Motorola Cordless Telephone with Digital Answering System and Call Waiting Caller Id

by Motorola

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.3 x 8.7 x 7.2 inches ; 2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000FL9RF8
• Item model number: SD7581
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 12, 2006

Product Description

CID/TAD Base keypad non-color handset

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent cordless upgrade, August 16, 2006

By 

bob "bob5000" (Colorado Springs, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Motorola Cordless Telephone with Digital Answering System and Call Waiting Caller Id (Office Product)

I needed to add extra handsets to my 3 yr. old Motorola cordless, but the model had been discontinued and used handsets were commanding a huge premium. A local store had a two-'fer sale on these handsets, so I took the plunge. I love this new Motorola. It's smaller & sleeker than my old MD681. Here are some of the main features that make this an excellent phone:

1. It can connect 12 devices to the base (my old phone maxed out at 5). Not just extensions, but a video camera that you can monitor from a color handset. I wish I had this when my kids were small! In addition, you can buy a bluetooth unit and hook your cell phone in to make and receive calls from your cell phone. That makes conference calls easier. The signal is clear around my house and throughout the yard (about 140' at its furthest point from the base station.

2. Shared public phonebook! Enter up to 49 phone #s on the base unit, and they are available on all extensions! Plus, you can add another 50 #s for each extension that are private to that handset. A tremendously useful feature that my old cordless did not have, and so it was a major hassle programming #s into each one. In addition, they've finally added the ability to assign a ringtone for each incoming call based on the phonebook & caller ID. Now my kids can tell when it's dad calling instead of having to look at the display.

3. Access answering machine from any handset. There are LCD and voice prompts on every handset. No longer is it necessary to run to the base station to check a message you just missed. All options are available from the handset. In addition, you can set messages to be forwarded to another phone #. Smoothly and simply forwards messages to my cell phone whenever I want so I don't miss anything important.

4. Easy intercom system. Instead of generic "handset-01" you can rename each handset, making it a snap to select the correct intercom to ring. The system allows you to select an auto-answer on 1 or 3 rings, so that the set goes live on speakphone mode. Great when mom's cooking in the kitchen & doesn't have an extra hand to answer the intercom.

5. Ultra easy registration of all your devices. My old handsets required entering a long string of #s on the handset to connect. This is literally as simple as selecting the register option on the handset and holding a button on the base station until you hear a beep. Love how simple it is!

6. 5.8GHz frequency means 2.4GHz wireless signals don't experience any interference.

7. You can download ringtones or even wallpapers (color only). It involves setting up an account and PIN online. There are 20 built-in ringtones, with space for 5 custom downloads. I'm not too impressed by the sound quality of the ringtones (which sound like primitive polyphonic single notes), but the basic selection is adequate. I can't see using downloads for the quality of ringtones produced.

8. Day/night control of ringer volume. A nice touch I wouldn't have thought of. You can set night-time hours, and adjust the ringer to off-low-med or high to suit.

9. There's also an alarm that can be set on each handset. Don't need it, but I can see how it'd be useful.

10. Clear LCD text and attractive screen and key backlighting. A soft off-white. The charge light is a pretty, bright blue charge LED that you can leave on or turn off (or just turn off at night). The charge LED control only works for the base station though, not handsets. Left on, it serves as a night light.

Overall, for price, features, build quality and reception, I find this phone an excellent buy. It addressed a variety of things I truly disliked about my previous unit, and had a bunch of features I hadn't thought of but now wouldn't want to do without. I didn't bother researching other phones before this purchase (relying on pricing & Motorola's reputation), but I can't imagine anything else I'd want or need (unless it played mp3 files as ringtones- but I can live with what it's got). Count me a truly happy customer.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Does all that it advertises, November 23, 2006

By 

Tank (Illinois) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Motorola Cordless Telephone with Digital Answering System and Call Waiting Caller Id (Office Product)

I did considerable research on available 5.8 ghz systems. This one seemed to (and does) handle everything I wanted. Especially useful is the bluetooth Cell-dock accessory, which allows us to make and receive cellular calls through any handset (if you have a bluetooth cell phone). We no longer have land-line long distance, and using the handset for cellular calls actually improves the clarity of those calls.
Another nice feature is the intercom between handsets, which replaced an expensive separate system for us which never worked very well.
If you are looking for a new 5.8 ghz home phone "system", I suggest you definitely consider this one.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Cordless Phone System, November 12, 2006

By 

SI Man "Don" (Portland, Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Motorola Cordless Telephone with Digital Answering System and Call Waiting Caller Id (Office Product)

I bought this phone as a replacement for an 2.4Ghz AT&T cordless that the keypad buttons had worn out. I based my purchase on three main factors:

1. Features that I required.
2. Motorola brand quality.
3. Consumer reviews.

All that I can say is...THE REVIEWS WERE RIGHT!! They were all positive!

What a Great Phone!!! It was a snap to set up and it has execellent ergononmics, sound quality is crystal clear, and no dead zones that I have found yet in our 2 story house and 1/4 acre lot! I have recieved calls while out from family at home and the voice quality is CRISP!! I could not tell that it was a cordless phone on the other end! Best of all...even my non-tech'y wife loves it!!! I found a WINNER...YES!!