vickiwebb's Full Review: Vtech VT-2651 2.4 GHz - Cordless Phone
I purchased this phone for my home office. We needed an expandable handset system, since we only have one jack for the business line in our home and need to be able to answer calls from upstairs.
We had a perfectly functional Uniden TRU-448, for which we could have gotten a second handset, but we were just never really wowed by its appearance or design- for example, the End button is tiny, and the handset is so slim that it is hard to grasp and pick up off the base. So we decided to go with a whole new phone.
After much searching (we are VERY picky), we found the 2651 and fell in love with it, particularly the design. It is a beautiful phone, nice color, nice layout, simple and elegant. It fits against your ear nicely (a lot of phones don't), has the speakerphone in the handset (a feature I hadn't used before but now absolutely cannot do without), and said that it was 802.11 friendly (a concern because we have a home network but couldn't find any 5.8 GHz phones we like- although we rarely had interference from our 2.4 GHz phones anyway, and when we did, changing the channel would always fix the problem). We found it at Best Buy for 59.99, plus 29.99 for the extra handset- a real bargain! The runners up were the AT&T 2325 and the GE21095GE2, both of which were more expensive, and had answering machines, which we didn't need. The GE doesn't have a handset speakerphone, which I now feel is a big drawback, and the AT&T has kind of a busy-looking handset and is pretty expensive (about $150 including one extra handset) while not having great reviews, either.
So we brought it home, charged it up- and the problems began. First thing, the keys don't beep when you get a dial tone first, so it's disconcerting not to hear that. Plus the response time seems slow. OK, fine, we'll just dial the numbers first and then press the ON button.
Second thing we noticed- no speed dials, you have to search for phone numbers through menus. This seems to be a common trend in newer phones, and truth be told, most of the time you don't remember whose on Speed Dial 8 or whatever anyway, so fine. But it really would have been nice to at least be able to have a speed dial for a few frequently called numbers (like my work voice mail).
Third thing- and this is relatively minor- but it does not have an indicator to let you know how long you have been on a call. Just something we took for granted with our Uniden and even our very basic GE Phone (27938GE1, which we LOVE!!)
Next problem, I noticed that the sound on the earpiece would fade out, particularly when I was speaking. It was almost like a speakerphone works, when you can't hear the other party when you are talking. I kept thinking my hair was getting between my ear and the phone, but no, it was the phone! No workaround for that one. I was starting to have some serious doubts but I didn't want to give up on the phone. Maybe I could use a headset??
But the last straw- the thing that convinced me the phone would just not work- is the battery life. First day, with the phone fully charged, after 2 calls lasting a total of about 2 hours, the phone beeped that the battery was low, and I had to switch to the other handset. I thought, OK, maybe it was just a bad battery in that handset, maybe I can get an upgraded battery (having read the review about 600 mAh NiCd being inadequate). But then, a day or two later, after just 45 minutes of talking, the OTHER handset died. This on a full charge also. This has NEVER been an issue with any of our other phones, as we are very scrupulous about keeping them on the chargers when not in use.
So that's it- the phones are going back tomorrow. I found a Radio Shack system that seems to be almost identical in look and function as the V5651- and has an 850 mAh NiMH battery. So we'll see how that works. Otherwise maybe the Panasonic KX-TG2382 (although I dislike the huge antenna). The GE I looked at earlier doesn't have a speakerphone on the handset, and the AT&T- well- its reviews aren't that great. I've looked at the AT&T and Vtech 5.8 GHz systems, but they have the shiny plasticy buttons (YUCK) instead of a rubberized texture. So...the search continues.
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