Motorola MD61 Accessory Handset for MD600 Series

Rating:
Summary: FIVE point 8 GHz? Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha ...,
Review: ...Give me a break!

Just out of curiousity, I bought a 5.8 GHz cordless at a local store and compared it to my trusty, twenty-dollar 900MHz Uniden.

Guess what?

The two phones sounded PRETTY MUCH THE SAME, in fact the 900MHz one was actually a little clearer in some parts of the house.

I will say though, the 5.8GHz phone does sound better than the disastrous 2.4GHz Uniden I bought and returned last year. But this one's going back too...why pay more for what is basically the same performance?

Again: DON'T BELIEVE THE ADVERTISING B.S. !!!!

I'm giving this phone 1 star not for its actual performance, but for the absolutely shameless advertising HYPE around it.

(This is kind of like a 3.0GHz PC compared to a 1.2GHz PC: with 90% of commonly used applications, their performance is virtually identical...only you'll pay a lot more for the bigger number GHz.)

Rating:
Summary: service at amazon stinks
Review: buy this product in a store..i ordered from amazon and it took 2 weeks to deliver it....it was in stock too. if you have a problem you cant even talk to a person and no one writes back. service stinks

Rating:
Summary: 4stars....
Review: Excellent range. Easy setup. Clear voice transmission. Like the speaker functionality. No interference with my wireless connection. Could be happier if I could use this as a monitor (I think Unidel allows this). I am not a big fan of Moto cell phones (had 2 lousy ones) but, this household handset is very good.

Rating:
Summary: I think this is a great phone
Review: I have had this phone with an extra handset for about 2 months now and I could not be happier.

I'm using this phone with my Vonage service and the call clarity is excellent. I can't speak too much for range since I live in a Townhouse, but the extra handset works fine on a different level of the house.

I've been particularly happy with the speakerphone capability on the handsets. It sounds great and people can actually hear you when you are using it.

The only thing that might bother people is that the buttons are softer than I'm used to on phones. I found myself thinking I had pushed the button several times when it was new, when in fact I had not. I have gotten used to this and it does not bother me anymore, but I wanted to mention in case this kind of thing bothers you.

Rating:
Summary: Tired of flimsy phones and static? This one is the champ!
Review: I picked up the MD671 phone and a spare MD61 handset about nine months ago, and I couldn't be happier. I had gone through several cordless phones, GE, Uniden, Panasonic, etc., and each one was susceptible to interference and seemed flimsy, while the re-charging reduced the battery life down to nothing. While they "worked", I found myself apologizing and running to a corded phone to finish conversations.

You never really notice the inconvenience of it all until it's gone. With the Motorola system, not only are calls crystal clear, I find myself recommending it to anyone who's looking, getting my parents a system (replacing their 10-year old Radio Shack cordless, for goodness sake) and adding more MD61's around the house.

While either of the phones are great (we went with the MD671, without the answering option, as we already had voicemail), the handset is what really counts. The MD671 base unit is great, sleek and modern looking with a tremendous speakerphone and bright display, but who talks about the base unit? The MD61 handset is the champ.

First thing you'll notice is the solid, substantial feel of the handset - not slippery or creaking when torqued. It's well-balanced, with rubberized sides for grip and comfort, with an actual usable belt clip (rather than one that has to be pried open). The handset buttons and screen are well-lit, and it seems closer to a cell-phone in functions, available ring tones and vibrate modes, and the cool clear/blue lighting. IAdditionally, the handset seems pretty shock-proof, as it's been dropped on a tile floor a few times without ill effect.

The antenna is a small rubber nub about 1/2 inch in height, and it's stationary. I'm not the engineer that the previous poster is, so I can't comment on if it's really 5.8 ghz digital or not - all I know is that the sound quality is at least twice as good as the 2.4 ghz products out there, which are way better than the old 900mhz ones. It truly is the best I've heard on any cordless, and I would never consider buying anything less again. The handset speakerphone is loud and clear as well.

