Rating: 
Summary: I Have NEVER Been This Happy With A Cordless Phone
Review: Before I begin my review of the BEST cordless phone I have ever used, I thought some fun facts were in order...1876 Telephone invented by Alexander Graham Bell (believe it or not, the fax machine was invented ~15 years prior to this)
1913 AT&T becomes a government sanctioned monopoly
1946 AT&T begins offering mobile telephone service (this is true!)
1958 AT&T starts selling modems (almost a decade before DARPA creates the internet and more than a quarter century before consumers have access to the WWW)
1984 AT&T is torpedoed by Judge Green's Modified Final Judgement (MFJ) -- this effectively ushers in competetition which drives innovation, and lower prices
2000 AT&T still hasn't woken up to the reality of MFJ (i.e., it's break-up) and is charging rates as high as 35 CPM for domestic calls to more than 20 million of it subscribers
2003 With the introduction of the 5800 series phones, and a new residential VoIP offer, AT&T starts to signal to main street and wall street that it is willing to wake up to the realities of today's marketplace But you don't need to know the above to appreciate what is, in my opinion, the BEST cordless phone on the market (and I have tried many!). Here's the deal with the AT&T 5800 series...
+ Uses 5.8 Ghtz band and "Frequency Hopping Technology" to eliminate static and security issues
+ Awesome speakerphone on the base station
+ Ergonomics of the unit are unsurpassed
+ Each handset has a speakerphone built into it -- while these speakerphones are not as crisp as the one on the base station, they come in handy when interfacing with those annoying recorded menus that most companies are using today
+ All units include visibile message waiting indication (great for those with voice mail)
+ The unit just feels substantial (they have the sturdy feel of AT&T's old Western Electric produced phones that felt like they could drive rail road spikes)
+ Expansion handsets don't require RJ11 jacks to get dial-tone, they use the house wiring and they also auto-seek the base unit to simplify set-up and intercom signaling
+ For convenience, calls can be transferred from one handset to another
+ Base unit will "speak" the caller ID information -- this is especially convenient for those frequent times that you can't angle around to see the caller ID display There are some light cons to...
+ The voice mail waiting indication light is so bright (and it blinks) that it has woken me up at nights (the only way to turn it off is to clear voice mail messages)
+ The 5800 series isn't so much a phone as it is a whole house phone system, as a result of this and the EXTREMELY high quality of the product, it is a little more expensive than the 5.8 Ghtz offerings from it's competition -- my opinion is that the extra ten or twenty bucks is well worth it And I thought the following would be helpful as well...
1) In the past, most cordless phone providers made outrageous claims regarding the range or distance the handset could travel from the base station (AT&T makes no claims with this unit) -- wise shoppers should expect no more than 250 ft of range with the 5800 series
2) For those using the new VoIP technology to save on phone service (e.g. Vonage, Packet8, BroadVoice, Phonom, etc.), this system provides an excellent solution to the whole house wiring problems that these types of services tend to create
Rating: 
Summary: Not Perfect, But Have Not Found One That Is
Review: BOTTOM LINE: You've probably already discovered the lack of full-featured consumer-level cordless phones out there, especially in the 5.8 GHz category and that you really have to move into the SOHO dual-line systems and spend a good deal more to get a full-featured phone. But the bottom line is if you are looking for a full featured, single line, consumer level cordless phone, this is it - it's not perfect, but you don't have many other options in this price range. THE ALSO-RANS: Panasonic KX-TG2563F - feature-packed, but 2.4 GHz and bad quality reviews (just released 5.8 GHz expandable system out - probably same quality issues). Siemens 4215 - great form factor, but 2.4 GHz, no headphone jack (pricier 2-line 8800 has jack), no base functionality and lukewarm quality reviews. CIDCO's 2.4 GHz D271's - perfect feature set but not in same price range (only marketed through your local Bell company so you're not going to find a deal). AT&T's 2355 - basically the 2.4 GHz version of the 5830/40. Bought it/returned it due to poor speakerphone (don't believe it's full duplex) and handset call quality (I believe it's being test marketed only through Best Buy (as of 5/03) which indicates they may be trying to work the bugs out of the phone). FINALISTS: The finalists were the 5830/5840 and the VTech 5831, both 5.8 GHz expandable systems. Both are made by VTech, which explains nearly identical feature sets and form factors (and model numbers). AT&T phones are designed by the VTech subsidiary Advanced American Telephones under a licensing agreement with AT&T (my guess is AAT was a Ma Bell spin-off years back that VTech acquired). As mentioned by another reviewer, it's a matter of preference whether you choose the AT&T or VTech - minor differences in feature sets (VTech 5831 has LCD and phone book on base, AT&T has talking caller ID) but similar quality. Anyway, on to the phone. I purchased the 5830 - if you want a digital answering machine, go with the 5840 but you won't get talking caller ID or a keypad on the base. Key points: PROS:
- Call quality/construction - can't overemphasize this (base sits right by my computer setup and still have great call quality)
- Full-duplex speakerphone: you can hear and be heard at same time (an uncommon feature on consumer speakerphones)
- Talking Caller ID: comes in handy if you don't want to get off the couch to know who's calling
CONS:
- No Speed dial: No one number/one touch speed dial from either base or handset - they really dropped the ball on this one. However, dialing from phone book takes as few as 3 button pushes.
