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Best Telephone Answering Devices

Plantronics CS540/HL10 Headset with Lifter
Manage desk phone calls up to 350 feet Wideband audio and noise-canceling microphone provide clearer conversations Three different wearing styles: over the ear, over the head, or behind the head One-touch call answer/end, mute, and volume adjust for simple call management Up to seven hours of battery life on one charge; adaptive power system helps conserve battery life. Charging Base with Adaptive Power System A sleek magnetic charging base is included with the CS540. An adaptive power system optimizes for range and talk time by automatically downshifting to low power when the headset is close to the base to save battery life. What's in the Box Headset, over-the-head headband, charging base, base power supply, fit kit instruction card with extra ear loops and ear tips, telephone interface cable, HL10 handset lifter, and quick start guide. LIGHTWEIGHT DESIGN: Sleek design for the most comfortable and lightest DECT headset on the market and includes one touch controls to answer or end calls.
Reviews
"We get very little incoming calls, but I need to be able to answer the phone away from my desk. The headset does not notify me when there is an incoming call until the second ring. I always like to answer on the first ring. A few other phones in the office ring when there is an incoming call, so I can usually still answer on the first ring. The dock then relays to the headset and the headset beeps to let you know the phone is ringing. I still put the headset on the dock while I'm at lunch and over night to make sure it is charged."
"I work in an underground warehouse environment and I was wanting a headset that would allow me to leave my desk, free up both of my hands and have the signal strength to reach long distances. PROS: I'm able to traverse the entire dock area outside of the office; the signal strength even allows me be outside to a certain degree. Until then, I was afraid the headset may fall off, but once I found the proper adjustment, I've never been worried again. I work 8-9 hr days and I've never had a problem with the headset losing charge."
"The headset is great."
"I use it with a Panasonic phone (Panasonic KX-TGF383M DECT 3-Handset Landline Telephone)."
"It was purchased for my boss."
"I was skeptic of the price of this one, yet the quality of sound is so good for being a wireless device, the range is retardedly good--and it's just so convenient for a fast paced work environment."
"I am very happy with these headsets and so are the rest of my front desk staff."
"I would make sure you don't actually need the Lifter before purchasing the Headset / Lifter deal."
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AT&T 1740 Digital Answering System with Time and Day Stamp, White
Digital Answering System with Time/Day Stamp Reliable digital answering system with Message Guard memory. Highlights Digital Answering System. Message Guard Memory. Message Counter. Digital Answering System Features. 1740. AT&T Digital Answering System Brand Specifics. Feature 1 Digital Operation Feature 2 Time/Day Stamp Feature 3 Remote Access General. Number of Incoming Lines 1 Answering Device • Time and Date Stamp on Recorded Messages • Speakerphone. Caller ID. Base. Wall Mount. Keypad on Base. Call Waiting. Number of Mailboxes 1 Compatible with. Backlit Keypads. Intercom. Color White Speed Dial. What's in the Box 1 digital answering system, 1 power adapter, line cord, quick start guide, owner's manual. Enter your model number to make sure this fits.
Reviews
"I simply need it to answer the phone and take a message. Another thing that I like is that when I have listened to a message it is kept on the machine until I tell it specifically to delete. What this means is that after I have listened to all of the messages and a new message comes in, the new message will be played back without all of the old messages playing also."
"It day and time stamps every message (i.e "Wednesday at 3:12 pm"); - but no date stamp is available, which is not a deal breaker for me; since I don't need date stamped messages anyway."
"There are 2 main differences from the earlier unit, both of which are biggies for me: *As another reviewer mentioned, this unit automatically turns up the volume to Level 2 when a message comes in. The old model was visible across a room; with the new model, I have to walk all the way up to it and look down into it to see if there are any messages. I hate voicemail, and I'm not fond of the answering machines which come built into phones; we find the answerer dies first, and then you have to replace the entire phone, including any extra handsets if you can't find that model anymore (which is usually the case.)."
"I will say that it doesn't take up much space at all and I appreciate the alert feature--it will beep constantly if there is a new message (I think you can turn that off)."
"The red flashing button was so dim you could hardly see it and there was no display to show if there were calls or not. It has a bright red light, a loud beeper (you can turn off the beep if you don't want it), a 60 minute message, and announces the calling phone number both when listening to the message and when screening calls. The cord to the phone outlet is hardwired and only about six foot long. UPDATE: After two weeks I have gone back into my settings and changed the announcing caller numbers both for incoming and on left messages."
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Atamp;T 1740 Digital Answering Machine
Atamp;T 1740 Digital Answering Machine. Enter your model number to make sure this fits.
Reviews
"seems to do what I want it to do,but still learning thanks."
"Easy to set up."
"This unit replaced my 15 year old At&T Answering Machine that was ruined by an electrical power surge. Advanced design allows this machine to save messages without needing batteries in the event of a power outage."
"replaced a old answering machine.. compact, features as described, easy set up..good quality of sound."
"Works well but the playback is sometimes a little unclear."
"CLEAR EASY TO SET WORKING VERY GOOD."
"It's the easiest one to use I've ever owned: the voice prompts talk you through the various ways you can set it up -- how many rings before it picks up, do you want an audible alert, and many other options."
"The unit is hard to program."
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Best Telephone Accessories

