Decided to take the plunge and bought an AT&T expandable two line system
yesterday. Model E2562, a brand new model to the AT&T line. $200 at Best
Buy.
Uses NiMH batteries as everyone suggested. The battery pack consists of
what appears to be two double AAs in a specialty holster. If I decide to
keep this phone then I'll see whether I can disassemble the battery clip and
get to the two batteries. If they turn out not to be double AAs, which
would be strange the body of the battery that is exposed really look like a
double AA, the base has a built in charger for a second spare battery.
The phone has a ton of great features. Very easy to use. The base has
great audio quality, I still have to decide whether I like the audio quality
on the handsets... the person on the other end of the conversation seems to
echo at times, but I may just need to adjust the volume and attempt to
cancel that out.
The phone system is actually manufactured by V-Tech. I had a V-Tech
cordless phone a few years ago (an old 900MHz model) and it worked well, so
that was a deciding factor here. This AT&T setup is a 2.4GHz DSS spec unit
and is expandable to 8 hand sets.
The feature I really like is being able to play my messages, from either
mailbox (L1 or L2) from any of the handsets. I am sure other models have
this, but it is the first time I have had a phone system with this feature
and it is very handy.
Setup was also a breeze. I have caller ID and the AT&T unit grabs the
time/date stamp from the caller ID and auto configures itself. Probably
saved a few minutes of hassle time and I didn't even have to bother with
flipping through the manual except to set the outgoing voice message for the
L1 and L2 mailboxes.
I can't comment on range yet. I have not had the need to wonder outside
with it and at the moment it is raining relatively hard, so that test will
wait for another day.
Durability wise this phone looks good. The shell on the handset is very
rugged and the antenna only is about 3/4" long and is fully integrated into
the body of the shell. The construction reminds me more of Nokia's cell
phones than of cordless house phones I have owned in the past.
Thanks for everyone's input. I have AT&T corded units at work, and have
always enjoyed the clarity of the audio and the feature set.
The only negative, other than the uncertainty I have about the audio quality
on the handsets, is that the base can not be wall mounted. I suppose that
is not too horrible, but now I have an exposed phone outlet that was
formerly unseen because the old cordless base mounted directly to it.
Kai
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