Customer Reviews

Philips CD4402B/37 High Def Voice Cordless Phone

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I am a research nut! I research things to death my wife tells me. I researched new DECT phones and decided to purchase this Philips model and am totally pleased! The phones work fantastically. I took the time to read the manual (unlike some people who have written reviews) and can say the features included with this phone are extensive and well thought out. I bought an additional phone so we could have 3 total. They work flawlessly. I didn't want an answering system because I use my phone providers service, but I did want a phone that would tell me when I have a new message to check. These phones do that! The phones have a small red light that activates when you have a new call. The screen also tells you - with an icon and words - that you have a new message waiting to listen to. Once you listen to your message on one phone, it deactivates the red light on all phones. Same for looking at and deleting the caller ID. Look at and then delete the caller ID information on one phone and it updates all 3 phones. Plenty of ringtones to choose from and virtually every other feature you could want. Sound quality is outstanding and the speakerphone on the handset works amazingly well! I work in the world of electronics and can honestly say if you take the time to learn the phone and its features you won't be disappointed.

The ringer on the Philips CD4402B/37 CAN be turned off by holding down the # key on the dial pad for about 3 seconds (see CD 440 Manual, page 8, Item "I"). And a little "canceled note" icon appears in the screen.

Even though this is ultimately quite simple to do, I must admit that it is not self-evident, and I got quite frustrated trying to figure it out without the manual. It used to be so simple in the olden days - a simple switch on the side of the phone - no "long press" vs. "short press" of the "hash key"!

Studying the manual is an absolute necessity to understand how to use the many great features of this phone, as getting to the feature you want and controlling it is sometimes counter-intuitive and even labyrinthine. The phone also displays some bewildering terminology - for example, why use "Calls Log Call List" instead of simply "Caller ID"?

Being slightly hearing impaired, I can testify that the CD440's sound is always quite clear and the built-in loudspeaker feature can make it even louder and more natural sounding, BUT you won't hear your own voice through the ear-piece of the phone when in loudspeaker mode, which feels a little strange at first - as if you're not getting through to the other person even though you are. A plug-in headset also works well with this phone, which can be hooked on your clothes, completely freeing your hands.

I read all the reviews for this phone before purchasing. I was concerned about the review that said these phones had LOTS of static and were returned. I also read other reviews and decided to take a chance. I'm glad I did!
I hooked up my phones and had zero static on them. I wonder if the other
gentleman had a DSL filter issue? Sometimes if the dsl filters go bad this causes problems...just a thought.
I liked the set of phones so much I purchased another single phone to add to the set. They all work fine. We especially like the conference phone feature.
The only problem I ran into (with one of the phones) was that the battery usage was very limited. I had several phone calls where it died after maybe 20 minutes..not good. I switched out those 'generic' batteries with a better quality set of rechargeable AAA's that I already had and fixed that problem.
I recommend these phones. I hope you enjoy yours as well if you purchase.

First off, the sound quality and reception of this phone is great.

However, I dislike the user interface to the point that I am getting rid of these phones after two weeks. Some specific issues:

- Digit entry is a strange experience. While numbers normally (e.g. on computers, calculators, other phones) appear when you press the button, on this phone numbers appear when the button is released (even though it beeps when you press). I find this confusing, and I feel like I constantly need to check the entered numbers. It is actually possible to press and release buttons in such a way that no number shows up at all (even though it beeps). It makes for a strange and slow dialing experience.

- The caller ID history is slow, and otherwise makes it hard/impossible to find out the _number_ of whoever called. First, it annoys me that after pressing the caller id button, I need to confirm a 'call list' menu option. It then takes just about a second to pull up the first entry (flipping between entries is slightly faster), but only shows the name. These days, with lots of 'unknown caller' and 'pcs phone' entries provided by the phone company, this is just about useless.

The only way I have found to reveal the actual number is to copy the entry over to the phone book. However, international numbers don't fit in the display, so you're out of luck there.

Overall, these issues bother me to the point that I've decided to no longer put up with them.

I almost didn't purchase this phone due the some of the poor reviews. I am so glad I gave it a try. Most of the negative reviews include such misinformation as: poor sound quality, no sound produced when depressing keys, poor battery life, etc. must have come from individuals who did not take the time to read the detailed step-by-step instructions which came with the phones. There is much information as the CD445 series phones have many great features, all which perform as advertised. Some of the really great features include the ability to plug in a headset, check and record messages on the answering machine from any phone anywhere in your home (CD4452B/37 models), screen phone calls from anywhere in your home, easily add Caller ID numbers to your phone with the press of a few buttons, speakerphone, back-lit keypad, clean modern look and solid construction. The sound quality is much more crisp than previous phones, with no ambient interference. I did a lot of research before purchasing, and we thoroughly tested before filing this review. We are very pleased with these new phones.

