Prefatory note #1: My actual rating of this product is "three and a half stars."

Prefatory note #2: Be aware that some third-party vendors might actually (and confusingly) be selling a look-alike GE model (the 28861FE2), which includes only one cordless handset and no answerer. (You might want to double-check this point with the vendor before placing your order.)

Prefatory note #3: When I bought this GE product several months ago, the best available deal was $64.99 at Circuit City's web site (via which either free shipping or in-store pickup was available). Since then, pricing has fluctuated--sometimes approaching the one-hundred-dollar level, which I deem much too high for this product.

Prefatory note #4: I returned my first specimen of this GE model to Circuit City and exchanged it for a second unit. Both units' capabilities to record outgoing announcements (i.e., answering-machine greetings) were identically "adequate." [They performed identically in all other respects, too.] Therefore, I'd pretty confidently wager that my present unit's shortcomings--and strengths--are typical of the entire model 28871FE3 production run.

Prefatory note #5: As with many, if not all, of GE's mass-market telephones, this Chinese product was manufactured by "Thomson, Inc."


This review encompasses the following nine major sections. Feel free to skip to any of the correspondingly numbered, boldface headings further below (and you can skip to the final section for a concise summary).

1. Preface
2. Why it could be important to own at least one corded phone
3. GE's affordable model 28871FE3: four--or should I say five?--devices in one pretty package
4. The "base unit" (corded telephone): noteworthy features & performance
5. The speakerphone: noteworthy features and performance
6. The digital answerer: noteworthy features and performance
7. The (two) cordless handsets: noteworthy features and performance
8. The user's manual
9. Summary

1. Preface

Despite the fact that this General Electric model is sold by Staples, Office Depot, OfficeMax, and perhaps still other such business-oriented vendors, this product isn't one that I can recommend for "business" (as opposed to "home" or "hobbyist") purposes. In any case, this appealing bundle offers functionality with both corded and cordless phones (not to mention corded and cordless speakerphones plus a corded digital answering machine). Significantly, unlike some competing models--such as the comparably priced AT&T TL74108, Uniden CXAI5698, or Uniden DECT2088--this GE product includes not just one but two cordless handsets. I was unable to discover any other product (around this price) offering that many handsets without sacrificing any of the other capabilities of this 28871FE3.

Having read an assortment of disappointingly cursory customer reviews at Circuit City's web site [which, curiously, had fairly recently been, to my knowledge, essentially the only site offering any reviews of this sparsely documented product], I'd noticed that a modest minority of consumers in that forum evidently liked virtually everything about this product, while the majority either slightly or strongly disliked it. But I'd failed to discover any reasonably detailed or comprehensive reviews of this intriguingly multifaceted model, which piqued my curiosity. And so, I finally decided to test one of these corded/cordless bundles myself. Hopefully, what follows will finally answer many questions in the minds of vacillating, prospective purchasers.


2. Why it could be important to own at least one corded phone

One advantage of a corded phone is that its most basic features can remain functional during power outages. By contrast, cordless phones won't function when electrical power goes out; and a cell phone might not function, depending on whether cell towers are affected by the outage.

I appreciated the fact that the base unit of this GE model 28871FE3 requires no batteries whatsoever. This means that you won't need to remember to replace (and shell out still more money for) batteries about once per year, as is the case with some competing products (such as the AT&T model TL74108). You'll always be assured of retaining, at least, basic functionality for making and receiving calls during power outages.


3. GE's affordable model 28871FE3: four--or should I say five?--devices in one pretty package

First, this product is, of course, a quite satisfactorily functional, basic corded telephone that is rather attractively styled. Second, it's a speakerphone whose performance ranges from adequate to excellent. Third, it's an impressively feature-laden and reliable (albeit sonically merely middling) digital answering machine. Finally, it also includes not just one but two cordless "DECT 6.0/backlit-LCD/speakerphone" handsets, which I like very much [despite their keypads not being illuminated, and despite their respective phonebook ("directory") entries not being downloadable from, or shared with, each other or the base unit].


