Rating: 
Summary: These things are great
Review: I really like my Vtech 1511s. However, they are apparently discontinued by the manufacturer. [...] It's true that they are a weird configuration where all of the stuff sits on your head, but I think it's more than worth it to not have wires everywhere. Reception is good, for me it worked flawlessly to about 50 feet through interior & exterior walls. The boom mike can break off if flexed by pulling on it repeatedly. That's a problem. But otherwise, this is some very good engineering from what I see as a usually [...] vendor (vtech). [...], but in the case of the 1511 it's really a [nice] unit. The charger for the headset is inductively coupled; no metal contacts to corrode. VERY COOL! The small box hides the fact that in addition to the headset, charging stand, and dial pad, you get a full-on desk unit with intelligently done speed dials (unfortunately not in true executive phone style [extra buttons] but intuitively programmable). It's missing a speakerphone, however. I worked out of a home office for a year doing a lot of phone consultation and sales, and this thing was great. Unfortunately, one of the units' mikes has broken (due to flexion) and now I don't know whether I should scrounge used units or what. I hope they come out with a very slightly refined version of this great product.
Rating:
Summary: Really Wireless!! And good sound features.
Review: I'm a mom and housefrau, and I wanted a phone that was truly wireless, with nothing to clip on my belt - that type always falls off or gets tangled or is otherwise awkward for me. When I saw this at a friend's house, I wanted one right away. I couldn't believe it was the only such (truly wireless) model in existence, and that the company had stopped making them ???!!! Anyway, now I have one, and I am quite (if not 100%) satisfied. THE PLUSES ARE: 1) Truly wireless and hands-free. 2) Relatively very comfortable on my head; easy to wear for a long conversation. (Earphones not directly on your ears, but above them, so it's not only more comfortable, but if another family member leans in close, they can participate in the conversation and still hear and be heard.) 3) Two phones in one; one cordless headset, one corded deskset. 4) Charging base for headset is *separate* from the corded phone base; therefore it need not be near a phone jack, but needs only an electrical outlet. (Great in our house, since we have no phone jack in the kitchen!) 5) Sound quality, range and clarity seem great - we've had it only one week, but so far it's terrific - even out to the garden. No interference; no cutting out, which we had read that others experienced. Sound quality on our receiver is good, and people tell us it sounds good on the other end. Compared to our old cordless phone it picks up WAY less background noise - very important for a cordless, hands-free phone! 6) Good volume control and range. I have hearing loss - need to turn it up! My husband doesn't - likes it quieter. Other phones have not been loud enough for me. This one is great, but see negative #4, below. 7) It's super-easy and convenient to turn on and off by just flipping the microphone arm down or up. But see negative #3, below. Microphone arm also very adjustable to help adjust volume. 8) Price! Because this phone has been discontinued, you can find it at a huge discount. But act fast - they seem to be disappearing (we're trying to get more for friends/relatives). THE NEGATIVES ARE: 1) It's easy to lose the remote dialer, or for it to get separated from the headset - it's little and a separate piece. Of course, that's what makes the phone truly wireless, but it would be great if they could have attached it to the headset in a removeable way - I'm thinking about adding velcro, maybe. 2) The remote dialer is almost too small - keypad is tiny so dialing has to be done carefully and precisely, and it's hard to see the commands like "mute", etc. 3) If you want to nibble or drink or make a private comment to someone in the room without the person on the other end of the phone hearing you - you can't get the microphone of this phone very far away from your mouth without turning off the phone and cutting off the connection! But maybe those are bad phone habits/etiquette anyway. 4) Volume adjustment buttons on headset are a little hard to find by touch and awkward to use, but maybe I'll get more used to them over time. 5) Battery is non-standard.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't buy this phone
Review: I've had this phone shipped to me twice. Amazon sent me a new one when the first one didn't work. The second one has the same problem -- the small dialer pad is frozen and will not dial most of the time. This is an awfully designed, undependable phone that [stinks]. I wouldn't take it free. In fact, I am just eating the [price] and chalking it up to a valuable lesson -- when the first item is a piece of junk, ask for your money back.
Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous overall idea, poor execution of the details
Review: If you, like me, are in the market for a cordless headset that is actually cordless (as distinguished from the myriad of "cordless" phone headsets that actually have cords stringing down from the headset to a beltpack transmitter) then at first blush this looks like the phone to buy. I loved the one-piece construction of the headset, which allows you to actually do things without tangling yourself. Our friends laughed at us a lot for wearing this phone, saying that we looked like operators or cyborgs. But the joke is on them, as this is an extremely useful phone with an excellent use/feel. Unfortunately, the phone suffers two grievous design flaws that make it difficult to wholeheartedly recommend: (1) The phone rests on the head using two large, comfortable pads that press the head behind (not on, or around) the ears. This is very clever, and permits long periods of use of the phone without ear fatigue. But by design, this also places a lot of stress at two points above the earpads where the tension is transferred to the band which runs over the top of the head. These two points are made of plastic, like most of the rest of the headset, and BROKE after about 1 year of use. Vtech should have used metal or some other more resilient material for this part of the device. Broken at this point, the headset will not rest properly on the head and is essentially useless. (2) The second problem is one that is shared by a surprising number of cheap consumer electronics companies. The headset relies on a proprietary rechargable battery pack for all of its power. Vtech chose to use a NiCd battery, which means that the phone's battery has a memory effect which led ours to conk out after, again, approximately 1 year. They cost about $30 to replace; and since they are proprietary, you cannot get replacements from the aftermarket. That is a pretty serious recurring cost given the current street price for this phone. Manufacturers, please take note: enter the modern age and use NiMH or LiIon batteries.... Unfortunately, there are no similar products out there (i.e. no phone headsets I'm aware of that are totally without cords or beltpacks), so it is the only game in town, even with these defects.
