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Uniden TRU-5860 5.8 GHz DSS Cordless Phone with Caller ID

Uniden TRU-5860 5.8 GHz DSS Cordless Phone with Caller ID

List Price: $110.00
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best choice for a low cost basic 5.8 GHz
Review: After reading so many mixed reviews on this phone I was a little hesitant to go with it. I already have other wireless devices in my home operating at 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz, so that necessitated a 5.8 GHz model, yet there are few such reasonable looking models to choose from.

My criteria was something under $100 with good clarity, DSS to prevent eavesdroppers, caller id, reliable brand, and good looks. The good looks criteria immediately rulled out 2/3 of the models on the market-- Vtech, GE, et al are atrociously gaudy looking and are not traditionally good quality brands in my mind. That narrowed it down to Uniden and Panasonic.

While the Panasonic 5.8 GHz model is almost certainly an excellent phone, it is simply too expensive-- around double the price of the Uniden. (Panasonic doesn't currently offer a stripped down model and instead forces you to buy an answering machine and other goodies that I wasn't interested in.)

Upon going to the store and looking at the phones in person, the Uniden was so much cooler looking than the Panasonic, and at half the price! So I brought it home.

What I like about the Uniden:

1. Good clarity. I hear no static anywhere in my 2400 sqft house. And the first time my wife used it, she made no negative comments (always a good sign). Overall, the quality is very close to that of a corded phone.

2. Range is reasonable, however it is less than the old 49Hz Motorola analog phone it replaced. If you have a large yard (I don't) then this might be an issue for you.

3. Phone feels nice and solid in your hand-- no creaking plastic when you push hard on the battery cover or any other piece of the phone. Also, when I pressed the buttons on all the display phones at the store, only a couple of models from Panasonic and this one from Uniden felt like quality-- all the others felt really cheap, almost as if buttons would fall off.

4. Logical, easy to use button & menu layout. I was able to figure out most everything without having to read the manual.

5. NiMH battery instead of NiCad = no battery memory problems or fear of overcharing like I experienced with my previous cordless.

6. Uniden's battery estimate of 4 hours talk time is accurate and even a little conservative. I managed to get 4 hours & 20 minutes after a fresh charge.

7. No antenna sticking up to break off.

8. Great looking, easy to read backlit LCD screen and buttons.

9. Styling-- it is by far the best looking cordless phone I have seen.

10. The built-in cordless speakerphone is a wonderful feature that has worked well for me so far. I really like how you can walk around the house and hold the phone in front of you like a walky-talky or lay it on the coffee table in the living room while you talk. Yes, it does sound like you're on a speaker phone to the other party. But I don't fault the phone for that-- all speakerphones sound like that. I have asked the other party what they thought of the sound quality while on speakerphone. They have said it sounds about the same as my Nortel corded speakerphone.

A few minor areas for improvement:

1. I can always hear a faint buzzing noise in the background. Changing the channel has no effect on it. However, it is so faint as to rarely be noticable during normal use. Only someone trying hard to be critical would notice it.

2. Some related buttons could be located a little closer together. For example, when going into the phone's configuration menu, you use the +/- keys at the top to move around, but the "select" key to enter into a menu is located at the bottom. These keys should be placed closer together.

3. There's no battery strength meter, only a warning when the battery gets low.

Anyway, I am totally thrilled with this phone. It does all the basics perfectly and at an inexpensive price.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Phone So Far, I'll Keep It!!
Review: Have returned a cheap but expensive V-Tech, couldn't wait to trash it. Replaced the V-Tech with the Panasonic RED Phone, only to return it the very next day, it seemed worse than the V-Tech. Must haves for me are: Speaker Hands Free, Headset Jack and Adjustible Volumne Control. With the V-Tech I couldn't hear caller very well, would always fade in/out, battery forever going dead in the middle of conversations. It also interferred with other electronics in the house. Purchased the Uniden and have tried it out with headset, speaker phone and regular, even without a fully charged battery, is performed above my expections. It also looks good and doesn't feel cheap. Looks like this is the "keeper". :-) Thank goodness, I'm getting tired of the return lines.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Reception poor
Review: I bought this phone because a previous Uniden phone I owned had great reception. This phone was easy to program, however, when I talked on the phone people would fade in and out. I ensured that my hand was not covering the antenna on the handset and even bought a new battery and charged it the required time as well. The phone continued to fade in and out. Because of this, I rate it a one. This phone was returned.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not worth the $$$$$$
Review: I bought this phone because I am into building/flying remote control airplanes. I was needing a good phone with a good speakerphone. Now, don't get me wrong. I can walk a good 30 feet away from the handset and people can still hear me. However, my mom doesn't mind it. She says it just sounds like I'm talking in a tunnel far away. Another lady, whom happens to be a very good friend of ours, hates it when I use the speakerphone. She says it absolutely sounds terrible and she hung up on me! A 60 year old woman!! I haven't heard the receiver end myself yet, but it takes a little more than a lousy phone to tick me off.

