Customer Reviews

IBM 3855SL 2.4GHz Cordless Phone with Call Waiting/Caller ID - Silver finish

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

Unfortunately, all this phone had was its looks. I really expected something great from a 2.4GHz phone, but it performed worse than both my VTech and Uniden 900MHz phones. The biggest problem was static even when you were close to the base. Maybe it needs antennas to help radiate the signal. Pam Anderson may get along fine on her looks alone, but that is not enough for a cordless phone.

A good idea, but beyond looks, gadgets, and the "coolness" factor, you need to have a good basic phone. This phone does not meet that basic requirement. It's all dressed up but performance is less than expected.

GOOD: - It's a cool looking phone, I admit it. The vertical cradle charger, which can be placed quite some distance from the base unit is chic and stylish.

BAD: - Neither keypad nor display are backlit - Annoying echo when speaking - More static than my 900MHz Panasonic

When it boils down to it, it's just not a good phone. I'm back to the tried and true Panasonic.

I read some of the negative reviews here before buying this phone. But I'm one of those gotta see for myself people. I really liked the hi-tech design and no one else has anything that looks this good so I bought one anyway, Here is the scoop- this phone has major design problems. First the hard plastic hand piece vibrates when the other party talks which causes distortion (kind of like if you try to talk through a sheet of waxed paper). Second -The ringer on the phone is very "wimpy" it can't be heard in the next room even when set to the highest level. (IBM/TT should have put a ringer in the base set like Sony did) and finally the talk key which answers and hangs up sticks out too far, it will hang up the phone when you are talking if it gets to close to your face! (Why can't any of these companies make a great looking phone that actually works?)

This phone did not work ~40ft away from the base. At less then ~40 ft, it would take several seconds to connect to the base, and, even then, the reception was horrible. Siemens and Panasonic phones I own, work great.

At last - a unique looking phone, that works great. I didn't want black or one of those flashy colored phones in clear plastic. When I saw this one, I had to try it. Love the silver, and the unique deslign.

However, performance was my first concern. I have returned several other phones due to echoing. Like most of the newer phones, there can be some echo, but this only happens when I am very close to the TV or stereo; even then, it is barely noticeable. Otherwise the sound is very clear and echo free. I can walk four houses away, and still get great sound quality. Directly under the utility wires I may get some echo, unless I hold by head relatively still.

Being able to talk on the phone without having to hold the receiver was another feature I was looking for in a phone. This one is thick enough that I can balance it on my shoulder (comfortably) and talk and - ugh - work. I have not bought a headset for it yet, but it is headset compatable.

No antenna to get in your way. Buttons are clear and easy to read. Volume adjustment is very easy. There are so many features - of course that means there is a manual to read if you want to use all of them. So far, I am just happy with the basic, intuitive to use, features; haven't tried any of the fancy stuff other than the obvious call, hold, call waiting, redial.

I also bought the phone based on looks and name. There is a confusing delay between when a number is pressed and the sound made. Numbers must be re-entered most all the time and the static is so bad I can't use it, even up close. I have never written one of these before, but have never been so displeased with a cordless either.

Please do not waste your money on this phone. Even thought it might look cool it has horrid static 24/7. Sometimes it won't dial and if you are 2 rooms away from the receiver there is no reception. We bought this phone in April and have hated it from the start. The buttons are confusing and it seems no thought was given to the layout. I'm not saying anything aginst IBM I love their computers but this phone stinks. Stay away at all costs.

I have seen this phone sold under the IBM or the Bell label, but it's all the same machine. All I have to say is that I'm rather disappointed. I never had any trouble with reception like some of the other reviews stated, but the pixel screen on this phone became scrambled and unreadable within a month of purchase. Also, at times when it rings, I would push TALK to pick up the line, and the phone just keeps ringing!! Buttons are rubbery/mushy and impede fast dialing. All buttons have the same loud and annoying BEEP tone when pressed - there are no varying tones when pushing different number buttons, unlike most other phones. The usage is very counter-intuitive, and now that the screen is dead, I have no use for either the Called ID or the address book.

One friendly piece of advice: stay away from this phone!

I have had excellent experience with Panasonic cordless phones. Sony phones also have been a big disappointment - they go out of range whenever they feel like it, and you often lose your line and have to redial.

i purchased for the sole reason that the transponder and charge base were seperate- because i only had one jack in my bedroom but needed two. In any case this phone [was bad] from the start - it didn't put together right- so i would just have to leave the battery hanging- it would never properley charge becuase of this. Even when the line wasn't in use it would say it was- when it did work properly the sound quality was much worse than my cell

i then went and bought a seconf - same problems as the first

I bought this phone because of the offered features, including caller id, the remote charging cradle and the fact that it operates at 2.4 GHz. The fact that it was made by IBM and was inexpensive compared to other similarly featured phones also weighed heavily in my choice. However, putting it very mildly, this phone is the biggest piece of [junk] I have ever wasted money on. The caller id works about half the time, I usually have to redial numbers two or three times to get a call to go through properly and the general audio quality of this phone is just plain bad. The audio was notably worse than my previous 900 Mhz phone (which had simply worn out from several years of use) but I resigned myself just to live with that. The other problems started cropping up a few months after I had this new phone. I am going to try to send it in for a replacement or repair if I can find the info on the IBM web site. SO far no luck. I wouldn't buy this or any IBM phone again after this experience.