4. The "base unit" (corded telephone): noteworthy features & performance

The above, teensy photo doesn't do justice to this appealing product; and so, here's a case where, if possible, you should initially behold a display specimen at a bricks-and-mortar store. I really like the overall "unique look and feel" of the glossy-black base unit, despite the fact that when I contrast it with the comparably priced AT&T TL74108, this GE unit strikes me as somewhat more an ambitious "economy" model than a flagship. [To use a "GM car" analogy, this GE unit is akin to a tastefully styled, entry-level Chevy with assorted bells and whistles, whereas the AT&T seems closer to a relatively refined Buick (with somewhat fewer bells and whistles).] And appearances are not entirely deceiving, as will become clear when I discuss this GE unit's several noteworthy--albeit ultimately tolerable--limitations involving message-recording/playback capability (sound quality), LCD (display) sharpness, and speakerphone volume.

The predominantly glossy-black-plastic base unit (including the fully satisfactory, seven-inch-long corded handset resting upon its cradle) measures about 8.5 (W) x 7.5 (D) x 2.75 (H) inches. [Note: the height is actually a bit over 3.5 inches with the corded handset and the "desk pedestal" installed. (Whatever you do, don't overlook initially attaching the hard-plastic "desk pedestal" to the underside of the base unit; that "desk pedestal" easily snaps into place, and its underside bears some pre-attached, non-skid feet that provide proper stability for the base unit.)]

Note that you could alternatively mount the base unit vertically upon a wall; the owner's manual clearly, succinctly and sufficiently describes the procedure for such an installation, although no illustrations accompany the text on that particular page (11).

Including the corded handset (whose sound fully satisfies me), the base unit weighs 1 pound, 9.6 ounces. On the rear edge of the base are two jacks: a "line" jack for the included black telephone line cord (whose length is 6 feet); and a "POWER 9V DC jack" for one end of the included black, AC adapter's cord (whose length is 6 feet).

Adjacent to those two jacks is a small, sliding, three-way switch controlling the ringer volume. You can set the latter to "off," "moderate volume," or (the default) "full volume." I found the latter a bit excessively loud, and so I moved that switch into the center position, which sounds just right. The ringer's tone is pretty typical and should please the vast majority of users (including me). Nevertheless, it must be noted that some competing products' analogous base units (including that of the AT&T TL74108) offer larger and more varied arrays of ringer options.

Note that neither the base unit nor either of the associated cordless handsets include a headset jack.

The flexible "curl cable" connecting the corded handset to the base unit is about 16 inches long when in its usual, tightly coiled condition, which is only slightly more than half the length of the analogous cable on the competing AT&T TL74108. Fortunately, I found that I could still stand up and take a modest step backward while using that corded handset and not risk pulling the base unit across the desktop and onto the floor. Therefore, that "somewhat shorter" curl cable should pose no problem for most users. [Besides, if necessary, you could easily and cheaply replace it with a longer version from Wal-Mart, etc.]

As with each of the two cordless handsets' LCD displays, the base unit's own LCD normally displays the current month and date along with the time (including an AM or PM indicator). I really like this basic display of both the date and the time; in fact, I wish that the otherwise comparable AT&T model TL74108's LCD provided the same information (alas, it doesn't). Thus I consider this GE model's always-available "date-and-time" display (not to mention--more emphatically--its excellent red-LED "message indicator/counter") to be one of its (relatively few) strong advantages over that competing AT&T model.

Contrasted with the AT&T model TL74108's display, this GE unit's display isn't quite as high-contrast or easy-to-read, especially when the backlighting feature is activated. (And backlighting is automatically activated whenever you press a button or key.) Whenever backlighting is on, the normally "pale-greenish" background of this GE unit's LCD instantly transforms to a likable light blue, but contrast and legibility are somewhat less than state-of-the-art.

Nonetheless, I find that using this GE base unit's LCD to monitor my input prior to dialing numbers--or to display my saved "phonebook" directory of up to 50 names--is easy and enjoyable in most respects (keep reading!).