Rating:
Summary: So far, superb
Review: It takes a little time to get used to a phone like this, but I'm incredibly happy with it. The sound quality is not superb but is just fine, and it's worlds more comfortable than any hand-held phone and even any other headset I've tried - either for standard phones or the smaller, lighter headsets that are designed for cell phones. I like the way the speakers are held near, but not against, the ears - after hours of talking on the phone, that can make a big difference. I also like having a speaker for each ear. Any time I've used headsets in the past, people on the other end complain that I sound like I'm really far away, or even difficult to understand. That hasn't happened with this one - in fact, so far nobody has even been able to tell that I'm on a headset. The battery lasted quite a while in my case, almost two years. VTech doesn't stock that particular battery any more, but I was able to find it through Radio Shack's website, at a good price.
Rating: 
Summary: Comfort is key
Review: Quite innovative. The headset does not touch the ears thus making it extremely comfortable! It sits on the back of the head and there are two speakers positioned away from the ears which delivers good sound to BOTH ears. I purchased it for those long phone conference calls. It worked like a charm for a phone conference that lasted over 5 hours. My only suggestion is 1) a mute button be present on the headset unit (volume & flash buttons present, mute is on the wireless remote), 2) a speakphone on the base unit, 3) able to disable the mic up hang-up feature so that I can still listen to a call and have a drink. Nevertheless, it is a great phone.
Rating:
Summary: Pleased
Review: Rarely do you find a product that combines both good engineering and genuine thought on how to make the item fit what the consumer needs. The price is definitely up there but the combination of the two phones, the conventional phone as well as a quality headset justifies the extra expense. Having the regular phone allows calls to be answered quickly without needing to fiddle with the headset if you are not wearing it. If you happen to be wearing the headset activating the phone is just a matter of dropping the mike down to chin level and raising it again to hang up. Neat. The headset itself is easy to use and comfortable with a built in volume control making its design even practicle. I have owned several cordless headsets in the past but this is the first that I have not had some kind of a problem with. I will be looking more closely at VTech product in the future when shopping for electronics.
Rating:
Summary: THE WORST PHONE I'VE EVER OWNED!!!
Review: REALLY PEOPLE, DON'T BUY THIS PHONE IF YOU WANT ACTUAL QUALITY. I DON'T USUALLY WRITE REVIEWS OF PRODUCTS (THIS IS MY FIRST), BUT I FEEL THE NEED TO DUE TO MY UTTER DISGUST W/ VTECH. I BOUGHT THIS OVER-PRICED PIECE OF JUNK IN NOVEMBER OF 2000. IT WAS A BIRTHDAY GIFT TO MY FATHER WHO HAS WRIST PROBLEMS (WE THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE A GOOD SOLUTION. LESS THAN A YEAR LATER THE THING BREAKS AT THE HEADPIECE. NOW, MY FATHER DOESN'T EXACTLY HAVE A HUGE HEAD, AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN VERY CAREFUL WITH HIS POSSESSIONS - ESPECIALLY DELICATE ELECTRONICS. WE DO NOT ABUSE OUR PRODUCTS. AT ...$ (PURCHASE PRICE AT THE TIME) IT SHOULD HAVE LASTED MUCH LONGER THAN 11 MONTHS. VTECH IS TRYING TO DRAIN EVEN MORE MONEY OUT OF ME BY ESTIMATING THE REPAIR COST AT ...$!!!! I WON'T PAY IT AND AM INSTEAD GOING TO BUY ANOTHER COMPANY'S PRODUCT. BUT YOU SHOULD ALL BE WARNED BEFORE BUYING THIS PHONE...
Rating:
Summary: pretty good
Review: The sound quality is quite good. The range is average. The base station, where you can make and receive regular calls, has the annoying property that pressing the touch tones is deafening, whereas the talk volume is just right. I literally have to remove the phone from my head to press the touch tones, and every time I forgot, I want to break the thing. The other frustrating is that it needs charging all the time. The phone seems to run out of power very quickly even when it's not in use. I am tempted just to buy a little cell-phone like ear piece for the other phone that I have, and use that instead. It's got much better range, and is less cumbersome.
Rating:
Summary: Great at first but thin plastic
Review: There is a real fine thin piece of plastic that attaches the side with the microphone. It easily broke after a couple months of use, which made the headset totaly useless. Yet another headset tossed in the garbage.
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