- No LCD or phone book on base unit: makes phone book dialing a little more difficult.
OTHER ISSUES:
- Message waiting indicator flashes neon blue on both base and handset - a little much as others have mentioned
- Inability to share phone books between handsets is a neutral: small business may want the same phonebook on all handsets; family may want parents/kids to have separate phonebooks
- Wi-Fi: phone transmits at 5.8 GHz base to handset but 2.4 GHz the other way. If you have Wi-Fi this may be an issue as 802.11(b) transmits at 2.4 GHz. Possible future migration of Wi-Fi standard to 802.11(g) at 5.8 GHz is less of an issue because that frequency apparently is less congested than 2.4 GHz. Side note: probably did this to save money - calls sound good to you at 5.8 GHz but not as good to party you are calling at 2.4 GHz (but you'd be oblivious to this). The top contenders in this category each have something (different) missing. In this price range, go with the AT&T 5830/5840 (or the VTech 5831) and be done with it before you drive yourself crazy as I did.
Rating:
Summary: Good Phone
Review: Good phone. Vtech makes this model. I recommend the Vtech 5.8ghz over this phone because it's cheaper, you get the same voice quality and features, plus you get an answering machine with the base dial pad which this ATT model doesn't have. For this model, you're just paying for the name and the different looks. The ATT/Vtech 5.8ghz are the only 5.8ghz phones where the base unit will not knock the standard 2.4ghz laptop wireless connection out of whack if the base is 3 feet away from the lappy. The Uniden and Panny 5.8ghz units annoyingly had this terrible problem. A definite deal breaker in my book.
Rating: 
Summary: The worst phone I ever purchased.
Review: I have never written a review on this site before, but the poor quality of this telephone inspired me. The reception of the phone is horrible. There is so much static I always end up having to get my much cheaper cordless phone from the other room. I would advise anyone to not purchase this phone. I am just really mad I spent so much money for this piece of junk.
Rating:
Summary: phonr
Review: I love this phone! The buttons are small, so if you have arthritis or have trouble seeing small things, this may be a problem. Otherwise it is a terrific product!
Rating:
Summary: phonr
Review: I love this phone! The buttons are small, so if you have arthritis or have trouble seeing small things, this may be a problem. Otherwise it is a terrific product!
Rating:
Summary: Good sound quality, but the designers could have done better
Review: I probably over-researched phones, and this one came up with the best ratings/reviews. We've had it now for a few weeks, and it is the best cordless we've ever owned. Superb sound quality, features are plentiful, and the talking caller ID is pretty cool.
Haven't really tested the range beyond the confines of our house, it being winter and all. I also bought the 5800 handset for use upstairs, and it works just as well 1 & 2 floors up.
This replaced my VTech 2400 because I ended up installing a wireless LAN just after buying the phone, and was having problems with the 2.4GHz interference. Be aware that this phone does transmit from phone-to-base in the 2.4G range, but I have not had any issues with it like I did the VT 2400.
Rating:
Summary: Great Phone
Review: I probably over-researched phones, and this one came up with the best ratings/reviews. We've had it now for a few weeks, and it is the best cordless we've ever owned. Superb sound quality, features are plentiful, and the talking caller ID is pretty cool.
Haven't really tested the range beyond the confines of our house, it being winter and all. I also bought the 5800 handset for use upstairs, and it works just as well 1 & 2 floors up.
This replaced my VTech 2400 because I ended up installing a wireless LAN just after buying the phone, and was having problems with the 2.4GHz interference. Be aware that this phone does transmit from phone-to-base in the 2.4G range, but I have not had any issues with it like I did the VT 2400.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Phone
Review: I purchased this phone 4 months ago as a gift for my mother. I waited to write the review because sometimes you don't know if the equipment will perform as expected. She wanted a reliable phone with excellent quality and one that wasn't difficult to use. Although this one has some very nice features that she'll never use, I still wanted her to have a nice phone. The quality is outstanding, both the handset and speakerphone. The sound is very clear with no degradation at all. Some people experienced problems with their phones but maybe that had something to do with the area they lived in. The talking feature was a nice surprise. It started out by announcing the telephone number but now it states the name of the caller. I thought maybe that my mother was 'imagining' this but lo and behold, it really does announce the name! I would buy this phone for my own home if I needed a replacement. It's a good value if you don't mind spending the extra money for it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Phone
Review: I purchased this phone 4 months ago as a gift for my mother. I waited to write the review because sometimes you don't know if the equipment will perform as expected. She wanted a reliable phone with excellent quality and one that wasn't difficult to use. Although this one has some very nice features that she'll never use, I still wanted her to have a nice phone. The quality is outstanding, both the handset and speakerphone. The sound is very clear with no degradation at all. Some people experienced problems with their phones but maybe that had something to do with the area they lived in. The talking feature was a nice surprise. It started out by announcing the telephone number but now it states the name of the caller. I thought maybe that my mother was 'imagining' this but lo and behold, it really does announce the name! I would buy this phone for my own home if I needed a replacement. It's a good value if you don't mind spending the extra money for it.
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