Customer Reviews

Clarity Dect 6.0 Cordless Amplified Phone With Clarity Power and Call Waiting Caller ID (50615)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This telephone is promoted to people with age-related deficits such as hearing loss, reduced vision, reduced manual dexterity, etc. I have no such deficits, but I bought it because I like things easy: Big buttons that are easy to find and push. Sound that is easy to hear. A simple user interface. And I got what I wanted.

The hardware seems well designed and well made. It has some convenience features that did not influence my purchase decision, but I like them very much: The ability to have the answering machine beep periodically when a message is waiting to be heard -- or turn off the beep if you prefer not to have that feature activated. The ability to record a message to yourself. A display on the phone that tells you the current time and date. An extra handset with its own recharging base that you can locate anywhere in the house. A speed dial feature that allows you to dial nine of your most commonly called numbers by just holding down one of the buttons for a couple of seconds. A light that blinks on the handsets when a message is waiting.

The handset is easy to hold and use -- a nice size and shape. The loudness boost feature works well. I normally do not find the boost necessary, but if I am talking with someone who is hard to hear, I can turn it on and hear the other party very easily. It is unusually easy to replace the handset on the charging base. With some telephones, you have to be careful to ensure the handset is properly seated and connected with the charging terminals. With this phone, it's easy to set it in the base and it feels very secure. There is a speakerphone built into each of the handsets, and it works well, making it easy to converse with the other party and hear what the other party is saying. The display that tells you how many messages you have waiting is bright and easy to read, even in a brightly lit room.

The only problem is that the instructions are ridiculously brief and incomplete. If the manufacturer would provide an instruction booklet similar to the booklet Panasonic provides with its phones, this phone would easily be the best I have ever used. Fortunately, when I called their toll-free telephone number for assistance, I was quickly connected with a man who was as polite and helpful as he could be.

The location of the volume control on the side of the handset gets in the way of holding it. Therefore the volume sometime gets inadvertently changed when you pick up the handset or while your using the handset.

This proved to difficult for the person we bought the phone for and regretably we had to return the product.

I hope the manufacture reads this and considers relocating the volume control either higher on the handset or somewhere else where it can't be inadvertently altered.

Got this set for my elderly parents. The setup was a little troublesome due to the lack of good included directions (and I consider myself a techie...) All that was included was a sort-of quick-start guide. A minus, but nothing major. Basic setup was no problem, but the more involved features slowed me down a bit.

The phones themselves feel fairly solid, but a little plastic-y for my taste. Not a big fan of the white coloring--they are a real magnet for dirt and women's makeup. I am forever wiping them down...

In use, I find the set to work pretty well. My mother however, is CONSTANTLY pressing the MENU & CLEAR/MUTE buttons with her cheek by accident, and interrupting her calls. It isn't a problem for me, but a MAJOR issue for her (so much so she wants to replace the phone...) She is also frequently pressing the volume up/down buttons accidentally while holding the phone normally--the volume buttons are located right where the average person grabs the phone. Again, not a problem for me, but a major nuisance for her. I have encouraged her to try using the handset speakerphone to avoid these problems, but she has trouble remembering how to use that feature (despite the relative simplicity for me).

There are also a couple of issues that we found with the answering machine. First, the clarity (ironically...) and volume are lacking (both during local playback and when calling-in to the machine). When the volume is turned up near max (which my mother needs to hear), the sound becomes more distorted and and difficult to hear. I know you can listen to messages via the handsets and employing the BOOST feature, but again, that's a little over my mom's head technologically ;-) Secondly, there is a strange quirk with the recorded machine voice. When you erase a message, the machine says what sounds like "Message Eraged"--not a dealbreaker, but hard to believe this wasn't caught in the production process.

Overall, this phone/answering machine combo is good, but in need of a bit of improvement. It has some great features, but did not turn out to be the perfect solution I had hoped for for my aging parents. I think more simplicity of use and "idiot-proofing" would make this a better product for its intended audience.

pretty good phone. i got it for my grandma. it works great except for if you have big cheeks, sometimes my cheeks will press against some buttons and disrupt the phone call. other than that, great phone.

I ordered this phone for my elderly mother, who has some hearing loss. The only complaint I have with it is, you have to push a boost button on the side each time you answer the phone to make it louder. There should be a way to set it to leave the amplification on.

I bought this phone for my grandfather who couldn't hear a hydrogen bomb go off. It comes with two handsets and an answer machine. The phone has a boost button on it that makes the phone incredibly loud. Even without the boost button, it is very loud. Much louder than a regular phone. The numbers are also very large and easy to see and touch. This is a good buy.

I bought this phone for my 93 year old grandmother. She has been unable to use a phone for quite some time now since she can't hear anyone on the phone with or without her hearing aid in. With this phone she can hear perfectly! She usually takes her hearing aid out to use this phone but she can use it with her hearing aid and it doesn't make any squeaking noise. It took me a while to show her how to push the boost button to make it louder but once she got the hang of it she loved it! She calls me all the time now :)

After a series of phones not specifically designed for the hearing impaired, I finally broke down an purchased this answering machine and extra handset. The sound is loud and clear and more convenient to adjust than my last amplified phone. Both the boost button and the volume control are on the side and can be used while you're talking. (My prior phone had a boost button on the side, but handset volume was controlled by on-screen menus so you couldn't fine tune during a conversation.) The battery life has so far been fine. The phone itself is nondescript and inoffensive (many amplified phones have glowing orange or blue lights that make them extra ugly). The only flaw is that it does not always accurately process caller id. Occasionally a number that it has processed before will read as unidentified, or the screen will read "screening?". If you are in fact screening, this isn't very helpful.

I was very impressed when I called the company to find out if I could get a replacement power cord after the cat chewed through mine. They asked for my name and address, and are mailing it out, no charge, and didn't even ask if I had purchased from them.

The set of phones came with an answering machine and plugged right in. The Clarity Dect 6.0 amplified phones work very well changing our phone conversations with Dad from frustrating to enjoyable.

Great phone... contact customer service with any questions about setup options.... directions could be improved to be clearer.

Only other con is the placement of the "boost" button on the side of the phone, where most people hold the phone. The boost is Really loud, most people except Really hearing-impaired.