Though the LCD contrast is adjustable via a menu option, increasing the contrast beyond the default ("level-6") setting doesn't actually improve legibility significantly. (In fact, the two supposedly highest contrast settings actually worsen matters because they make the background unappealingly dark.) Thus the default contrast setting is about the best available. Again, it's not downright terrible; but the slight, tolerable faintness of the display evinces the look of yesterday's LCD technology. Even so, I myself am grudgingly satisfied (albeit far from delighted) with this unit's "mediocre to so-so" display.

Furthermore, whereas the competing AT&T model TL74108's LCD features both uppercase (capitalized) letters and lowercase letters, all the letters on this GE model are UPPERCASE. Thus, when you press a key to display your "phonebook" (directory), you'll see, two-lines-at-a-time, a relatively prosaic (uniformly UPPERCASE) scrolling list of names, which are automatically alphabetized; unfortunately, the respective names' corresponding phone numbers are not simultaneously displayed, which makes it essentially impossible to know which of two (or more) identical names pertains to which phone number (unless you lift the handset or press the "speakerphone" key to initiate a call, at which point the phone number will be displayed on the LCD screen). In other words, if there are two instances of the name "DOE, JOHN" in this GE phone's directory, you might not remember which consecutive instance (the first or the second) pertains to John's Doe's home number versus his work number!

By contrast, the competing AT&T TL74108's analogous directory displays the names one-at-a-time (i.e., one per screen), and the combination of uppercase and lowercase characters looks a bit more refined and elegant. Moreover, not only the name but also its corresponding phone number is displayed (adjacent to the name), which is not only a bit more visually impressive but also occasionally highly helpful.

Moreover, this GE's phonebook doesn't display the total number of entries currently in memory; thus, while you're entering numbers and names into the directory, there's no convenient way to monitor how close you are to having filled the phonebook to capacity ("50"). By contrast, some competing models [including the Uniden DECT2088 with its 70-name directory] do display the current total number of phonebook entries. Finally, unlike most competing products' owner's manuals, this GE product's owner's manual doesn't specify which keys (e.g., "1," "0" and "#") you must use to input "non-alphanumeric" characters (e.g., a space or a hyphen); you'll just have to figure that out with a bit of trial-and-error.

While your own sensibilities will determine which "phonebook/directory-display" approach is the more appealing, it can't be denied that competing products' somewhat higher-contrast displays (including that of the AT&T TL74108) are at least slightly easier on the eyes.

That said, I want to re-emphasize that one area where this GE base unit bests the analogous base unit of the AT&T model involves the LCD display's admirable, prominent inclusion of the current time and date whenever the display is in its "idle" ("default") mode. By contrast, the competing AT&T unit can't display that information within its LCD window; instead, you must press a "clock" button to hear an audible readout of (in this sequence) the year, day, and time (and the date isn't provided at all).

The numerical keypad's keys are quite legible. However, unlike the analogous keys of the AT&T TL74108, these are typical of the vast majority of competing, quality products. Case in point, the "labels" (numbers and letters) are seemingly "painted" on (with no protective layer or coating of transparent plastic on top). This means that after many years of continual hands-on use, those labels might begin to fade (slightly). By contrast, the almost uniquely "protected" labels of the AT&T TL74108 keys will almost certainly never show that sort of wear after (theoretically) decades of use. That said, I actually very much like this GE unit's keys' appearance as well as their responsiveness, and their appealing, easy-to-read labels should actually continue to look fine for virtually the entire life of this product, assuming it might last at least one or two decades.

If you misplace either of the cordless handsets, the base unit's "page/intercom" button allows you easily to locate it via a loudly audible signal emitted from the corresponding handset.

There's also a "mute" button that glows brightly red whenever you opt to prevent the other party from hearing you (while you can continue to hear them).

Then, too, there's a "hold" feature that, when activated via a tiny, dedicated button, serenades the other party with an almost embarrassingly rudimentary (and therefore ironically amusing) rendition of the familiar Bach/Petzold "Minuet in G major."

For whatever it's worth, I duly appreciated that this phone's "redial" feature allows you to select and redial any of its ten most recently dialed numbers. By contrast, the competing AT&T TL74108 phone's redial feature "only" allows you to select from its five most recently dialed numbers.

