Uniden 5.8GHz Phone System (TRU8885-3): Finally An Expandable System That Works!
Written: Dec 05 '04 (Updated Jan 26 '05)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Phones anywhere you want them, clear reception, tons of features.
Cons: Price is a little steep, voicemail system is cumbersome.
The Bottom Line: Uniden's 5.8GHz phone system is clear and works well. It's much better than other cordless phone systems we've tried.
|
|
|
| mrs-j's Full Review: Uniden TRU8885-3 5.8 GHz Trio 1-Line Cordless Phon... |
It seems that every house we live in has a floorplan with phone jacks located in areas that make it inconvenient to use traditional phones wired into the jacks directly. We've had very bad luck with a VTech expandable system, and when we switched to a 2.4GHz wireless network in our house, the phone reception only got worse.
While we were at Costco, my husband suggested that we purchase the Uniden TRU8885-3 Cordless Phone system they were selling. This is an expandable phone system with a digital answering machine and three phones. This system is identical to the Uniden TRU8885-2 system (which for some reason is shown in the photo above instead of the TRU8885-3 model) in every way, except it comes with three handsets instead of two.
About the Uniden TRU8885-3 System
As I wrote, this system comes with three handsets. One is attached to the digital answering machine and the other two can be placed anywhere else in the home, they just need to be powered by an electrical outlet.
These phones are the 5.8GHz line of phones, meaning that unlike the older 2.4GHz phones, they won't interfere with our 2.4GHz household wireless network.
Available Features & Our Favorite Features
Feature List:
- Expandable up to 10 handsets
- Caller ID/Call Waiting capable, requires service from your phone company
- Digital answering machine with a keypad and speaker phone located at the main base
- Speakerphone, use any handset as a speakerphone
- 100 location Caller ID memory at base and handset
- Do Not Disturb feature
- Conferencing capabilities between handsets and base
- DirectLink(tm) Mode for two-way radio between handsets
- Mute, Hold functionality
- New Message Waiting indicators on handsets audible indicator at base
- Each handset can become an intercom
- Distinctive ring tones
- Speed dial at phone base
- Headset compatible
- Room/baby monitoring
- Remote message retrieval
- Clock display on handsets
- Pager functionality
There are so many features on this phone that to describe each one in depth would make this review painfully long. I'll review the features that we've used the most, plus the ones we like the best.
Custom Handset Banner
One of the first things I did as soon as the phones were charged was set banners for each handset so we knew which handset went to each room. The main handset says "Office #1", the family room handset says "Fam Room" and my office handset says "Office #2". This way, when we find a handset lying around the house (which happens often) we know exactly which base to return it to.
DirectLink(tm) Mode
We haven't used this feature yet, but I'm including it because it sounds incredibly cool. This mode allows two handsets to communicate with each other without the base or a phone line. Using this feature, you can take your handsets out of the home and use them as two-way radios anywhere else you would normally use a two-way radio, while on vacation, shopping, at a theme park, etc. The handset is larger than standard two-way radios, but if you want that functionality somewhere without spending a lot more on a two-way radio set, you can use your home phones!
Redial
This is a function that I use pretty often, and Uniden makes it easy to use on these phones. The redial button is available from the standby menu, so you just pick up one of the phones, hit redial, and the last number that was dialed from that handset appears. To dial it, simply press talk. You can also store the number from the redial menu as well.
DND "Do Not Disturb"
This function mutes the ringers on all handsets and bases and activates the answering machine if it's not already on. I use this feature when we host holiday dinners and dinners with friends.
Intercom
Mr. J works from home on Fridays. On those days I usually work upstairs on my photography business while he works in the study downstairs. Instead of yelling back and forth when we want to talk, we just use the intercom feature to talk directly to each other over the handsets. It's very simple to activate, by pressing "intcom" on any handset and choosing the handset you want to call from the list.
VoiceMail
The voicemail indicator flashes on each handset when there is a new message, and there is an audible alert that beeps from the base which can be turned off. (And was turned off very quickly in our house.)
A small envelope icon is available on each handset while its in Standby mode. Pressing that icon activates voicemail, which plays over the speaker of the phone. Following the voice prompts, you can navigate through new and old messages. There are also little symbols above the numbers on each handset which indicate play, rewind, stop, delete, etc.
Using the Uniden TRU8885-3 System
Bringing the system home from Costco we first had to contend with getting the phones out of the annoying hard plastic bubble wrap. Once we did that, we hooked up the main base with answering machine in our first floor study to begin charging.
The second handset we installed in our family room and the third handset was installed in my office upstairs. Uniden recommends that each handset be charged 15-20 hours before its first use.
We've been using these phones for several months now and the calls that we receive and make on each phone are crystal clear. No more static, no more sounding like you're in a toilet, no more drop-outs.
Ergonomically the phones are very comfortable, I don't find myself pressing buttons when I hold it on my shoulder. The belt clip comes in handy, particularly when on a conference call with a headset, or when I'm waiting for a phone call and have errands to do around the house. The speaker for speakerphone is on the back of each handset, and we use that whenever we're on hold, or when we're both in the same room and want to talk to someone.
Reception for these phones is great. We have a large house with three levels. I've used these phones everywhere in the house, on our backyard deck, and even all the way out to the mailbox with no problems.
As an aside, my husband loves these phones. He had a great deal of trepidation about purchasing these after the nightmares we experienced with our VTech system. I promised him that we would save the receipt and instantly return the phones to Costco if we experienced any problems whatsoever. Of course, having said that, using these phones has been completely trouble-free.
Whenever I write a glowingly positive review I always try to document anything at all that I don't like about the product as well. Sitting here I can't come up with many for these Uniden phones. If forced to come up with a gripe, any gripe, I would have to say that using the voicemail system is a trifle annoying. The menus aren't as intuitive as I would like. Often I end up not deleting messages that I wanted to delete.
Overall though, we are very happy with these phones. In fact, now that we've had such a good experience with the original set, we're planning on purchasing a fourth handset for use on our third floor.
Support and Service
Uniden provides a one year warranty for the original owner of the phones which requires proof of purchase. To claim repairs under the warranty the product must be shipped back to Uniden.
Company Address:
Uniden America Corporation
Parts and Service Division
4700 Amon Carter Blvd.
Fort Worth, TX 76155
Customer Service Phone & Hours: 1-800-297-1023, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST, Monday through Friday
Website: http://www.uniden.com
Price Paid: $135 for the whole set, extra handsets purchased separately run about $50
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
mrs-j
|
 - Top 100 |
|
Reviews written: 319
Trusted by: 121 members
About Me:
"Man was made for something better than disturbing dirt." - Oscar Wilde
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.