Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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147 of 148 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Innovative Phone with Average Sound Quality (and does not interfere with my wireless internet connection!), November 9, 2006
I am on the phone a lot, and I was hesitant to purchase this phone because I could not find any reviews, but I needed something to replace my Plantronics CT12 because it was always interfering with my wireless internet connection. The CT12 is a 2.4GHz phone, so I wanted something that was (a) 5.8GHz or 900MHz (a different frequency then my wireless router), (b) very light and comfortable to wear, (c) had good sound quality.
The GE ViSYS (which actually says RCA on the phone) looked good, but it was VERY difficult to find information on its frequency. This information was not in the Amazon technical specs, and many other vendors neglected to mention this important piece of information. I managed to find a description of the phone on eBay, and the seller said it's a 900MHz extended range phone, and I found another description that said the phone was 5.8GHz - since either would not interfere with my wireless internet connection I decided to take a risk and purchase the phone.
When the phone arrived I opened the package, and the front cover of the User's Guide said "2.4GHz Cordless Telephone and Wireless Headset . . ." Needless to say, I was not happy. I specifically wanted something other than 2.4GHz, and I was disappointed that this information was not given before I purchased. But, I had the phone, and so I decided to test it for a few days before returning it.
At this time I have used the phone for about 30 calls that varied in length from 5 minutes to 45 minutes. The most important thing I noticed is that the phone has never interfered with my wireless internet connection (my old Plantronics CT12 would interfere about 50% of the time). I have no idea how a 2.4GHz phone can do this, but I have a feeling that this is the reason why GE/RCA do not advertise it as a 2.4GHz phone. Either that, or the User's Guide is incorrect and it's actually a 5.8GHz or a 900MHz phone. Either way, I was very happy about that.
The phone is actually a very innovative design. The headset and handset are linked, so that you can easily switch from one to the other. To dial a call you must use the handset, but then once you can put the handset in the charger (or on your belt) and just use the headset for the entire call. You can answer calls directly on the handset or headset - the headset has an on/off button and volume control buttons.
Another innovative feature: the phone has a separate wireless "wall base" that connects to your phone line and a power outlet, and allows you to place the phone charger anywhere in your office or house (the wall base communicates wirelessly with the phones). I liked this a lot, because it helped me cut down on cord clutter.
When I got my first call I found the ringer to be too loud, but I lowered the volume and changed the ring tone to a classical music piece. The phone has about 6 or 7 different ring tones - some of them are rings/beeps and others are songs. This is a nice touch.
The headset is comfortable to wear, and seems to be very adjustable. The handset was designed to resemble a cell phone, but I find it too small to use for long calls. But, the small size means that you can easily clip it to your belt, which I sometimes like to do.
The incoming sound quality of the headset is about average, and I sometimes get an echo effect where I can hear my own voice in a vibrating way (it's hard to explain). If I adjust the microphone placement away from my mouth this goes away. The sound quality of the handset is acceptable, but it is not as good as the headset. I also get this same echo effect at times when using the handset, but again, adjusting the placement of the phone seems to make this much better. People on the other end of my calls say that I sound good.
So far I have walked about 60 feet from the wall base, and I remained connected to my call with a slight decrease in sound quality. I don't know the maximum range of the phone, but this is all I need.
Overall I really like the concept of this phone. It is very versatile and innovative, and is a great addition to my office. At this price, the sound quality needs to be improved, but I would still recommend this phone to someone looking for a good, light, comfortable, headset phone.
****UPDATE**** (August 12, 2007)
I have been using this phone for several months and I am very disappointed in the durability of the phone. The little rubber cap at the end of the headset microphone fell off weeks ago, and people I talk to now say that I sound "tinny". Also, I am having problems with the headset "connecting" to the handset - when turning on the headset it should connect wirelessly to the handset, but lately I have had to turn it off and on several times for them to connect so that I can dial a number on the handset while listening on the headset. I am also experiencing some issues with the headset failing in the middle of the call. At this price the phone should be much more durable than this. As a result, I am downgrading my rating from 4 starts to 2 stars.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nice phone - but sound quality is lacking, February 22, 2007
I was highly antiicpating the use of this phone for my home office. Everything was great until I actually used it in a conference call. Every caller has complained of an echo on their side of the connection. The phone is great as far as size, weight and useability - I have no complaints about that. Just wish I could figure out why there's an echo on the other side of the call...
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
This phone has great potential, but falls short for me, June 18, 2007
I office out of my house and have always struggled to find a good, reasonably priced on-ear headset for my office line. Because of the built-in wireless headset, this system looked like exactly what I needed. I have been using the headset for about 8 months and the voice quality is good. I bought this system for the over ear headset. When I took it out of the box, I immediately noticed that the earloop is seemed very flimsy/cheap. Sure enough it broke within a month of use. The online store where I bought it was nice enough to replace the entire unit. However, the next loop broke in 45 days (and I was being VERY careful with it). The problem may be that the ear piece is somewhat heavy. After all, it does have a battery and phone built-in.
The bad news is that they do not make replacement parts for this unit and it is unusable for me in its current state. I cannot recommend a product that the manufacturer does not stand behind.
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