Prize Patrol, Please Call Back--I've Got a New Machine!
Written: Oct 24 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: easy features, cheap
Cons: TERRIBLE sound quality
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| pbyaeger's Full Review: 1717 Digital Answering Machine |
What's the most important feature of your answering machine? The number of rings? The fact you can call and reprogram it to answer with a new message? Length of recording time?
While all of those are quite useful, let me suggest something else as the big must-have: sound quality. No matter how many bells and whistles your machine features, isn't sound the most important thing? Why buy the machine if you can't hear the message?
Unfortunately, AT&T has dropped the ball on this big issue with the super-cheap 1717 Tapeless Digital Answering System with Time/Day. I tried two of them, and despite the advances in digital technology, both had truly awful sound quality. Don't believe me? Try this?
Hi, we're out saving the worrrrd from arghinuk. Peas. Beep. "Bip!"
Uh, hi. Is somesing wong---sheen? Anrar, hu-himp, arfunk. Bye!"
That's an actual message and to this day I'm still convinced it was the Prize Patrol calling for exact directions.
Technology or not, this machine is a dud. Yes, it's super cheap, and yes, it's got the AT&T label, but those are not reasons to buy when quality is this poor.
Yes, it's got 24 minutes of recording time, which is quite good for digital answering systems--the old days of endless tapes are long gone. Yes, you can selectively replay and delete messages (but remember, unlike tape, once they're gone, they're truly gone).
Sure, you can use this machine to screen your calls. Beats voice mail in that capacity, oh yes sir. But why screen garbledegook?
Oh, and another yes--this machine is super simple to use--with only 9 simple buttons, I'm convinced even the dog could manage it--and perhaps he'd understand just what the callers are trying to tell us.
Two chances, and AT&T blew both. The AT&T 1717 Tapeless Digital Answering System went b-murf murf stoh. (That's back to the store, if you don't speak digital. And thank you for using AT&T.)
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
pbyaeger
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Member: Pamela Yaeger
Location: Long Island, NY
Reviews written: 157
Trusted by: 158 members
About Me:
I whine, therefore I am.
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