I'm not sure about the 8 hour battery life listed in the Amazon review above, but I've had the phone go 4-1/2 hours straight on a conference call before a low-battery warning. The battery life indicator is pretty accurate as well, and it seems to charge quickly. Battery life hasn't noticeably diminished after 9 months of use.

Lastly, the best part of the handset is that you can have up to 6 per base unit. We currently have three. All the handsets have are a small footprint charging station that requires AC power. No additional phone cords are needed, as the handset talks to the base. So instead of fumbling with wires, I can install a phone in a new room by plugging in the base, and then synching up the handset to the base - which takes only a minute for them to "find" each other. And they don't interfere with each other, either.

Bottom line? I really can't find any negatives with the entire system, and I'm not a big Motorola pimp, either, as I'm not really a fan of their cell phones, but they hit a home run here. While the price may be a little on the high side, I guess, it's a cheaper solution than buying a lesser phone, and then having to replace it again. I believe I really got my money's worth. In addition, if you so choose, you could really give up all of your corded phones and never think twice about it.

I never looked for the "ultimate" cordless phone experience, because that sounds pretty stupid, but I'm extremely pleased with this product, and wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone.


Rating:
Summary: Best Phone made!
Review: I used Panasonics before this Motorola. The Panasonics ALL had failures of one kind or another. They also had very low volume. The Motorola is one of the best built, full featured phones I have ever used. Build like a tank, stylish, and trouble free. I have purchased 4 of these for my home and have given the Panasonics to Goodwill.

Rating:
Summary: Nice phone. Very convenient
Review: There are a rash of these new "phone systems" cropping up. I've tried two of them: AT&T's and Panasonic's. I returned both of them and settled on the Motorola system. Primarily because I really liked the phone, the way it felt and the way it sounded. It really is a great phone. There are a couple of issues that I have with the Motorola, but it is the same problem for all phones that are part of a base type system.

1. The phonebook is not shared. This means that if you enter a number on the base system it is not automatically available to all satellite phones. If you want a phone specific number, enter it directly into the phone. For a global number, input the number on the base. That would be a great solution.

2. You cannot name the satellite phones. You have the base, phone 1, phone 2, etc. How hard would it be to have kitchen, garage, guest room, etc. This should have been done from the start.

3. You cannot access the answering machine from anything but the base. Being able to pick up the phone and select answering machine from the menu would be a great convenience.

4. Proprietary batteries. Granted AT&T has a standard AA NiMH battery that they use for their phones, but everyone else is using non-standard battery packs. This is like the price gouging for inkjet replacement cartridges. USE A STANDARD BATTERY.

Anyway, great phone with good battery life, range and voice quality. Best of all it doesn't interfere with my wireless network. My 2.4Ghz phone doesn't interefere either, but I had to do quite a bit of channel hopping on my wireless Access Point and phone before I found a setting where neither one was messing up the other. 4 stars because until they impliment the points listed above it still isn't perfect.

Rating:
Summary: Response to the bad "reviews"
Review: Two bad reviews throwing off this rating. Amazon's service is exceptional and the other reviewer who does not buy into the 5.8 "hype".

I have the base unit plus 3 of these handsets.

A cordless phone is subject to a lot of interference and each home is unique in that regard. Microwaves and other appliances affect range and clarity. Personally, my wi-fi router (which uses the crowded 2.4ghz frequency) and baby monitor (900mhz) could affect my phone thus I chose the 5.8ghz range to stagger the frequency ranges of those cordless devices.

In my house the phone has good range throughout including outside and in the basement. However, the phone clarity does not blow me away and is only marginally better than 900mhz or 2.4ghz.

I love the speakerphone feature which can be done right on the handset itself, great when on hold for customer service as I can put it in my pocket and roam around the house listening to cheesy muzak. It's also great for your little kids trying to talk to the grandparents.

The phone is very user friendly and has many features you are accustomed to seeing on a cell phone (imagine that from Motorola!).

Intercom is nice. I can "call" my wife in the bedroom while I'm downstairs using this feature (yeah I'm lazy).

Five star rating due to the lowered price.