Customer Reviews

Corded Bedroom Phone w/ Radio

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

 

 

When Western Electric stopped manufacturing phones several years ago, the quality of all manufactured phones gradually became abysmal. Once phones were meant to last for decades--now they may not last days. Something is always faulty or badly designed. You need product manuals to understand how to make a phone call. Could it be that with this phone GE should be credited with having made something worthwhile?

After discarding many phones--especially radio clock phones--this model seems to be a keeper. Previous radio clock phones, e.g. Conair, were made with such poor quality that the light behind the keypad burnt out within 24 hours (twice). Another corded radio clock phone, made in China (and bought from Nexten), required batteries--yes batteries--just to operate with electricity, not as back-up. Others had clock dials that were impossibly too small and/or dim to read. Others had keypads that at the slightest touch repeated the digit, requiring numerous attempts at dialing. Yes, finding the right bedside radio clock phone has been an odyssey.

After so many fruitless attempts at finding the right one, I was really surprised that this seems to be it. Why?

The keypad light works well, making it easy to dial in the dark. The design of how to set the alarms (two) is so easy that you do not require a doctorate to change the time or alarms. You do not have to reach around several different places to make these changes. Press one button to set, and another arrow to move the time (alarm) quickly up or down. The design is trim and does not take up a lot of room on a bedside stand. The radio has a decent, not tinny sound. The alarms work well. the ringer is clear. AND you can read the clock display easily, very bright and large. When you press the keypad, the digits do not go flying and repeating themselves, and the numbers are easy to see and use.

Maybe I will wake up in a few days and find that indeed this radio clock phone has new kinds of problems. But, for now, it meets my needs. And, if you have been searching desperately for something worthwhile, it may suit yours. The price is reasonable too.

I like this unit. The only flaws are the lack of a digital tuner and the lack of tuner presets. There is a digital display of the tuner frequency, but a dial must be turned to adjust the frequency. It would be perfect with a digital tuner and tuner presets.

The display is large enough and bright enough for me to read in the middle of the night without my glasses. That is a big plus. The radio sound quality and the phone are fine.

While the space saving feature of this type of clock-radio is great, I am already looking for a replacement. The main issue is the LED numbers are too hard to read. No matter what back-light setting is selected, I can't ever read the clock (either daytime or nighttime; straight-on or at an angle; sleepy or wide awake!). Also it is pretty lightweight, so I have to be careful when picking up the phone because many times I have pulled it right into bed with me! The caller ID, the two separate alarm settings, and the radio tuner are great. Setting the alarm is not very intuitive, so you have to pull out the manual to figure it out, but once learned it is OK. I would rate this higher but as a clock radio where the clock can't be read - I have to only give it a 2-star.