This phone has all the features you could ask for..ok, it doesn't speak to you and tell you who is calling (see Panasonic), but as far as new, handy features goes, this phone has them.
I wanted to wait longer to use these phones a bit more, but I had to post in regards to a prior complaint about Vonage (aka Voip or internet phone) incompatibility..Yeah, there is a snafu. By the way when you have a voicemail waiting all of your handsets blink to let you know you have a voicemail waiting (not just the main handset like many others). I tested mine out and it worked great..but then the blinking didn't stop (yikes, I thought my perfect phones would need to be sent back), this is not the case, what you must do if you have this problem is go to the call log and delete the missed call. This is where the phone lost a star sadly. For none Vonage users, you should be fine and not have to worry about it.
My only other complaint is the buttons are not a light touch and require a full push to dial.
Oh, and the built in speakers on each of the handsets for mobile speakerphone are a tad crackly when I was talking to people at 1-800 numbers..my guess is if you were talking to someone on a regular phone it would be clearer..I generally only use mine when I know I am going to be on hold though.
No charge lights make it great while sleeping. If someone rudely awakens you it will light up like a christmas tree, don't worry about not being able to find it. I can't stand glowing charge lights at night.
I guess if you want all the dirt the bases on the extra handsets are too light in my opinion and should be weighted a little to keep them in place.
Registering the extra handsets I bought was probably the hardest of all the functions, and even that wasn't too bad. This phone allows you to send your phone book to other handsets after you program it into one, nice!
Besides these tiny imperfections it is a super affordable, 6.0 DECT phone.
It is expandable to 5 handsets.
Just buy it, you won't be sorry. And read the manual so you get use of all the cool features like intercom, call transfer and other conveniences this product offers (like one touch voice mail calling). =)

UPDATE: In regards to the blinking missed call and/or message waiting indicators. With Vonage, you must view the missed call in the call log and also listen to any new messages before the blinking will will stop. I am guessing regular phone providers would work the same way.
ANOTHER UPDATE: I have the max number of sets now (5). These phones have taken a beating (and chewing) from my son now, they really do hold up well. I hope they continue to last. I just recently replaced the rechargeable batteries after years of use. You will know it's time to replace them when you hit the speakerphone button and the phone instantly dies :)

I purchased this phone about 6 months ago and, on the whole, I'm completely happy with it.

Pros:
- Lightweight handset makes it easy to hold during long conversations.
- Long battery life. I don't know what other folks who are complaining about short battery life are doing, but I get very good battery life out of these phones. My wife does phone support for a living and sometimes works at home. She's on the phone sometimes for hours at a stretch and keeps the phone off its cradle all day and it still has half its charge left.
- The ability to send phonebook entries to other phones is very nice. Sure, it doesn't have a global phonebook, which would be even nicer, but at this price point, just getting the ability to send phonebook entries (or the whole phonebook) is unusual.
- Has an actual LED for messages. I had a Motorola 5.8 before this phone and the thing that drove me nuts was that I had to pick it up and look at the display to see if I had messages. This phone has a red LED on each phone that blinks to let you know you have a message or missed call.
- Voice quality is superb, both incoming and outgoing. I've had several people mention how good I sound. With the Motorola I had before, everything sounded overly bass-y and muted, almost like you were talking through a cloth or something whereas this set is crystal clear and natural sounding.
- Regular rechargeable batteries. The handsets all use standard rechargeables, so when the batteries finally give out years down the line, you don't have to special order them or make a trip to your local electronics store hoping they have them, you just pick up some standard AA rechargeables anywhere and you're good to go.
- Nice tactile feedback on the buttons. When you push a button you get a good feel so you know you actually pressed the button.
- They look good sitting on your table. It's a small thing, but the piano-black look of them and the tapered design just give them a sleek, classy look.

Cons:
- The little LED that indicates a missed call or a message blinks if you missed a call or you missed a message. You can't configure it so that it only blinks when you have a message. Personally, I don't really care if I missed a call, I only care if I have a message. So, I wish I could tell it to only blink when I have a message, but I can't. It does tell me on the display that I have a message vs. a missed call though, and if it's just a missed call, it only takes 2 quick button clicks to clear it.
- The phone just lights up on the first ring, it doesn't actually ring. The issue here is that if your phone company, like mine, doesn't let you adjust the number of rings before voicemail picks up, you end up having that much less time to decide if you want to pick up the phone or not. For me, this means just 4 or 5 rings instead of the 5 or 6 you'd get with another phone.