An especially noteworthy button (at the extreme upper-left of the base unit) is labeled "phone menu/OK." Pressing this button brings up a menu of selectable options on the display, including:

"LANGUAGE" (English/French/Spanish);
"AREA CODE" (your correct/local area code should appear here);
"CONTRAST" (of the LCD display);
"KEY TONE" (switches on or off the slight, subtle "beep" heard whenever you press a key);
"DIAL MODE" (tone/pulse);
"DATE/TIME" (year/month/date/hour/minutes/AM/PM);
"RESET" (for clearing/erasing all the base's phonebook, redial, and caller-ID records).

Like most competing phones nowadays, once your call is connected, the LCD displays the elapsed time of the call until you hang up.

Also like most--but not all--competing phones nowadays, this GE model includes "on-hook dialing," allowing you to dial a call before lifting the handset or pressing the speakerphone button. I should add that the hands-on process of dialing a number via the base unit's "on-hook-dialing" mode amounts to a unique pleasure: the LCD screen illuminates and turns appealingly light-blue as you view it to monitor your numerical-key entries; and with each keypress, you hear a subtle, gratifying tone whose distinctive pitch is noteworthily pleasing but hard to describe.


5. The speakerphone: noteworthy features and performance

The base's speakerphone button is rather conveniently located near the front edge of the unit; this clearly labeled, recessed, "white-and-black" button turns a brightly illuminated "red-and-black" whenever the speakerphone is in use. Directly adjacent to (above and below) that speakerphone button are two "phone volume" buttons for adjusting the volume of callers' voices heard over the speakerphone. [Note: There are entirely separate "answering-machine volume" buttons elsewhere (at the upper-right area) on the keypad.]

There's both good and (sometimes) not-so-good news regarding the base unit's speakerphone. The good news is that I noticed no significant distortion when using it to chat with callers (or to listen to various companies' automated recordings). The not-so-good news is that, even with the speakerphone volume set to maximum, callers' voices sometimes weren't fully satisfyingly loud (but they were, at least, "acceptably loud"). Mind, I don't mean that the volume fluctuated during any given conversation; I mean that some calls (connections) provided fully satisfying volume, while some other calls (connections) did not. In the latter instances, if I hadn't been in a rather quiet room, I'd sometimes not have been able to hear the other party quite sufficiently. (The same was sometimes true regarding other parties' automated, recorded messages.) I repeat, the volume didn't seem unduly low for all (or the majority of) phone conversations (connections), but it did seem "merely adequate" for a significant percentage (minority) of them. This was not true of several other competing products' speakerphones that I've tested in recent months (via the same wall jack and connections), and so I feel justified in (at least gently) criticizing this GE base unit's speakerphone's relatively modest "maximum-volume" setting.

Note that, even with the least loud connections, callers replied that they were having no trouble hearing me. 

I should add that this corded GE base unit's own speakerphone's (sometimes) "merely adequate" volume idiosyncrasies don't pertain to either of the associated cordless handsets' speakerphones, whose maximum volume is consistently loud enough.

Note that--for better or worse--the speakerphone's tiny microphone port is evidently located either on the underside of the base unit, or, very possibly, somewhere underneath the numerical keypad (or perhaps the adjacent speakerphone button)! [The user manual makes no mention of where, exactly, the microphone port is located, though it does advise you to "be about nine inches from the microphone, and eliminate as much background noise as possible."] I can confirm (by holding my ear close to the unit) that the speaker is located somewhere underneath the numerical keypad, which placement I find acceptable but curious (and possibly not ideal).

On balance, about the highest "letter grade" I can confidently assign the base unit's speakerphone is "C" (when it's at its worst). But when it's at its best, it merits at least a solid "B." And even at its worst, it should suffice for brief conversations in a reasonably quiet room.

In any case, I myself can rather happily live with this altogether "satisfactory" speakerphone. Heck, I can even live with the previously discussed LCD display's own (more noteworthy) limitations. But what really prompted me to rate this GE product only "three and a half (instead of four) stars" is a more substantial shortcoming, which I'll discuss in the next section.


