AT&T SL82318 DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone, Silver/Gray, 3 Handsets
by Vtech
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List Price: Our Price: $71.01 You Save: $18.94 (21%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $65.17 (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 SL82318 DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone, Silver/Gray, 3 Handsets
Customer Review: Lightning Fast Shipper, Phones Exceeded Expectations
Summary: 4 Stars
Like many of you reading this, I spent a lot of time searching for the right product and scouring reviews until I finally settled on these phones. We haven't had a "hard wired" phone in fifteen years, so I wanted to be confident this was the phone to meet our needs into the future. Our cable company made me a great offer on their digital (Internet) phone service, and Amazon provided just the right product.
The AT&T handset system (SL82318) arrived quickly - three days before the new cable modem - so I had plenty of time to set everything up, peruse the manual, pick locations for the handsets, charge the batteries, etc. Previous reviews were correct about not really needing the manual - setup was quick and easy and fairly intuitive. I only broke out the manual to learn a bit more about storing numbers in the "Directory", then I was off to the races.
Once the new cable modem arrived and was configured, the real fun began. I've been calling family all over the country ! These units were just what we needed for our "empty nest" home - two handsets in the home, and one in the garage. Build quality was questionable, at first, until I accidentally bounced a handset off the concrete driveway from a height of about three feet. Not only did I not lose the call, there was hardly a scratch on it, so I just picked up my conversation where I left off (you gotta love these modern plastics). Don't let the light weight and slim design fool you - these phones seem to be pretty tough.
The sound quality is better than adequate, especially considering the signal is traveling via the Internet from a base unit surrounded by other electronics plus an amplified Apple Airport wireless network. There's no static, no interference, just good sound quality from an absurdly compact handset. I will echo what others have stated - the speakerphone function is superb.
Another reviewer remarked about the size of these being comparable to a TV remote control, which is a pretty fair description. The blue backlit keypads are easy on the eyes, the function buttons are pretty well laid out, and all the components seem to play well with others. For someone that doesn't need or want a gazillion features, this fits the bill. Our digital phone service includes all the usual bells & whistles, so some of the phone's features are redundant for our particular circumstances, while others compliment the features offered by the cable company.
We've only been using the phones for a few days so I cannot vouch for longevity, but my preliminary analysis is - - - BUY these phones and don't look back. An excellent value for your dollar, shipped fast and easy. Win, win, win.
Customer Review: Consumer Reports' Top-Rated Phone
Summary: 5 Stars
This was the top rated phone by Consumer Reports, so I just bought it and set it up for my mom.
If you don't need three handsets save yourself $25 or so and order the AT&T SL82218 instead -- it's the same system minus one handset. If you need four get the SL82418.
The phone works great, but beyond that it also LOOKS REALLY GREAT (the pictures on here don't begin to do it justice -- at all -- but it'd not cheap looking dull gray plastic like you might imagine, but nice metal and so on).
Other than a few quibbles this is a really good phone (so good I'm now buying one for myself). These quibbles were:
- The manual seemed like it would have been easy to make much more clear than it was;
- The quick setup page was actually less quick than just ignoring it and going to the first few pages of the manual (and then it just ended without anything about setting up the answering machine); and
- It took awhile to unpack all the little overly packaged parts).
- The recorded sound quality if you want to use your own voice to leave a message is noticeably sub par compared to what it should be (and what it is on most any other phone), and when compared to the "robo voice" message of the machine itself which is quite useable (your own voice, however, will sound muffled and weak).
Beyond that, the call and hang up buttons could be more clear (my stepfather is color blind and can't discriminate between the green for go and the red for hang up, so icons for these would have been better, and even ignoring that fact the contrast of the red on the gray could have been much better -- it's just hard to see and makes you think the people who design and review these must all be in their 20s, but now I'm in my 40s and wearing glasses for the first time and I notice issues like this all the time that would be easy to make a lot better for people with less than perfect vision).
This is okay though because within no time you'll just remember where everything is by feel, it's just the period of learning it where it's needlessly difficult.
Overall a great choice since I've given up on Uniden products and needed to find a two handset model with voice mail.
Beyond all this, the sound quality is excellent, the range is good (it can be taken out to the pool), and it doesn't affect the wi-fi network for our laptops.
Highly recommend (with the caveat that I wish AT&T would go back to the drawing board for the next version and address the manual issues and the visibility issues on the handset -- especially that red on dark gray lack of contrast issue).
Customer Review: Could be better
Summary: 3 Stars
Just received this phone system and have used it only a couple of times. My wife used it once and was not happy. It's going back.
Pros: Very easy to set up. Appears to be of good quality. Clear display, nice backlight. I like the fact that the phone number database (Directory) is in the base unit and available to all handsets. You only need to store the numbers once and not in each handset like my old system. The larger letters on the display and on the keypad are a plus as I don't have to put on my glasses to dial or read the Caller ID. I have not had it long enough to evaluate the battery life or range, but the new technology should be better in both areas. The DECT 1.9 frequency does not interfere with a wireless router. The answering system announcement and recorded messages seemed very clear.
