AT&T 9002 900MHz 2-Line Analog Cordless Phone

Rating:
Summary: Quality & Features Unmatched
Review: I found this telephone on closeout at Office Depot for $30 about four years ago. List price was $129. Unlike today's telephones, this model (9002) doesn't feel like a toy that will break the moment it is dropped. It has a nice feel and weight to it that conveys quality.

This telephone has everything but a built-in answering machine and caller ID. It features a low battery indicator which I've never actually seen because I religiously leave it on the hook/charger when not in use. Speaking of which, I've never had to replace the battery even though the product manual recommends leaving it off the charger until it needs recharging in order to prolong battery life.

Sound quality is excellent. Feedback into the mic (that tinny sound that amplifies or adds hiss on cheaper telephones) is 95 percent nonexistent. There is a switch to turn up volume on the handset, but I leave it on minimum. No need to turn it up.

Range is excellent, static/interference is rare even though I had (at one time) a very bad telephone line that prevented me from enjoying every other cordless phone I had tried up until that point. This unit also does a good job suppressing sources of interference such as AM radio, which was a problem on a GE I had tried.

Other features include a built-in headset jack with belt clip, speakerphone, call conferencing, electronic hold button, memory/speed dial, page/intercom, flash and redial button. The line 1 and 2 keys are backlit, the remaining buttons are not. All keys are rubberized and large enough to easily use.

Every feature works well. The only problem that I can report is that one or two of the keys sometimes fail to respond while dialing (no tone so you have to hit the number again). This is a common problem in a telephone as it grows older. Right now it is a small annoyance, just large enough to cause me to start keeping my eye out for another great deal on a comparable telephone. Unfortunately, I can't find anything for the price that meets the quality I've come to expect. Sadly, even AT&T telephones aren't nearly what they used to be. (Greedy corpora te cost-cutting measures are obviously to blame and will continue to be a fact of life until the consumer refuses to buy poorly designed products.)

Bottom line? As a result of the astounding level poor quality on the market today, I'd rather find this telephone used [...]than buy anything I see on store shelves today..