6. The digital answerer: noteworthy features and performance

With a total "message-storage capacity" of 12 minutes, the base unit's "digital answerer" component is easy-to-use and has an impressive range of features. However, it's also this product's weakest link insofar as its playback of callers' messages and (even more so) user-recorded "outgoing announcements" or "greetings" is very slightly distorted or "cheap-sounding," presumably due to a low sampling rate during recording. [I'll say more about that "acceptable but not state-of-the-art" sound at the end of this section. But I'm telling you right now that I deem it the least likable aspect of this entire "integrated" phone bundle.]

You activate the digital answerer via the "ans. menu" button, which is the bottommost choice within the rightmost column of keys. Press that button once to activate the answerer. Whenever the answerer is initially activated, the system's rather articulate (albeit slightly irritatingly "muffled") synthetic female voice announces, "Answer on."

You likewise press the "ans. menu" button (2 times) to set the answering system's day and time, which is an entirely separate function from setting the date and time via the "menu" button (in conjunction with the LCD screen) that I discussed in section 4 of this review. In other words--like it or not--you'll need to set not one but two clocks: one for main system (LCD display), and one specifically for the digital answering system. Although this bit of seeming redundancy isn't really too terribly difficult to bear, it must be noted that some competing products only make you set one clock that's shared by the main system and the answering system.

You likewise press the "ans. menu" button (3 times) to record (or hear) your "outgoing announcement" that callers will hear before leaving their messages. [Note: After pressing that "ans. menu" button three times, you'll be prompted (by the answering system's female voice) to press the "play" key to hear your announcement; or to press the "record" key to record a new announcement. (A third option would be to press "stop" to exit the answerer menu.) This means that a total of four successive keypresses are required to accomplish something that just one or two keypresses accomplish with many competing models' answerers! Mind, I'm not saying that it's actually difficult to rapidly tap that "ans. menu" button three times and then quickly press the separate "play" key; in fact, it's pretty easy, and you'll quickly learn to do it without thinking. Nevertheless, it's not nearly as "intuitive" as the simpler, more elegant approaches employed by analogous, competing models (including some by GE).]

You likewise press the "ans. menu" button (4 times) to set up the answering system's "remote-access code," the default for which is "0000." Once you or anyone else knows that code, it's possible to dial this phone from any separate line and access a menu of options for listening to new messages, etc. (By pressing the "star" key you'll be able to hear the answering system's synthetic female voice recite a complete menu of remote-access options.) I found that using this remote-access feature worked very well.

You likewise press the "ans. menu" button (5 times) to activate an "announce-only" mode that might be useful for certain situations. This mode allows callers to hear a special (separately recorded) outgoing announcement but not to leave any messages. Many competing products (including the AT&T TL74108) don't include this mode. An example of an "announce-only" announcement is: "I'm not available at the moment to take your call. Please try again later." Note that the "announce-only" announcement doesn't replace your regular announcement but is separately stored in the system. Thus you can quickly and conveniently activate (or deactivate) "announce-only" mode or regular announcement mode; but you can't have both of those modes simultaneously activated. [Of course, yet another option would be to just (temporarily) totally deactivate "answerer" mode (with a couple of quick keypresses).]

You likewise press the "ans. menu" button (6 times) to activate the "message alert" feature. With that feature activated, you'll be notified of any newly received message(s) via a pair short, successive beeps every ten seconds. [Additionally, the base unit's red-LED "message indicator/counter" will automatically flash whenever at least one new message has been received.]

You likewise press the "ans. menu" button (7 times) to set the "number of rings before the system answers." You can set the number of rings to any number from 2 through 6. Additionally, there's a "toll-saver" option. Here's how "Toll Saver" mode works:

If the system has received any new messages, it answers after the third ring; but if there are no new messages, the system answers after the fifth ring. You can hang up after the third ring and thereby spare yourself any pay phone or long-distance charges.

I particularly appreciate the base unit's red-LED (sometimes flashing) "message indicator/counter," given that the competing AT&T TL74108 (not to mention other models) doesn't fully excel in this area. With that AT&T model's digital answerer, the only "visual" message indicator appears (much less conspicuously) within the LCD display, meaning that you can't easily discern it from several feet away, much less from across a sizable room. (Accordingly, the GE 28871FE3 base unit's red-LED "message indicator/counter" constitutes its single biggest advantage over the competing AT&T TL74108 base unit, which, however, bests this GE unit in many other respects.)

