A Customer Review
"It's great when they get it right!"
I've been looking for a high-quality multi-line office phone for several months, and have had a few bad experiences. It seemed that I got what I paid for, which was low-price, low-quality, and I just couldn't find a good solution for less than several hundred (or thousand)dollars.
My criteria for selection (in no particular order) were: 1) 2 to 4 line support, 2) Speed dial buttons, 3) Caller ID/Call Waiting ID, 4) Headset support, 5) Adjustable volume for receiver (ability to make the caller sound louder), 6) Expandable (support for extensions that work together with each other), 7) Intercom between extensions, 8) Call Transfer, 9) Conference calling, 10) Speakerphone, 11) Line priority (which line is selected when you pick up to make a call).
The GE 29488GE2 Corded Phone not only includes all of these features, but even more than I could have expected. My biggest pet peeve about phones is when you can't hear your caller, and you have no way to adjust the volume. With the GE phone, you just touch the Volume Up button while you're on the call, and the volume is increased. This isn't a "fake" or "placebo" feature. The voice of the caller is actually amplified, and you can increase it to levels that border on uncomfortably loud.
The multi-line support (this one supports 4 lines), is integrated perfectly into the phone, and functions exactly as you might expect (definitely how I would expect). When the phone rings, you just pick up the handset, hit the Speaker button, or hit the Headset button (if you have a headset) to answer. You don't have to press the ringing line button first.
Likewise, to make a call, you just pick up the handset, and an open line is selected. The Line Priority feature lets you set which line is automatically selected when you take the phone off the hook to make a call. This is very helpful to me, because I have the phone programmed to select my second line, rather than using my first line for outgoing calls.
The phone has 16 speed dial/intercom buttons. Programming is a snap using the 4-line backlit LCD display. Each button can hold a dialed number and double as an intercom number. You can even program a button to use the numbers stored in other buttons to make calls. This is very handy when you have a calling card and need to dial several numbers before/after the actual number. You can program in your calling card and access numbers once into a button or two, and then reference those buttons in the dialing sequence you program into the remaining buttons. Even the length of pauses can be programmed.
The Caller ID display has a very interesting feature that lets you program the phone not to save any "Unknown" or "Blocked" caller information in the Caller ID history.
When you plug in a GE 29488GE2 phone, it immediately starts looking for other phones on your lines. Each phone can be identified by a programmable name and a station number, up to 16 phones.
Each of the 4 lines can be set with independent ringing options, such as volume, tone and whether or not Caller ID information will be displayed for that line.
You can also program the phone to automatically answer and go into Speakerphone mode when it is called via the intercom from another phone.
The phone is powered by an A/C adapter, but also has a battery compartment for 3 AA batteries for Caller ID backup.
It also has a data jack on the back that you can plug your fax or answering machine into, along with a switch that lets you select which of the 4 lines the device will access.
All-in-all, this phone has the most features and functionality for the price. Its functionality is very well integrated and it operates predictably. It is easy to program.
My only negative comments are: 1) It comes with two 2-line phone cords, but not any adapters to merge two separate lines into one cord. If you have two separate phone jacks on the wall, you'll need a 2-to-1 coupler for each set of 2 lines. 2) The instruction manual says you can only use one specific brand and model of headset, which you must order by phone from one vendor. This isn't terrible, though, because the headset is about $30 with shipping, but you should be prepared for this extra expense if you want a headset for the phone. 3) The manual gives great step-by-step programming and use instructions, but could spend a little more time explaining the features and what they may be used for.
I've tried numerous multi-line cordless phones, too, and none of them had the features, functionality or quality of this corded phone. At this price, I can afford to have several of them spread throughout my office, and I don't need to worry about fussing with a cordless and all of its related problems. This phone has some weight to it, too, so you feel like you're getting a quality product.
Bottom line is if you need or want a phone with these features, this is the phone for you.