The speakerphone on this is not worth the 5.8 ghz because it does not help the reception on the receiver end on the speaker phone. I can hear the people I'm talking to just fine, but it is the receiver with all the problems. In my opinion, go for a different brand phone or a cheaper Uniden because they'll just be the same. ...

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Major Let Down
Review: I bought this phone because my 2.4GHz Uniden phone (which I loved) was have issues once I installed a home wireless network. I was expecting the same quality that I've had in the past from Uniden, but I did not get it.

Cons
1. Buzzing noise in the background with every phone call regardless of what channel you are on.
2. The phone periodically drops in and out for a second or two in the middle of conversations.
3. A minor issue is that the belt clip is really quite ineffective.

I'm going back to my old 900MHz Uniden phone. That phone was always clear and I never had a problem with it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Don't buy it and be careful of other unidens
Review: I bought this phone earlier this year because I needed a caller id phone and have been very unhappy with it. I read all the Amazon reviews, saw the great 5 star ratings as well as the complaints. I should have taken the complaints more seriously. All of them are true for my phone.

The reception is terrible -- every time I use it, the person at the other end hears static and my words get cut off. The battery gets low in 2 days and gives only about a one minute warning before it dies. Ergonically, it's very tiring to hold. Even at the highest volume, I have to strain to hear the other party.

I have a very old panasonic 900 mhz phone that works far better. I can talk for at least 5 minutes on a low battery notice and the reception is very good. If I pick up the uniden phone to answer, I have to switch to my panasonic if the conversation is longer. I only use the uniden phone to see who is calling and seldom actually use it to talk to people.

I am currently shopping for another phone and will make sure that it's not a Uniden.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Great phone, not so great signal
Review: I bought this phone to go along with my 2.4ghz GE phone which had great features but absolutely poor signal strength. I decided to get a 5.8ghz phone for a hopefully better signal strength.
Pros
1)This phone looks great. One of the best designs I've seen for a cordless phone, period.
2)Great features, all of the basics plus some extras.
3)There is no antenna. Nothing obtrusive and easy to carry around.
4)Nice LCD screen.
5)Nice buttons.
6)Excellent clarity.
Cons
1)The main problem with the phone, and it is a big problem, considering it is a 5.8ghz phone, is its signal strength. Though further than my 2.4ghz GE, it isn't much further(which still is not far at all). Both my previous 900mhz phones, both with DSS, have a much better range. This is a serious disappointment, as you would think a 5.8ghz phone would have exceptional range. It is not just me, others I know with the phone have the same problem who even live in other countries.
2)Some of the buttons are inconveniently placed a part. Not a major problem however.
3)Does not work well with headsets probably except for the recommended one.
4)Sometimes I would hear a mute on the other end's background or a major decrease in volume when I speak, kind of like a speakerphone. Though not as bad as a speaker phone, it can still be annoying. I do not know the reason for this, as I have never experienced this problem with any other phone not on speaker before.

This phone SEEMS perfect at first glance. 5.8ghz, callerid, great design plus many other nice features. However, the range is definitely below acceptable and a few other problems may also be annoying. I can't really recommend this phone unless you really need a 5.8ghz phone at a reasonable price. You may be better of with a very good 2.4ghz phone instead.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Dead Phone
Review: I thought the sound quality was decent. However, the phone stopped functioning after less than a year. I changed the battery but to no avail.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Dead Phone
Review: I thought the sound quality was decent. However, the phone stopped functioning after less than a year. I changed the battery but to no avail.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Ultimate drop-test
Review: I was cleaning windows, THREE floors up, had this phone in my back pocket. Accidently bumped it from my pocket and it hit the pavement. It is still working just great. This has to break all
drop-test records. Go Uniden!


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