Cons: Two things that were a real problem from the start and prompted my decision to return the product. First is the volume contol button on the side of the phone. Maybe it's just me, but whenever I hold the handset, my hand and thumb are naturally resting on this button. The button is very easy to push, so even a little movement of the phone or shifting your hand position a little results in the phone beeping away and the volume going up or down during use. Very annoying. This button needs to be relocated somewhere else. You can reposition your hand to not rest on the button, but then the handset becomes uncomfortable to hold after a few minutes. My old cordless phones had the volume control on the keypad and was never an issue when using the phone.
Second is the reception voice quality. When you talk, the phone seems to mute the voice of the person you are talking to. In other words, what happens is that the voice of the person you are talking to fades to a low volume when you talk, and when they talk, it takes a second or two for their voice to get back up to normal volume. The constant fading in and out of the other person's dialog is very annoying and makes it difficult to understand the conversation at times. Maybe this is normal with the new DECT 6 electronics, but in any case, both my wife (especially) and I found it unacceptable. It wasn't a range issue as I was only 15 - 20 ft. from the base.
Other than those two negatives, the 3-phone set seemed to be a good value for the money.
Customer Review: Great phone!
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this a few weeks ago, and it's the first cordless phone I've ever owned (believe it or not). I always preferred regular phones for the sound quality, but I moved into a new apartment where I couldn't use the phone jacks (long story about wiring) and so had cable-phone installed. I read a lot of reviews, hoping that the quality would be reasonable. Well, it's fantastic! Clear as a bell -- I can't tell I'm not using a traditional phone. I've had no difficulty with the phones picking up at either end of the apartment (through several walls). Battery life seems great (I can't imagine I'd ever talk long enough to deplete it before recharging). Answering machine works good, etc. I've heard some people complain that the volume isn't good enough -- I personally have had no difficulty with the volume level whatsoever and don't even need the highest setting. My only complaints are very minor:
1. Parts of the phone and phone base are designed with black print on a dark grey background. Can't see it without shining a bright light on it! Luckily this isn't for the numbers on the phone, just some of the lesser used settings (see the photos of this product). But what designer came up with that?!?! I'm a designer myself, so find it particularly offensive. Good contrast is very important. However, this is not enough to cause me to turn away from a really good product.
2. If it's important to you to be able to name the handsets or to have interesting ringtones, you won't like this product. I personally don't care much about that although it would have been nice.
I guess those are my only complaints. And by the way, the speaker phone works great! I love that each handset has its own speaker phone. You only need the base for the answering machine. If you prefer not to use the answering machine, the phone will also alert you if you have voicemail through your phone company. I prefer the answering machine since I still like to screen calls the old-fashioned way. :-) I'm old-school, but I still think this is a fantastic product. This is high praise from me -- I turned 38 before I bought my first cordless phone because my sound quality standards are high!!! :-)
Thanks! Highly recommended!
Customer Review: A little disappointed
Summary: 3 Stars
As one that retired from AT&T, after 33 years, I am disappointed in this product. I have no complaints whatsoever with Amazon,as they delivered sooner than expected, and at the cheapest price I could find for this telephone system.
Unfortunately, these phones are now made in CHINA, unfortunate as far as quality,and unfortunate that so many american citizens lost their jobs because of the overseas movement. I worked as an inspector for several years, and there is absolutely no way the quality of this telephone would pass the tests.
First off, even though it has ring tones you can choose, these are only for "ALL" incoming calles. With our older Uniden, we can have a particular ring for different people, and that way we know without even looking at the Caller ID that this is a call we want to answer. Disappointed with this.
My main complaint(and I called customer service at AT&T about this),is the battery used in these telephones. I spend a good amount of time on the phone during certain times of the year(I run and Adult Hockey League)and I always use "speaker phone" or my headset.
I was using one of the 3 phones and it suddenly quit working. Didn't have a clue what this was all about. I then realized a blinking light in the "display window", and lo and behold, the batter was dead. No bars to count, so you can see how much of a charge you have remaining. It just either works or it quits.
When the Tech told me it "was the battery", and asked "are you using the speaker phone",I of course said "yes I am." He then says,"oh you can't do that for very long or the battery will give out." WHAT?????? Our Uniden phones I've used for days and days without a battery problem, and with these new "high tech" phones I can't even make it through the day?(I put all the phones on their chargers overnight, every night).
I guess they must use some inferior batteries in this phone system. Had I known I could not use the speaker phone, except for short times on phone, I probably would have looked elsewhere, and would also probably stuck with a Uniden brand.
Amazon gets a 5 Star from me.
My old employer(and the one who pays my pension), AT&T gets a very low 3 Stars from me.