beckish's Full Review: Uniden TRU9380 5.8 GHz 1-Line Cordless Phone
We must be hard on portable phones. At any rate, I tend to replace them often enough. Granted, I could probably buy batteries instead of new phones but it often seems more expensive to go that route than to just invest in newer, state of the art models.
With a 4000 square foot house and two kids still living at home, we need several phones strategically placed. Prior to receiving this phone system we were using two different phones, both with dual handsets. Now with this delight containing four handsets, we finally have enough phones in the house to avoid running at full speed to the first available handset when the phone rings.
The kids are also really awful about putting the phones back on the hook, which kills the batteries quite quickly. Adding four handsets meant a phone in each of their bedrooms, a phone in our bedroom, one in the kitchen and the family room, one in the office, and even one in the basement. No more phone worries!
This Uniden system has nice features that include the ability to expand it up to ten handsets, a digital answering machine, Caller ID, call waiting, and the ability to store up to 30 Caller ID numbers. We have not added any additional handsets at this point. We used the answering machine for a short period of time, but we also have voice mail with our phone line and that is easier to use because we can check it remotely. (This Uniden system indicates it has remote message retrieval but it seems too complicated to teach everyone in the household). The answering machine did work well when we did use it.
I have not experienced any issues with the Caller ID or call waiting features. The kids have added numbers into memory, but I haven't as I call very few people on a regular basis and have their phone numbers memorized. You can also personalize rings by party - which I plan to do at some point when I have the time to figure it out - and can store up to 70 phone numbers in the system phonebook.
Phone Use
Calls have excellent clarity when using these handsets, even when moving about our very large house. I can go outside with the phone in the general area with no problem. If I venture too far on our two acres of property, however, the calls are broken up a bit.
Speakerphone is available on each handset and I use it quite often. The clarity is excellent, and it is very helpful when I am trying to complete a task while still talking on the phone to one of the kids. I generally don't use speakerphone with other callers to avoid being rude.
General Information
Only the main base unit has to be plugged into a phone line. The other three handset bases only require an electrical outlet. This is a nice feature since we do not have phone jacks in every room. The base units can be wall mounted or sit free on a flat surface. We have not mounted any of them on the wall. It is thus easier to move the phones to various locations in a specific room. Since my daughter tends to rearrange her bedroom on a weekly basis, this is important. I would not want to be mounting and unmounting the base unit that frequently.
Problems
We have only experienced one real problem with this phone system, and it is only with one handset. One particular handset works sporadically. Other times it will not allow you to pick up a call. I have tried the troublshooting tip of re-registering the handset to the base unit with no avail so I can only assume the handset itself must be defective. I plan to replace it in the near future.
Manual
This Uniden system comes with a user manual that is easy to follow and understand. This is important for me as so many products have such complicated manuals that it is impossible to figure out the steps. At first I was intimidated by the manual, but I soon realized how user-friendly it was.
Final Thoughts
Overall I am very happy with this phone system and recommend the Uniden TRU9380 Series Cordless Phones. Clarity is excellent and the phones work well (with the exception noted above). We received this as a gift item so I am not sure of the exact price.
* 5.8GHz Cordless Phone * Digital FHSS Technology * Single Line Operation * Caller ID * Expandable Up To 10 Handsets * Digital Answering System * Mess...More at 101phones.com
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5.8GHz Cordless Phone , Digital FHSS Technology , Single Line Operation , Caller ID , Expandable Up To 10 Handsets , 14 Minute Digital Answering Syste...More at 101phones.com
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