Furthermore, not only is this GE model's LED "message counter" more visually conspicuous, but also it's more informative because (whenever one or more new messages have been received but not yet played) it brightly flashes (with two red LED digits) the exact number of new messages received. By contrast, some competing models (including the AT&T TL74108) merely flash the total number of messages--both new and old--stored in memory. With such models, you can't know the precise number of new messages until you actually begin playing (listening to) them. [Also note that, after you've played (heard) all your new messages, this GE model's red-LED display will then show (but no longer flash) the total number of messages--both new and old--stored in its memory.] To me this is the least confusing approach for a digital answering machine to use; thus do I still enjoy using this unit as one of my preferred digital answering machines--despite the slightly distorted sound of its outgoing announcement.

However, I'd be remiss not to mention that that red-LED, flashing "message indicator" isn't among the brightest I've seen on answering machines; in fact, during daytime hours when ambient lighting was brightest, if my attention were focused on other household matters, I could sometimes walk right past the base unit and perhaps not notice that bit of insistently flashing redness. Therefore, if you want to be doubly assured of promptly noticing new messages, you should activate the selectable "message alert" feature (by repeatedly pressing the "ans. menu" key in the lower-right corner of the base unit), such that (in addition to the flashing, red-LED "message counter") you'll also hear two successive beeps every ten seconds.

Now, one of the not-fully-lovable things about the GE 28871FE3 base unit is the intermittently (very slightly) distorted sound of incoming (callers') messages when they're played back. But I especially wasn't thrilled with the sound of my outgoing announcement and memos (though after experimenting with various "distances, volumes and enunciations," I did finally manage to record a satisfactory announcement whose sound quality fairly closely approached (but couldn't equal) the pleasing results obtainable with the AT&T TL74108, not to mention the still more excellent sounds of Uniden's CXAI5698 and DECT2088 models.

Although that bit of "announcement" distortion was never so pronounced as to disqualify this product from being fully and reliably serviceable (functional), I can't imagine that any objective consumer endowed with normal hearing would deem the tone of this "answering machine" state-of-the-art. 

At the risk of beating the proverbial dead horse, I'd like to add that even GE's own "entry-level" products' digital answerers produce better-sounding announcements than does this model 28871FE3. For example, I've extensively used GE's models 29586FE1 and 29586GE1, whose "street prices" are typically as low as $34.99. And those two models--despite their relative limitations in various other respects--have digital answerers capable of recording noticably clearer announcements than those recorded via this model 28871FE3. [Moreover, hands-on operation of those models' answerers involves fewer--and "more intuitive"--keypresses.]

I find it regrettable that GE (Thomson) would, effectively, slightly hobble this otherwise largely satisfying--indeed, rather gratifying--product by including such a middling-quality message-recording/playback component, but there it is. It's not downright bad. It gets the job done. It's acceptable. I can live with it and (sort of) even enjoy it. But it should've been made at least a bit better than it is.


7. The (two) cordless handsets: noteworthy features and performance

Since this product operates at the most recently popularized "DECT 6.0" frequency of 1.9 gigahertz (instead of the previously popularized frequencies of 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz), it won’t conflict with such wireless devices as microwave ovens, computer routers, or wireless keyboards. Moreover, according to Wikipedia, "1.9 GHz cordless phones can operate over a greater distance than 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz phones can." I haven’t fully verified the latter statement, but I certainly had no trouble using either of this bundle's cordless handsets anywhere inside my house or in the large yard outside. (More on this below.)

After having read some disparaging customer reviews of this product's cordless handsets at the Circuit City web site, I was pleasantly surprised to experience no significant problems when I tested them myself. In fact, I deem these handsets to be among the most likeable components of this product. Contrary to what some aforementioned customer reviewers had reported, I found the sound quality of both cordless handsets to be quite good. Oh, I suppose that the maximum selectable volume level isn't quite high enough to override excessive ambient noise in unusual situations (but isn't that equally true of most other phones?); but I myself experienced no problems with audibility or performance when I used either of these handsets while standing in the farthest portion of my suburban home's sizable backyard. Likewise, I noticed no diminution of signal or volume when I used either of the cordless handsets in any of this multi-story house's rooms, including the basement and garage.

