Customer Reviews

Motorola MD61 5.8 GHz Accessory Handset for MD600 Series Phones

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I picked up the MD671 phone and a spare MD61 handset about nine months ago, and I couldn't be happier. I had gone through several cordless phones, GE, Uniden, Panasonic, etc., and each one was susceptible to interference and seemed flimsy, while the re-charging reduced the battery life down to nothing. While they "worked", I found myself apologizing and running to a corded phone to finish conversations.

You never really notice the inconvenience of it all until it's gone. With the Motorola system, not only are calls crystal clear, I find myself recommending it to anyone who's looking, getting my parents a system (replacing their 10-year old Radio Shack cordless, for goodness sake) and adding more MD61's around the house.

While either of the phones are great (we went with the MD671, without the answering option, as we already had voicemail), the handset is what really counts. The MD671 base unit is great, sleek and modern looking with a tremendous speakerphone and bright display, but who talks about the base unit? The MD61 handset is the champ.

First thing you'll notice is the solid, substantial feel of the handset - not slippery or creaking when torqued. It's well-balanced, with rubberized sides for grip and comfort, with an actual usable belt clip (rather than one that has to be pried open). The handset buttons and screen are well-lit, and it seems closer to a cell-phone in functions, available ring tones and vibrate modes, and the cool clear/blue lighting. IAdditionally, the handset seems pretty shock-proof, as it's been dropped on a tile floor a few times without ill effect.

The antenna is a small rubber nub about 1/2 inch in height, and it's stationary. I'm not the engineer that the previous poster is, so I can't comment on if it's really 5.8 ghz digital or not - all I know is that the sound quality is at least twice as good as the 2.4 ghz products out there, which are way better than the old 900mhz ones. It truly is the best I've heard on any cordless, and I would never consider buying anything less again. The handset speakerphone is loud and clear as well.

I'm not sure about the 8 hour battery life listed in the Amazon review above, but I've had the phone go 4-1/2 hours straight on a conference call before a low-battery warning. The battery life indicator is pretty accurate as well, and it seems to charge quickly. Battery life hasn't noticeably diminished after 9 months of use.

Lastly, the best part of the handset is that you can have up to 6 per base unit. We currently have three. All the handsets have are a small footprint charging station that requires AC power. No additional phone cords are needed, as the handset talks to the base. So instead of fumbling with wires, I can install a phone in a new room by plugging in the base, and then synching up the handset to the base - which takes only a minute for them to "find" each other. And they don't interfere with each other, either.

Bottom line? I really can't find any negatives with the entire system, and I'm not a big Motorola pimp, either, as I'm not really a fan of their cell phones, but they hit a home run here. While the price may be a little on the high side, I guess, it's a cheaper solution than buying a lesser phone, and then having to replace it again. I believe I really got my money's worth. In addition, if you so choose, you could really give up all of your corded phones and never think twice about it.

I never looked for the "ultimate" cordless phone experience, because that sounds pretty stupid, but I'm extremely pleased with this product, and wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone.

I used Panasonics before this Motorola. The Panasonics ALL had failures of one kind or another. They also had very low volume. The Motorola is one of the best built, full featured phones I have ever used. Build like a tank, stylish, and trouble free. I have purchased 4 of these for my home and have given the Panasonics to Goodwill.

There are a rash of these new "phone systems" cropping up. I've tried two of them: AT&T's and Panasonic's. I returned both of them and settled on the Motorola system. Primarily because I really liked the phone, the way it felt and the way it sounded. It really is a great phone. There are a couple of issues that I have with the Motorola, but it is the same problem for all phones that are part of a base type system.

1. The phonebook is not shared. This means that if you enter a number on the base system it is not automatically available to all satellite phones. If you want a phone specific number, enter it directly into the phone. For a global number, input the number on the base. That would be a great solution.

2. You cannot name the satellite phones. You have the base, phone 1, phone 2, etc. How hard would it be to have kitchen, garage, guest room, etc. This should have been done from the start.

3. You cannot access the answering machine from anything but the base. Being able to pick up the phone and select answering machine from the menu would be a great convenience.

4. Proprietary batteries. Granted AT&T has a standard AA NiMH battery that they use for their phones, but everyone else is using non-standard battery packs. This is like the price gouging for inkjet replacement cartridges. USE A STANDARD BATTERY.

Anyway, great phone with good battery life, range and voice quality. Best of all it doesn't interfere with my wireless network. My 2.4Ghz phone doesn't interefere either, but I had to do quite a bit of channel hopping on my wireless Access Point and phone before I found a setting where neither one was messing up the other. 4 stars because until they impliment the points listed above it still isn't perfect.

Two bad reviews throwing off this rating. Amazon's service is exceptional and the other reviewer who does not buy into the 5.8 "hype".

I have the base unit plus 3 of these handsets.

A cordless phone is subject to a lot of interference and each home is unique in that regard. Microwaves and other appliances affect range and clarity. Personally, my wi-fi router (which uses the crowded 2.4ghz frequency) and baby monitor (900mhz) could affect my phone thus I chose the 5.8ghz range to stagger the frequency ranges of those cordless devices.

In my house the phone has good range throughout including outside and in the basement. However, the phone clarity does not blow me away and is only marginally better than 900mhz or 2.4ghz.

I love the speakerphone feature which can be done right on the handset itself, great when on hold for customer service as I can put it in my pocket and roam around the house listening to cheesy muzak. It's also great for your little kids trying to talk to the grandparents.

The phone is very user friendly and has many features you are accustomed to seeing on a cell phone (imagine that from Motorola!).

Intercom is nice. I can "call" my wife in the bedroom while I'm downstairs using this feature (yeah I'm lazy).

Five star rating due to the lowered price.

My family likes this handset. The speakerphone is very good, both sending and receiving. The display is easy to read and easy to program. Range from the base is excellent. We like the ability to use multiple handsets as walkie talkies. Phone casing is sturdy. It has been dropped a few times on house floor with no damage to the phone. Battery life is good. After 2 years, our original handset batteries still give us about 15 hours of talk time before having to be recharged. Finally, the shape, weight and feel of the handset fit our hands very well. Not bulky or uncomfortable. The 2nd handset we bought last month integrated into the system easily; the directions were very simple to follow.

What we don't like is the same others have identified. It is frustrating that the directory from the handset does not sync up to the base or other handsets. You must program each one separately.

This system is the best phone system I have ever used. VERY user friendly. I programmed it myself without the help from my sons.
thanks.
sl
PS price wise= the best.

Handset speakerphone, intercom feature, backup battery in the base unit, no need for a phone line to plug in extensions. Lots of great features, phone works great and sounds great.

We bought several of these about 8 months ago. We have several teenagers that have the usual "dropping" of the phone episodes. These puppies take a beating and keep on working. No problems. The handset paging awesome is excellent in a large house where kids can "misplace" them. Blue backlit dial pad is very nice. The speakerphone has superb quality and volume. We use VOIP and have no difficulties with the Motorola system! A great phone AT LAST!

They suck you in with the low cost base unit and then never have deals for the accessory handsets. I have already bought 2 additional handsets for my base unit. They are pricey, but I really like the phone system as a whole. Light weight and high functionality. This 5.8 GHz system has never had interference problems when my computer WiFi-LAN was running. This system is lighter and smaller than the Panasonic system, which I also own

Excellent range. Easy setup. Clear voice transmission. Like the speaker functionality. No interference with my wireless connection. Could be happier if I could use this as a monitor (I think Unidel allows this). I am not a big fan of Moto cell phones (had 2 lousy ones) but, this household handset is very good.