Sony SPP-A2720 2.4 GHz Cordless Phone (Refurbished)

Rating:
Summary: Very Poor Range
Review: Features and sound quality are great, BUT the range I experienced was horrible. I tried moving the base unit around my house but the range never improved. I have a couple of 2-3 year old 900Mhz phones that provide at least 3 times the range of this phone. I also noticed the phone causes nearby radios (stereo, clock-radio) to buzz. I love Sony products, but this was one of my worst experiences ever with them.

Rating:
Summary: Very Poor Range
Review: Features and sound quality are great, BUT the range I experienced was horrible. I tried moving the base unit around my house but the range never improved. I have a couple of 2-3 year old 900Mhz phones that provide at least 3 times the range of this phone. I also noticed the phone causes nearby radios (stereo, clock-radio) to buzz. I love Sony products, but this was one of my worst experiences ever with them.

Rating:
Summary: Not ready for prime time
Review: Got these phones because we have a bad hard wired phone line upstairs in our house. Seemed like a good idea to have all the phones working together on one line. The intercom system seemed like a really neat feature...any phone can call any other phone.
Now for the Good and Bad list. We'll start with the Good...a shorter list.

Good:
-Phones can call each other.

-You can send address list or individual number from phone to phone.

-Jogdial for entering numbers is wonderfully intuitive. Makes the job easy.

-Lighted LCD and numbers...easy nighttime access.

-Privacy is ensured because second handsets can't pick up when handset is in use.

Bad:
-You can't use two handsets at once...only transfer calls between handsets.

-Couldn't figure out how to get it to automatically dial a 1 before other area codes which required adding 1 to all numbers in address book. Strangely this worked originally but then stopped working. Sony technical support couldn't figure it out.

-Passing off calls to other phones can be frustrating. You either put your handset on hold and holler to the other person to pick up or you press intercom and call another handset and when they pick up they get the call. This leads to many hangups. Son "Phone for you." Me, "Got it...as I press talk" Son hangs up. Phone, "Can't connect."

-THE ABSOLUTE DEAL BREAKER- Phone loses its brain. I hit a combination of keys through the course of dialing a number and the phone said it couldn't connect. Turning it off and on yielded the same message. Only way to restore it is to "reset" which requires removing battery and putting battery back in with phone near base station. In one 15 minute period we had 3 of our 4 phones go down. Sony's technical support told me "These are computers and sometimes you need to reset computers." Jeesh, I love the features but need a phone that will work and not lock up randomly. These puppies are going back to the store until Sony can figure out how to do it right.

...and the Final Killer. We also have a wireless router supplying the internet to all our PCs. We use the 802.11b system...the system pretty much everyone uses. The Sony phones interfere with the wireless. We couldn't surf the web and talk on the phone at the same time. I have two other 2.4Ghz phones and a 900Mhz phone and none of them interfere. This is a very serious limitation. 802.11b is the industry standard and hugely popular. I can't believe Sony released a phone that interferes with it.

Rating:
Summary: it's cute, it's sexy, it's smart
Review: I'm not much of a phone person. But this phone provides absolutely everything I needed. Caller ID, intercom (I lose everything, including my phone under my laundry), powerful cordlessness, and a sexiness factor that is unmatched. Price was right. I even brought it in to work and it received so much praise that the president told me to go buy one for the front desk as well. So go buy one already, enough of those phones that die and get crackly when you leave the room.

Overall, superb!

Rating:
Summary: jog wheel device
Review: My problem with this phone is that I cannot dial a sequence
of numbers by hitting a sequence of memory buttons. Therefore I cannot conveniently use it with my very inexpensive long distance service, which involves first dialing an 800 number, then dialing a password number, then dialing the number to be called. Other than this, which was the reason I bought the phone, it seems fine.

Rating:
Summary: Stands out from the crowd of me-too products
Review: PRO: DSSS, design, quality, sound, range, ease-of-use, flexibility, lighted display-keypad, handset remote, battery life

CON: No conferencing

Key Features:

* High Power Digital 2.4 GHz Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum
* Multi-Handset Capability (Up To 4 Handsets)
* Caller ID With Call Waiting With 70-Number Memory
* Center Jog Dial Control With 50-Number Dialing Directory
* Walkie Talkie Function
* EZ Access Button
* Three-Line Backlit LCD On Handset
* Lighted Display & Keypad
* Call Transfer
* Memory match ringing
* Hold

A sad but little known fact is that apparent diversity of consumer product offerings is often just branding of a relatively small number of real choices. Multi-handset 2.4 GHz cordless phones are no exception. If you look closely, you'll see that most of the current offerings: have identical (or nearly identical) feature sets; are based on FHSS (frequency hopping spread spectrum, also known as FH DSS, or frequency hopping digital spread spectrum); and are built in China. These products (e.g., Panasonic KX-TG1050N/KX-TG1000N/KX-TGA100N) are pretty much the same.