Moreover, I was more than satisfied with the cordless handsets' keypad layouts and their overall look and feel. Oh, it's true that (unlike the single cordless handset included with the competing, aforementioned AT&T model TL74108) these GE handsets' keypads aren't illuminated, which makes dialing in a fully darkened room well nigh impossible. Moreover (unlike the AT&T TL74108 cordless handset), their keys' labels aren't protectively covered with a thick layer of transparent, hard plastic; therefore, the labels might somewhat fade after many years of continual use. Nonetheless, I got the impression that these handsets were, at least, sufficiently durably made such that they could endure quite a few years of use before evincing significant wear.

As previously noted, neither cordless handset includes a headset jack.

You must charge these handsets for at least 16 hours before initially using them. To do this, you simply insert them into their respective charging units, whose featherweight bases measure about 4 (W) x 3.5 (H) x 3 (D) inches. The charging units' respective, smallish, 9-volt AC adaptors each have detachable cords measuring 6 feet.

When fully charged, each cordless handset has an estimated talk time of about 10 hours. After both handsets were left untouched for several days in standby mode, I saw (via the wee battery indicators in the handsets' respective LCDs) that they were both still approximately halfway charged. Thus, these handsets appear to have at least twice the talk time (and standby time) as that for the competing AT&T model TL74108 (5.8 GHz) cordless handset.

Before initial use, each cordless handset must be "registered" with the corded base unit. The procedure for doing this is pretty simple (as explained on page 22 of the "User's Guide" booklet) and involves a few keypresses on each cordless handset, followed by pressing and holding the "register" key on the base unit. Thereafter, one of the cordless handsets' LCDs includes the words "HANDSET 1," and the other cordless handset's LCD includes the words "HANDSET 2." Up to two additional compatible cordless handsets can be purchased and registered in the same way. (A maximum of four cordless handsets can be registered and used with the base unit.)

Each GE cordless handset weighs 4.5 ounces and measures about 2 (W) x 6 (H) x 1 (D) inches. The color scheme is "black and silver," with silvery characters printed on black keys. I like the gently contoured configuration of each of these handsets; I find that it fits my hand comfortably, and the layout of keys is easy to manipulate.

The cordless handset LCD display features a normally greenish background that (as with the base unit's LCD) switches to a pleasing light blue whenever it's backlit. Backlighting automatically occurs whenever you press any key. The legibility of the cordless handsets' LCD screens is very good indeed and satisfies me, although (as with the base unit's own LCD) whenever the display switches from its non-illuminated (greenish) mode to its backlit (light-blue) mode, the displayed characters are slightly (but quite tolerably) fainter.

As with the base unit's own LCD display, each cordless handset's LCD normally displays the current month and date along with the time (including an AM or PM indicator). Accordingly, these GE handsets' always-available "date-and-time" displays constitute yet another advantage (among a relatively small but significant handful of advantages) of over the excellent cordless handset included with the competing AT&T model TL74108 [or the cordless handset included with the Uniden model CXAI5698, which likewise normally displays no current "date-and-time" information].

Also, the presence of a "speakerphone" (which is built into each cordless handset, and which provides plenty of clarity and volume) constitutes a significant advantage over the cordless handset included with the competing Uniden CXAI5698; however, the latter--unlike these GE cordless handsets--includes a jack for attaching a 2.5mm headset.

When using either of the cordless handsets in its standard (non-speakerphone) mode, I had no difficulty hearing callers via its wee microphone, and callers said they could hear me just fine.

Likewise, when using either of the cordless handsets in its speakerphone mode, I had no trouble hearing callers, and callers said they could hear me very well. I found that using the "up" and "down" arrow keys (to adjust volume) provided an excellent range of volume settings, the highest of which was somewhat louder than I'd likely ever need.