So, overall, a good phone with a couple of quirks but at a price where I'm more than willing to overlook them to get good sound quality and 95% of everything I wanted out of a phone.

UPDATED after owning 2 years:
Overall, this is still a pretty good phone, but I do have a couple of comments about it after having owned and used it for the last couple of years.

- Something's not right with the battery charging system of the handsets. After awhile, the original batteries began not keeping a charge very long, so I bought new batteries (not cheap ones - name brand) and saw no improvement in battery life. At this point, standby has dropped to about 8 hours and actual talk time has dropped to about 1.5.

- I've found that when the phone rings, if I have the least amount of static charge and touch the phone, it basically resets the phone and you're done for that call. It won't answer and won't reset in time for you to pick up. You have to run and get another phone.

- The thing with the little red light blinking on either a missed call OR a voice mail is much more annoying than I initially thought. Like I said, it's easy to clear, but doing it 4 or 5 times a week for 2 years has gotten a bit old.

So, while it's still a decent enough system, I'm done with it - it's not a bad system, just not as good now as it was when new. I'm using the installation of a business line as an excuse to buy a 2 line Panasonic system that I'll review after a few months.

We recently ordered the Philips CD4402B/37 DECT 6.0 phones.

We had a Panasonic cordless phone system that we were never really happy with. The most awful thing was that we couldn't hear anyone. Finally, as an act of desperation we decided that a new system was needed (and no, we are not hard of hearing).

It was tough shopping for a new phone. In this day and age of voice mail, why are there so few phones WITHOUT answering machines? Everything I looked at had an answering machine and I did not want to pay for something I would never use.

I have to admit that based on some of the reviews I read on Amazon, I was nervous about ordering this Philips phone. After the horrible sound on the Panasonic, I knew I would not go near their phones again, and so despite some of the negative reviews of the Philips, I decided to give it a try.

I have to admit that I'm thrilled. These are FULL featured phones and very intuitive. The MOST important thing is that the sound is EXCELLENT and as clear as can be.

Why doesn't anyone ever talk about sound fidelity in any of these phone reviews????

I also do not understand the fuss over the usability or features. I think the features easy, the documentation clearly written, and the phones are great.

Not sure what other people are looking for in a telephone ... who cares about features if you can't hear anyone? I am so pleased with the Philips phone. At last we have a great phone that does what phones should do ... allow you to communicate. Plus, as an added bonus, you can't beat the price.


*********** Update - Sept 2008 **************

I've had this system since May and am still thrilled with it. The sound quality continues to be AMAZING, on BOTH sides of the conversation. Plus it continues to be easy to use and reliable. Who can beat that?

We seem to go through cordless phones like water in my house. Our last cordless phone I could not use near our laptop or have the microwave on while on the phone.
My husband brought this phone home and I fell in love. The voice quality is so clear that it sounds like the person is right in the room with you. It's a very sleek design and fits in your hand nicely and against your ear.
The ring tones are fun and the screen is nice as well.

Can't wait to return it and get a different one.

The sound quality is good and there are a million different ring tones to try. That's all the good I have to say about it. And I was so disappointed with the phone that I didn't even bother to look for the ring tones.

The problem is that the bad outweighs the good. Here are the issues:

1. We let the batteries charge for the required amount of time. They stayed charged for less than a day. There was a five minute phone call made on each handset. There's no way we could have drained the battery that quickly. Changed the batteries.

2. Related to #1 - we soon realized that if you let the "new call" indicator light blink, it drained the battery. That said, if your phone isn't hung up, you go out for the day leaving a fully charged phone, when you come home, by the time you've called into your voice-mail service to check your messages, the phone is dead.

3. Related to #2 - the new call indicator blinks on both handsets even if you answered the call. You have to clear the call every time you answer the phone! That's too much work for me. I like to be able to hang up and be done, not hit a bunch of buttons and scroll just to make a light go away.

4. There is no externally audible tone when you touch the keys. I like to know that I've pressed a key and it's registered it - like if I'm refilling a prescription or whatever.

There's more I hated about this phone, but it's really not worth getting into at this point. The more annoyed I got, the more nit-picky I got.

As soon as we've replaced it, the whole set's going back in the box and going back to Amazon.