The Sony line of multi-handset 2.4 GHz cordless phones (SPP-A2780/SPP-A2770/SPP-A2730/SPP-A2720/SPP-H273) is a notable exception: significantly different feature set, based on DSSS (direct sequence spread spectrum), and built in Taiwan. DSSS, a more costly and sophisticated technology than FHSS, provides greater range and resistance to interference, particularly indoors. As a result, these Sony phones provide remarkably clear sound.

The Sony line also abounds with thoughtful design touches that makes it a joy to use. The Jog Dial makes it a breeze to access the phone book, call lists, and menu items. The handset has a solid feel, is comfortable to use, and will stand up on any horizontal surface thanks to a flat base. And of the course the styling is up to usual high Sony standards.

SUMMARY: This is the one to buy! Shines in all areas!

Rating:
Summary: Voice Mail Indicator doesn't work
Review: This phone comes with a voicemail indicator. I have voice mail through Verizon - a large phone company but this indicator is not compatible with their stuttering tone. Bummer. This phone does have a lot of neat features. You can expand the system to four phones and sync the address book. The sound quality seems fine to me. Also, you can put a call on hold and then transfer it to one of the other three extensions.

Rating:
Summary: Voice Mail Indicator doesn't work
Review: This phone has it all. It is like a high quality cell phone, for your house. I got it over at another store, but this phone is great. I have not experienced any problems with the range, infact I have taken it out of my house, and walked my dog with it, and I was about 100 yards away from my house, and I still got my calls. The reception was fine as well, much better then the older 900mghz Sony model that I bought 3 years ago. If you like Sony products, and are in for a new phone, go get this one, it is perfect for the house expecially with the multi phone add on option.

Rating:
Summary: Great Features
Review: This phone has it all. It is like a high quality cell phone, for your house. I got it over at another store, but this phone is great. I have not experienced any problems with the range, infact I have taken it out of my house, and walked my dog with it, and I was about 100 yards away from my house, and I still got my calls. The reception was fine as well, much better then the older 900mghz Sony model that I bought 3 years ago. If you like Sony products, and are in for a new phone, go get this one, it is perfect for the house expecially with the multi phone add on option.

Rating:
Summary: Sony 2.4GHz for a college student
Review: Yesterday I purchased Sony's SPP-S2720 (Quadra Station 2.4) cordless phone with an additional handset. I am a student at McGill University in Montreal; I live in a sky-rise and I have been having trouble all year long finding a clear, non-static, non-interference cordless telephone. I started out with a Bellsouth phone that was broke before I even took it out of the box (which the company refused to fix -- never again will I even consider Bellsouth for a product brand), then I had this cheap V-tech 900 MHz cordless (terrible, terrible, I hear more outside noise and interference than an actual voice) and then I tried an older Sony 900 MHz. It got to the point where I used my cell phone in my flat instead of my normal telephone because I was getting better reception with the cell. HOWEVER, my new telephone is ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL and worth every single penny (this telephone is a bit pricier than most). I love all of the features, it is simple to use and it has amazingly clear reception. I have been testing it out all day to try to pinpoint and target flaws (I am a very skeptical consumer) and I cannot find one. I have not picked up a conversation from any other residents in my building while using it. The phone consistently functions up to par -- I have even tried using it around the microwave, television, etc. (appliances that are supposed to cause interference) and the reception & quality of sound remain excellent. As far as programming goes, the telephone is very user-friendly (I happen to be quasi-computer illiterate; thus, I need things to be fairly simple and explanatory). The telephone is also durable (did I mention that I drop things a lot?).

In sum, the quality of this telephone is EXCELLENT! I have been through 3 telephones this year, spending over [price] only to be disappointed. So this time around I did my research and really shopped around. I am completely satisfied with my purchase. I use my telephone a lot -- To register for classes, to call up professors, to talk to my friends & family back home in the States, to check voicemail, coordinating & scheduling various events for the extracurriculars and councils that I sit on, etc. so I need a reliable phone that will not hinder what I need to accomplish... There is nothing more agitating and annoying then saying, "Hold on, let me change channels" at least 20 times per conversation or "Can you hear me? Do you hear the echo? Is that another conversation?" or "Bad connection, can I call back?" -- I am very pleased with this telephone... It's efficiency, easy access, convenience, reliability and sound quality are stellar!