I noticed that the phonebook/directory for each handset must be set up independently of the phonebook/directory that I'd already set up on the base unit. This means, of course, that you'll need to do a significant amount of key pressing to set up three separate phonebooks (directories) on, respectively, the corded base unit, cordless handset number 1, and cordless handset number 2. [Note: The aforementioned, competing AT&T model TL74108 differs insofar as its cordless handset automatically downloads its directory from the base unit, which spared me a considerable amount of redundant key pressing.] Whether you'll deem each of these GE handsets' "independently functioning" directories a curse or a blessing will largely depend on precisely how you intend to use them; for my purposes, I'd have preferred that they automatically downloaded their directory information from the base unit; nevertheless, this wasn't a major issue to me.

In sum, regarding my basic experiences using these "DECT 6.0" cordless handsets in their various operational modes, I'd rate them all very good to excellent.


8. The owner's manual

General Electric/Thomson did a satisfactorily thorough job on the altogether prosaic "User's Guide" included in the colorfully designed model 28871FE3 product box. This 51-page booklet is entirely in English and--excepting the first few pages that include two nice, annotated diagrams of, respectively, the cordless handset and the base unit--is only very sparsely illustrated. The modest illustrations comprise black-and-white line drawings and icons. The logically presented, step-by-step, textual instructions for setting up and operating the base and cordless units are easy to follow.

The salient main headings within the Table of Contents (pages 4-5) are:

Handset layout (page 8)
Base layout (page 9)
Installing the phone (pages 10-12)
Menu operation (pages 13-15)
Handset menu (pages 16-22)
Basic operation (pages 23-28)
Caller ID (pages 29-31)
Phonebook (pages 31-33)
Answering system setup & programming (pages 34-39)

There are still more sections (on various topics), including a general index (pages 48-49).

Note: the printed booklet measures about 5.5 x 7 inches.


9. Summary

If you're specifically seeking a one-line, "integrated" product including a corded phone, speakerphone, digital answerer, and two cordless handsets (expandable to four cordless handsets), the General Electric 28871FE3--encompassing numerous likable, powerful features (and a handful of "so-so" ones)--can get the job done dependably.

However, looking at the proverbial glass half empty, you'll likely notice a very slight (generally trivial) degree of audible distortion in the digital answerer's incoming messages, and a somewhat greater (albeit still tolerable) degree of distortion in your own (user-recorded) outgoing announcements (i.e., greetings). Thus the base unit's built-in answering machine isn't acceptable for serious, "business" use; but it might seem more than acceptable for casual, "home" use (especially for consumers who aren't persnickety about the tone of their greetings).

And the speakerphone, whose tone is quite satisfactory, has a maximum volume setting that's merely acceptable for some calls but is amply sufficient for the majority of calls.

Moreover, the somewhat faint, backlit-blue LCD display, though adequate (indeed, even sort of fun to play with) isn't quite as sharp and elegant as what consumers have come to expect from modern-day phones, especially at this somewhat high price level.

When you press a key to display your "phonebook" (directory), you'll see (two-lines-at-a-time) a uniformly UPPERCASE scrolling list of names, but the corresponding phone numbers are not simultaneously displayed. [However, you could lift the handset or press the "speakerphone" key to initiate a call, at which point the phone number will be displayed on the LCD screen.]
By contrast, competing phones generally display directory names one-at-a-time (with a combination of uppercase and lowercase characters that looks a bit more elegant), and the corresponding phone numbers are simultaneously displayed (adjacent to the names), which is sometimes extremely helpful.

On the plus side, at this price you might not find a comparable "corded-plus-cordless" model offering a total of three well-performing handsets (two being cordless DECT 6.0 units). And few, if any, competing base units feature an LED "message counter" that not only redly flashes but also numerically displays precisely how many messages are new (even when you've not yet deleted all your "old" messages). Finally, for any given phone user there are always the intangible factors of "aesthetic attraction," "agreeably perceived form and function" and "just plain fun;" and in those respects this GE model remains--however illogically--one of my favorite electronic gizmos (a guilty pleasure, if you will).

Though this product isn't my best or most impressive corded-plus-cordless phone, it functions reliably, and it has a unique look and feel--warts and all--that I continue to relish. But if I had to narrow my choices to only one or two products of this ilk, the General Electric 28871FE3 wouldn't quite make the cut.

Recommended: Yes