AT&T CL2909 Corded Phone, White, 1 Handset
by Vtech
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List Price: Our Price: $19.49 You Save: $5.46 (22%) Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Buy Used: from $14.50 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of AT&T CL2909 Corded Phone, White, 1 Handset
Customer Review: Total engineering FAIL
Summary: 1 Stars
After my local phone company crosswired the DC on my phone line and fried the phones in my home, I had to replace the stalwart GEs that I had had for years, speakerphones that just plain worked. I checked reviews and decided the AT&T CL2909 was a good option for one of the phones I needed to replace.
Boy, are some of the reviews of this phone WAAAAY off. This thing is an engineering catastrophe.
Every function on this phone, save for the basic function of actually dialing a number and talking with another human over the handset, WILL NOT WORK unless four AA batteries are installed! Considering that all landline phones draw DC power by default, how is it possible that this phone can't tap any advanced functions without batteries installed? My old speakerphone used one AA to keep numbers in memory alive should there be a power failure, yet even the speakerphone function on this AT&T will not work unless all four batteries are installed. Here's the FAIL list if the user does not install batteries:
Memory backup
Caller ID
Menu functions
Mute
LCD display
Speakerphone
Clock
Directory
Hold
Redial
Flash
CALL INFO light
That's a joke. Worse, the box veils the truth by playing up that this phone does not need AC to run. Well, neither did my old GE speakerphone, as only one of its functions depended on batteries, not most all of them. An addendum inside the AT&T box tells the sad truth about what leaving the batteries out means. And yes, I removed the batteries as a test, and this phone's advertised strengths vanish. The manual doesn't even get this lack right, insisting the display works without batteries when the handset is lifted. Again, tests reveal this to be wrong also.
Obviously, battery consumption will be huge with this phone. That's a joke, too.
This is supposed to be a desktop/wall-mountable unit. But hanging it on a standard wall mount reveals two maddening problems: The backing plastic is thin and doesn't make for a tight connection, so the phone wobbles on the wall mount, plus the LCD display angle shifts so badly it becomes unreadable, no matter the lighting. No amount of contrast adjustment fixes that LCD-readability problem, either. (The Amazon.com picture of this phone implies it has a helpful greenish backlighting, but no backlighting exists. No doubt AT&T supplied the image.)
Do I even need to talk about the clipping when the speakerphone volume is raised? Should I mention the clicking heard by people on hold?
If this phone had been released in 1980, some of these problems could be excused. But for this phone to be so much worse than a phone I purchased 10 years ago is reprehensible engineering. It doesn't matter what the cost, I'd pay twice as much for this phone if it matched what my old GE could do. That it claims to and yet fails so miserably is frustrating to the nth degree.
I've reviewed a couple hundred products here on Amazon.com, and I've got to believe that only the sonic mosquito deterrents are worse products than this utter piece of techno-rubbish. It's as if AT&T never asked a human being to use this phone so as to get actual product feedback. That so many purchasers of this phone on Amazon gave it good reviews is baffling when it fails on such simple levels.
Customer Review: Good Phone with all the needed functions without an electrical brick!
Summary: 5 Stars
Just went and bought this phone today after considerable research. And so far it is meeting expectations.
My needs in order of priority:
1. No electrical hookup - should run off phone line, like all old analog phones
2. Need speaker phone for occasional conference calls
3. Need Caller ID to screen calls.
4. Nice to have - programmable phone number bank
5. Ringer control - should be able to turn off ringer or make it go to visual
6. Should be able to put caller on hold or mute.
7. No answering machine needed
Needless to say - this was the only phone I found which could meet all of the above. The need to have one phone in the house which can be used if the electricity is off just made all the other phones miss out in some other aspects in the list above. Mostly they wouldnt have caller ID. All these features in this phone work on 4 -AA batteries and we will see how the consumption rate on that is.
It was easy to setup, though the wall mount , did have an issue with the hook for the handset. It just wouldnt slide out.... had to bring the screw driver and pry it loose.
Next, I will programme the frequently dialed numbers and see how that goes. It seems fairly easy from the instruction book.
So far I have tested the speakerphone and the handset - the sound quality is great! Our previous phone was introducing a lot of static in the calls, so this is a good replacement and I am happy with the price. ANd we have freed up one of the electrical sockets as this needs no electric connection!!
Customer Review: At last, a telephone with adequate sound quality
Summary: 5 Stars
I have bought and returned 5 or 6 corded telephones in the past couple of years. My complaint with all of them has been poor sound quality. Yes, I can hear others and they can hear me, but the quality of the sound is to me paramount. All phones I've purchased in the past worked well and had more features than I needed, but when it came down to the sound all used dinky, cheap Chinese microphones and speakers which must have cost a dime if that. I fully expected that I'd return this phone also and was nearly convinced that - oddly enough - telephone manufacturing companies just don't care about sound quality. Even the "Clarity Phone" had relatively poor sound quality, only they have high amplification so they can be heard by those hard of hearing but with the usual distortion and speaker hiss. (this phone also has a volume level adjustment; on high the sound is considerably louder than most phones though with some hiss)
Ok, now to this phone: I have not yet tried the speakerphone, but as for the handpiece microphone and speakers, they are both a cut above any of the other phones I have tried. That is not to say that they are great - they are not - but they are adequate and significantly better than other phones that I've tried. In this world of poorly engineered phones (i.e., poor speakers and mics but plenty of features), I'll give this phone 5 stars.
Customer Review: Well-made
Summary: 4 Stars
General Comments:
This is a very good phone for my needs: I'm able to call into a conference line (from home) and put myself on mute to record our customers' narrations through the business conference service. The speakerphone allows for hands-free operation as I monitor the narration script or as I run a business webinar.
Pros:
1. Lots of features, including programmable phone numbers.
2. Caller ID.
3. Hold button.
4. Volume control for handset/speaker.
5. Ringer control (low/high).
6. Slants towards you when placed on a flat surface to allow for better viewing of digital display.
7. Good quality audio.
8. Attractive design.
Cons:
1. Display is not back-lit, so difficult to see in low-light conditions.
2. Needs AA batteries to operate the mute, speaker and caller ID functions.
3. Cord for handset is very short. Consider buying a longer one if you think you may need to move around while holding handset.
Customer Review: Overall good speakerphone with basic features in this price range
Summary: 4 Stars
I find this phone so far pretty good. I was a bit concerned about the review which says "MUTE button kills the deal" . I disagree with it. I tried different scenarios to check Mute problem but so far I haven't come across this problem. After reading that review I didn't buy online I bought it from a local store.
PROS: I like the thick handset.
speakerphone good, catches even very low voice.
I like the feeling when you push the buttons on phone.
good looks.
good features, quality in this price range.
MUTE button on the other side getting noise doesn't seem to be problem.
CONS: too much battery usage.(for speakphone and speakerphone button light, mute, call info LED light, LCD display)
when you get a call or make call "call info" light blinks all the time.
That's why I'll give 4 stars.