RCA ViSYS - 2 line speakerphone w Integrated answering system

List Price: $109.99 Discount Price: Too low to display

Features:

• Enhanced full duplex speakerphone - Line status indicator buttons
• 16 One touch memory buttons - 100 name/number call waiting caller ID
• Multi-Lingual message display - Do Not Disturb (DND) button
• Intuitive 4 direction navigation button
• Digital volume control - Blue backlit LCD

Accessories:

Home Phone Tunes HPT001 Ringboxx

Customer Reviews:

2 line speakerphone & answering machine, with major issues! [Posted on 2007-12-03]
Pros;
1. Better than the run of the mill 2 line speakerphone/answering machines overall,
2. Speakerphone is above average, but surely not full duplex,
3. Rubber pads on base stand prevent phone from walking,
4. Large easy to read display (but see below),
5. Large keypad (but see below).

Cons;
1. Confusing button arrangement with very small lables, some I couldn't find without re-reading the manual. 'Redial & 'Hold' are small buttons, while 'Headset' & 'Preset EQ' are large buttons at the bottom,
2. Display shows the number of incomming calls, not the number of messages. If someone retrives the new messages, anyone else looking at the display wouldn't know if there were any messages at all without going into the playback mode. Who cares about how many calls came in that were answered?

It would be nice if the display could be dimmed. The biggest issues are the poorly planed placement of all those small, hard to read buttons and the lack of a message count in the display without you accessing the playback mode.
BTW; the version of this phone without the answering machine (25204) has a different display which is very hard to read because of a different backlight setup. Stay away from that version.

See my update. I now rate it ONE STAR!

Great Phone Terrible Speaker Phone  [Posted on 2008-01-02]
Do not buy this phone if you plan on using the speaker phone alot like I do. this phone is going back. The features are great and the look is new edge but the speaker phone crackles,goes in and out and can almost 90% of the time never be used alone.

Skip this phone and look into the Polycom small office $120

Has worked well until memory glitch [Posted on 2008-08-08]
I've had this phone for approx 6 mos now so I've had time to use it considerably before reviewing. For the most part it has served my business and personal purposes ok until today.

I like the style and the ability to choose whether or not to screen calls. I like that it has a vertical row of speed dial buttons that I can label. I haven't had any issues with the volume on either the handset, a headset, or the speaker.

I really like that I can set the answering machine to a message for work hours or an after hours message with just one setting. No need to remember to reset the message daily. This feature is labeled "Timed" in the list of messages available for selection.

What prompted me to post this review was an issue I experienced today with the answering machine memory resulting in an inability to play any messages, in- or outgoing. Support, which I located at www.rca.com, instructed me to reset the phone memory by unplugging the power, disconnecting the phone lines, and removing the batteries after which I had to wait 10 minutes. I was instructed to then restore everything in reverse order and all should be ok. If not, they would replace my phone if less than 2 yrs old.

The reset worked and all is well including the OGAs I previously had recorded and messages that had previously been left for me. BUT, what an inconvenience for somebody who relies on the phone for a lot of business. Thanks to a client I was alerted to the issue when he emailed me that he wasn't able to leave a message on my answering machine.

I agree with the previous reviewer who commented about the confusing buttons on the phone. They do need to be better organized in a manner more in accordance with most frequently used buttons.

Regarding another reviewer's comment about the speakerphone, my experience has been better so far. However, I do have issues occasionally with the line seeming to just go dead for a couple of seconds although it doesn't disconnect the call. Not sure if this is the phone or my service.

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