Uniden TRU5865 5.8 GHz Cordless Phone with Caller ID Review

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(More customer reviews)5.8GHz is a *requirement* if you use WiFi (802.11a/b/g) in your house or if you have other wireless technologies that typically get garbled when the 900MHz or 2.4GHz phones are used. I have had absolutely NO reception troubles in my 3300 sqft house and the clarity is superb.
The phone's looks are top-notch. Black and silver is a very slick look for a modern household. Might look a little funny if you're style is country or traditional.
Caller ID works well and the 2-line display is very helpful. Voicemail indicator is also nice.
The biggest surprise feature for me was the speakerphone in the handset! I've used this several times (it's great when you're on hold somewhere or when you need several people to talk at once) and love it!
I was happy with the menu navigation, although I thought they could have offered more features (like... perhaps the ability to control the volume of that LOUD, annoying beeping every time you press a button). The menu seemed sparse to me.
My biggest two gripes with this phone are not petty and not trivial at all. They are showstoppers, in my opinion.
(1) The phone will NOT work well in states that require 10-digit dialing and a +1 in order to dial in-state. In Michigan, for example, I have to dial 1-248-555-1212 to call my neighbor (ok, so that's information, I digress).
Putting My Neighbor in the phone book as 248-555-1212 results in:
- The inbound works fine (caller ID shows up, custom rings sound if set)
- BUT you cannot dial using the phone book or caller ID redial. This is because both will try to dial 248-555-1212, which will not work! Our phone system requires 1-248-555-1212 to be dialed. There is NO setting for this on the phone.
If you think you can be sneaky (like I did) and set the phone book entry to be 1-248-555-1212, then:
- You can call with the phone book, BUT
- Inbound services don't work (no custom rings) and you STILL can't redial them from the caller ID.
In effect, if you live in a state that has converted to full 10-digit dialing and a 1 is required to dial 10 digits, don't bother with this phone. It's slick, but it's unforgiveable that the engineers missed that one considering the first phone I bought myself in 1985 had this capability. Yay, progress!

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Some of us need much more from our phones than just a little redial button. Sometimes a flash feature simply isn't enough. For users who demand extensive features, Uniden's TRU5865 delivers. Functioning at a quiet, nearly interference-free 5.8 GHz, the phone uses digital transmission for exceptional range and minimal static. The three-line LCD handset display works in conjunction with caller ID services, storing 100 names and numbers in addition to the speed-dial presets.
The dual speakerphones (both on handset and base) let you talk hands-free or get the whole family in on the conversation. And yes, the phone does feature the basics, like flash, pause, hold, and redial with memory storage of the last three numbers dialed. In addition, you can dial either from the handset or from the base. The phone is expandable to accommodate additional handsets. An NiMH battery and 90-day warranty are included.

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HTC Magic G2 Google Android - Unlocked QuadBand Cellular Phone with 3.2 MP Camera, GPS, WiFi - International Version with No Warranty (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I love this phone. However, I live in Sweden so beware that some features may not be exactly the same. UPDATE: I have now had this phone for about a month and have these comments (see UPDATE notes).
First, this is a great phone. Hands down...and I live in Sweden where there are more cellphones per capita than anywhere else. As for the other reviewer...I don't know why someone complains about the virtual keyboard and no physical keypad. Buy a phone with a keyboard, silly, if you don't like tapping the screen. I for one used to have a Nokia E61 with a real keyboard. Great. But, I really like this onscreen keyboard. It's fast, easy to use, and even though it suggests words for you (and gets smarter with time) you can suggest the word you want from four suggestions (iPhone has only two). This phone is obviously trying to get you to shy away from the iPhone...and you should. It's that good.
Pros:
Flexibility - I can configure the homescreens any way I want. UPDATE: This is just great. Really. I can change the phone as I learn what I need and don't need. Lot's of hype in the cellphone world, but few useful tools. This really helps me stay connected and it is easy and quick to make a direct call, take a picture, check my google map position, send an email, etc.
Fast - this phone is really fast and does multitasking very well. I can surf the web while listening to a tune while using the GPS...and it doesn't bog down! UPDATE: Yep, this really works. Just went hiking in the woods of Sweden...where the logging road ends. Did perfectly. Used my GPS while I listened to my radiostation on LastFM through the phone...in the woods! The iPhone bogs down.
Form - it's fits really nicely in my pocket. Not too heavy, not too big. UPDATE: The screen doesn't scratch badly at all, and if you want additional scratch protection go to [...].
Battery - stellar battery life. UPDATE: Go easy on the app downloads from the Market/app store. Some apps drain the battery. Again, the iPhone drains your battery badly.
Market - ok, so it's not the Apple store, but it has a lot of useful programs. UPDATE: I have a great email program (K-9), push SMS (SMS popup), instant access to wifi/GPS/bluetooth etc (Useful switches).
Google syncing - works perfectly to sync my web calender with my phone with my sidebar at home. UPDATE: Really love this one. Type in a new calender event and your google calender and your google toolbar are updated within the minute. Sweet.
Cons:
Really, so far I haven't found any...except to figure out how to get the same timezone on all three calenders...UPDATE: I did.
UPDATE: Actually, the calender is subpar...so far until the Market provides a new one. You really can't adjust it very well. I would like different colors for different events; start the week on a Monday; Week number.
However, buy this phone and you won't be disappointed!

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Panasonic KX-FHD331 Plain Paper Fax Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this item largely based on the two 5-star reviews on this site and of course its very low price. I'm now feeling a bit disappointed.
After setting the machine up, I discovered there are a couple of things I'm not crazy about. First, the unit uses thermal heat transfer, so you need to buy "ink film" instead of ink cartridges. An entire page worth of film gets used every time you receive a fax or make a copy, regarless of whether the page is BLANK or totally BLACK. This can add up to a lot of waste. Sometimes I like to make a copy of something that doesn't take up a whole page, like a shopping receipt, and I'm paying for a whole black page with this machine. (Faxes work out to about ten cents a copy, depending of course on what you pay for ink film refills.)
Second, the used ink film serves as a negative of every fax you've received and every copy you've made. If you receive anything confidential or sensitive, you're going to want to be careful about how you dispose of your used ink film because you can read every letter printed on the film.
Third, the page-feed mechanism used for scanning documents seems incapable of handling anything other than a regular sheet of paper. I have tried several times to copy a 3x5 inch shopping receipt with this unit, and so far I haven't succeeded. My old unit could handle that task easily.
I'm left to consider returning the unit for one that can handle smaller pieces of paper and that doesn't use the ink film technology.
In fairness, I should also point out the things I do like about the unit. An advantage of the ink film is that it is actually water-resistant, unlike the ink supplied in some cartridges (like the one my old machine used). The set-up for this machine, while not as simple as some units, was doable within a few minutes. Note however that I didn't like the fact that I had to enter a two digit code from the manual to set up some features -- I couldn't just flip through menus to get what I wanted. There are lots of options for setting up distinctive ring tone answering, and you can choose the number of rings before fax pick-up (between 1 and 3 rings, inclusive). It's a small machine which is nice for small workspaces. You can choose three different ring types (though they are all pretty similar) and you can alter volume both for rings and for the handset.
Bottom line: this affordable machine will be great for some users, but unfortunately I'm not one of them.

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Compact Plain Paper Fax/copier with Answering System Review

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(More customer reviews)We use this in our kitchen as our phone/answering machine/fax. It's perfect. No problems with it. It takes up much less space than our old one. I would recommend for anyone that is looking for the convenience of having a fax machine in their home, but also wants a phone and answering machine.

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