devices, and a built-in loud speaker to amplify the voice of the caller allows you to speak and listen during a call without holding the phone to your ear. The unique acoustic design provides a high-quality, rich communication experience. Enjoy high quality conversation with a level of clarity rarely heard before. The audio spectrum reaches far beyond what’s normally heard on a telephone. Up to 100% greater battery life Ultra private calls Display colors – Black & White Lines of text – 2 Main Display Technology – STN Main Display Type – Dot-Matrix Handset ringers – Polyphonic Volume Control – Volume Control up/down Alarms – Alarm Clock Base Station keys – Answering machine keys and Paging key Battery charging indication Call Management – Call Waiting, Caller ID, Conference Call, Explicit Call Transfer Ease of Use – Keypad Lock and Menu Control Function – Baby Call Multi base capability – 4 Multi handset capability – Up to 5 handsets Signal strength indication VIP group with own melody – 3 groups Antenna – Integrated on base, Integrated on handset Compatible – GAP Dialing – Tone, Pulse Name and Caller ID Caller ID on call waiting Plug & Play Answering machine Recording time capacity – Up to 15 minutes Message counter on base Call log entries – 50 Phonebook – 100 names and numbers Battery capacity – 750 mAh Battery type – AAA NiMH Kind of Battery – Rechargeable Mains power – AC 120V – 60Hz Number of batteries – 2 per handset Standby time – Up to 150 hours Talk time – Up to 12 hours Base Dimensions – 116×110x81mm Handset Dimensions – 46×26x160mm

User Ratings and Reviews

2 Stars So Many feature comes with a price only
I bought this item and used for around 2 weeks. The caller at the other hand wasn’t able to hear us properly. The voice seems to crack in all of the calls. We verified this by using our old handset. rest of the Features are good and easy. But our peice is either defective or phone has a issue.

1 Star Worst phone ever. Do not buy!!
This is the worst phone ever. The handsets are always just dropping the calls for no reason. Last night a 30 minute conversation cost 2 hang-ups and went through 3 of the handsets before switching to my cell. I’ve had them for about 8 months and think an electronic recyler can get more use out of them. Don’t waste your money and aggravation on these!!!

2 Stars What good is a phone that won’t hold a charge?
I’ve got many (too many) of these phones and none of them ever were up to specifications as far as talk time and stand-by time.

The features and audio are good. Buy them from a reputable store that will take them back.

Test them for there charge holding ability and if they aren’t up to snuff take ‘em back for a refund FAST!

Good luck… you may need it.

1 Star stay away
This is the worst phone I have ever had. Its been 4 months and I am ready to just throw it out. I have changed batteries twice, people on the other line can’t hear you, caller id & answering machine stinks.

5 Stars great phone and answering machine in a small package
This is a great product. The entire unit is very small so takes minimal space on the desk. The phone works well, including the speaker phone. The answering machine gives clear messages. I am very happy with this product and it is a great bargain.

Buy/More Info