Sounds Good to Me
Written: May 17 '05 (Updated May 19 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Stylish, solidly built, clear sound, affordable, won't interfere with wireless Internet
Cons: Controls take a little getting used to, slow call-display message deleting, keys beep loudly
The Bottom Line: This phone looks decent, feels solid, sounds good, is not too expensive, won’t interfere with your wireless Internet, and has all the features people usually use. Recommended.
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| sulkn's Full Review: Motorola MA550 5.8 GHz 1-Line Cordless Phone |
Once my freelance business started to pick up, it became pretty clear to me that my old, crackly 900 Mhz cordless phone just wasn’t going to cut it anymore. Nobody could hear me, I couldn’t hear them, and when I tried to speak louder to compensate for my crappy phone, people though I was angry. Maybe I was, sometimes, but this wasn’t the image I wanted to portray to my clients.
That said, I loved the convenience of a cordless phone, so I visited some stores in the mall with the intention of purchasing a new one. At the first store, I noticed that the bulk of the new cordless phones were on the 2.4 Ghz frequency, and only a handful were on the 5.8 Ghz frequency. I was informed that in terms of quality, either would probably suffice; however, if you have a wireless Internet connection in your home, the 2.4 Ghz phones may interfere with it. While I don’t have wireless Internet yet, I will probably move in that direction one day, so to be on the safe side I narrowed my choices down to the 5.8 Ghz phones.
One of the first that caught my eye was the Motorola MA550. In terms of physical design, it seemed to have a few things going for it: it was small, non-obtrusive, and the headset lays flat in the holder, rather than standing up vertically. I noticed that the trend for cordless phones seems to be small, round bases in which the phones stand vertically. These have a smaller footprint, I guess, but they look precarious. I had visions of my clumsy self diving for an important call and and sending my new phone crashing to the floor. Trust me. It would have happened.
I checked a few more stores, and found that the prices for this phone model varied considerably. I ended up purchasing it for around $30 CAN less than the first store had priced it at. It is definitely worth checking around on this model: the profit margins must be fairly large.
I have been satisfied with this phone since I purchased it late last year. The sound quality is indeed excellent: nobody has complained that they can’t hear me, and I can hear everyone clearly. The yelling has stopped. I was able to toss away my old separate call-display gadget (and free up a much-needed power outlet in the process) as this phone has call display built in. For some reason, I enjoy the orange glow of the phone, too. With its all-black design, orange backlighting, and Batman-esque Motorola logo, you could give these things out for Halloween. If you were rich, of course.
It took me a few minutes to figure out the controls, but once I learned them, everything was intuitive. My biggest complaint is probably the slow speed at which the phone deletes old call-display messages: it takes a few seconds and several button presses to delete each number from memory, and since I’m lazy and often let 50 or more calls build up, that means five or ten minutes of sitting, clicking, and listening to it beep. A mass-delete function would have been fantastic. The lesson here is to remember to delete old message frequently, I guess.
Bottom line: great phone! Looks decent, feels solid, sounds good, not too expensive, won’t interfere with your wireless Internet, and has all the features people usually use. Recommended.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
sulkn
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Member: Gary
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Reviews written: 27
Trusted by: 29 members
About Me:
A 30-something web developer in Toronto, Canada.
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