Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I've gone through a number of dissatisfying $100 Panasonic 2.4GHz phones, and tried a Philips VOIP841 (terribly scratchy audio), and decided that maybe I should just buy a higher end model to get some actual quality.
I bought this and an extra handset (SL78H), and I am generally happy with its performance. Our apartment is 70' x 21', in an old brownstone with numerous plaster/brick walls. I originally had the basestation in our home-office at one end of the apartment, and was experiencing some drop off at the other side of the house. I corrected this by moving the basestation into the next room over, so now it's fine at 55' in one direction, and 15' in the other.
The audio is very good, and of course the styling is nice, too. Here are my issues with the phone:
1) The Caller ID list shows numbers and when, but NOT names. You have to further scroll and click on an entry to see name details. The screen is so high resolution, the phone could easily have a third line of info or be more efficient with space. There is a LOT of dead space in the call list.
2) From the screensaver, getting the in/out call list requires a minimum of **4** clicks, and optionally a scroll, to get to. This is ridiculous, and should have a soft or hard key from the "home" screen
3) Only one handset can view the call list at a time. If one handset is looking at the call list, the other will just beep at you if you try to do the same.
4) The screensaver should have an option to overlay info like the time/date
5) I bought a Plantronics Voyager Pro specifically to use with this phone. Most of the time it's great and they get along well. But maybe 1 out of 4 times I they unpair, and then I have to actually restart the phone to get them to work together again. I am using them within 4' of each other. The Plantronics works FINE with my Blackberry Bold, never an issue.
6) Wireless transfer over BT is SLOOOOOOOW. Moving a 200K screensaver took like a minute. This is probably a general problem with BT. If you want faster, then you have to remove the back cover (!!!) to get to the USB port.
Now despite those frustrations, I'd still recommend the phone if you don't mind spending the coin. That is, the basestation w/phone plus another phone makes for around $320. It performs better than any other cordless I've had, and looks better, too.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Siemens Gigaset Designer Digital Cordless Phone with Color Display, Bluetooth Connectivity and Answering System (SL785)
