Customer Reviews

Uniden ELBT585 5.8 GHz Digital Expandable Cordless Flip Phone with Color LCD, Answering System, and Bluetooth Capability (Titanium)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was willing to pay more for the right phone, because I make a lot of telephone calls as a part of my work. I bought the ELBT585 because it was a cordless phone with Bluetooth capability. That's a feature I have been waiting anxiously for!

Now that I've been using the ELBT585 for about a month, I can say it is the best phone I've ever had. It works as advertised, and the implementation of the features is well done.

The only criticism I have is that the documentation of how the Bluetooth headset will interact with the handset is very sparse. However, a little experimentation provided me with an understanding of its function.

Basically, the Bluetooth headset main button (in my case I use a Logitech Mobile Pro) gives the handset a "press talk button and transfer call to headset" command if the phone is on hook. If the handset is already off the hook, then pressing the headset button gives a "transfer call to headset" command.

This means that you can pre-dial your number on the handset, then, instead of pressing the Talk button, you press the main headset button. The handset transfers the call to the headset and dials the number.

You can also do other things with the Bluetooth functions, such as, using the handset to reveal a previously dialed number, then press the headset main button to redial the number.

Lastly, an unexpectedly nice feature of this phone is that you can create alarms. When I have an appointment for a call, I can set the time on my phone, and it will ring me when it's time to make the call.

I bought this phone about a year ago when it first came out. Having been "hooked" by Bluetooth headsets when they first came out on the Ericsson T68i Cellphone, I was anxious to try a Desktop phone with buetooth.

I have not been disappointed with this phone. It pairs simply and successfully with Both my Jabra BT 500, as well as my BT 250V. I can literally be sitting at my desk at my home office, on a concall on the land line (uniden), and taking another call in the other ear from the cell phone (blackberry). This is great since being in software I have lots and lots of con calls to be on each day.

If I had one complaint, it would be battery life on the handset. I only seem to get about three hours of continuous talktime. The Jabra outlasts the handset 2.5 times!

Oh, and one other thing, while Bluetooth technology claims a distance of 10 meters, I have never been able to get this from a cell phone, not that big of a deal, as the phone is usually in the laptop bag or clipped to the belt. The uniden however, on a Bluetooth call, allows me to go from my office, all the way to my mailbox. Office is at the back of the house, so this is WAAAAAAY more than 10 meters. Has anyone else experienced this? I am wondering if you get more distance since the phone is plugged into an AC power source. All in all, this is a great phone, and I highly recommend it!

I purchased this handset so that I could use my bluethooth headset with my Uniden 2-line TRU-8866 home phone system. The bluetooth headset worked as expected with the handset. The bonus is that I was able to register this handset with my 2-line TRU-8866 base station and the handset allows me access to both lines!

Uniden is doing a great job on these multi-handset / multi-line 5.8ghz phone sets!

I have this phone paired with a Plantronics M2500 headset. The talk quality is great and while the distance is limited to about 10 feet, it is ok for me as long as you can use the belt clip to take the handset along for the ride.

The phone is very intuitive for those that have used cellphones in the past and I was able to do most of the set up without even looking at the manual. I had to refer to the manuals for bluetooth pairing and a few features that I could not make out, but within an hour, I had the phone set up, and even proceeded to record my own ringtones which is a nice feature. Just wish I could copy the same ring tones to the base.

For this first implementation of the bluetooth enabled home phone, I am pleasantly surprised that Uniden did such a fine job.

When I received my phone, the battery was defective. I ordered a replacement battery but still could not pair the phone to anything (I have plenty of experience with bluetooth pairing). Top it all off with the fact that the software only works on Windows, my only option to load phonebook entries into this phone would be manual entry. The interface of the flip phone was something out of the 1990s -- kludgy and childish. The available ring tones are from the same generation. Aside from the technical problems that I encountered, I thought this was a pretty lousy phone.

Alot like a cell phone except for voicedial (that would be an added plus) The phone works great but I would have rathered a stand alone version without the answering system as an option. The clarity and the bluetooth capability are excellent. I am still learning some of the technology but for basic use it is very user friendly. Lightweight and the clip makes it convenient to move around in. I like the flip functionality and would highly recommend this product.

For years, I've been searching for a phone that fits my needs.

My first gigahertz expandable system was a VTech. The phone's caller ID system would not display the entries in my phone book but instead displayed the cryptic entries from the telephone company. Phone book entries were stored on each handset and there was no easy way to transfer entries between handsets so everytime I updated the phone book I had to do it on all three handsets I owned. (And I had to do it on my cell phone and my computer.) Most serious of all, the VTech system would get a lot of interference in my old home. So I bought a Siemens Gigaset SL-something to replace it.

The Siemens system solved all my gripes about the VTech system. The caller ID showed the entries in my phone book, entries can be transferred between handsets wirelessly and there was no more interference. Still, I was not satisified. The handsets and the keys on the handsets were too small so they were hard to handle. I missed having a speakerphone on the main unit. And I still had to update my home phone, cellphone and computer separately whenever I need to update my phone book.

Enters the Uniden ELBT585. The handsets are more ergonomically designed (at least from my perspective) than the Siemens. The main unit comes with a speakerphone. The system is able to sync up with the computer to update the phone book. Along with my new PDA phone, I now can easily update one and update all.

But being me, I am never satisified. If only the ELBT585 can sync up with my computer through bluetooth instead of USB... (Maybe it can, but it is not mentioned in the User Manual and I haven't bothered to try it.)

I like all the features of this telephone. It seems to be reliable, and the built-in answering system saves me a lot of time by allowing me to screen my calls.

Love this phone. It is everything it promises to be. The only small thing that could use some improvement is the speaker quality, but not a big deal. Great technology overall and highly recommended!

Cool looking physically but the software interface is worse than anything I have ever seen. It is not intuitive nor well-designed. Symbols and menus are confusing and downright ugly. Very poorly executed. It's as if the folks at Uniden don't even own cell-phones so they have no experience in interfacing with a phone that can manage contacts and play messages. Otherwise it functions well, battery life is good. No interference with my wireless network, which is one of the main reasons I bought it.

I am afraid I cannot recommend this phone - you can spend less and get a LOT better elsewhere, even within Uniden's other 5.8 GHz products, where they don't experiement with cellphone-like GUIs on your dime.