CPR V5000 Call Blocker - Block All Robocalls, Political Calls, Scam Calls, Unwanted Calls on Landline Phones. Block All Nuisance Calls At The Touch Of A Button using Caller ID
This helps provides a dramatic reduction in robocalls, scam calls, political calls, election calls and general nuisance calls as soon as the Call Blocker is connected. "0" Type Calls Blocking Function. This will reject all calls shown as multiple 0s or variations of fake numbers. Unknown Blocking Function: This will reject all calls shown as UNAVAILABLE / OUT OF AREA.
Reviews
"With this puppy the phone doesn't "ring once" like it does with other blockers or the "block" from my phone/cable company (not VOIP - we use Cox). We were to the point we were going to get rid of our home phone due to the blind dial calls ("hello, this is Windows support"), the Out of Area calls and the Political "can I have three minutes of your time" and then you spend 30 minutes listening to someone read asinine questions about a bunch of clowns running for office."
"I really wanted to like the CPR V5000 based on good reviews and advertised functionality, but in the end I have concluded that while it is a quality product, it does not work well for the US phone system. Here’s why: When the device is connected in SERIES (using the recommended procedure shown for US setup) the call blocker itself works ok except it did NOT pass along the caller ID to my Uniden DECT cordless phone system. This may be true, but my 4 year-old Digitone call blocker had no problem passing through the caller-ID info (Digitone has its own power source, which may be a factor), so I concluded it is NOT the phone line voltage that is the problem."
"I was able to easily view all the blocked numbers simply by pressing an up arrow button marked “Block List” and then using the up or down arrow buttons as desired to scroll through the list of numbers. Once again, I appreciated the capability of being able to scroll through the call list of recent call numbers (press the down arrow marked “Call List”) and quickly select any junk number to block by pressing the red “Block” button while the desired junk number is displayed. I did not see any evidence of strange numbers being blocked so I don’t know if the blocker displays any information when (if) it blocks one of the 5000 pre-programmed junk numbers. However, I don’t think this capability is necessary for us because of being able to recall the caller’s phone number to the blocker’s display and then simply pressing the red “Block” button any time after the call has disconnected while the recalled number is displayed."
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Best Telephone Audio Conferencing Products

Polycom SoundStation 2 Non Expandable Analog Conference Phone (2200-16000-001)
Users can speak in a normal voice and be heard clearly up to ten feet (3-meters) away.For crystal-clear conferencing, Dynamic Noise Reduction (DNR) actively removes background noise such as projectors and ventilation systems360-degree microphone coverage with intelligent mixing highlights the person speaking, not the distracting ambient soundsNo more buzz technology resists interference from mobile phones and other wireless devices, delivering clear communications without distractions. Applications port, which connects to mobile phones for dialing from rooms without an analog phone line.
Reviews
"I highly recommend this product for use in any small to moderate board room and business application."
"I work from home quite often and have been searching for a speakerphone so that I can participate in conference calls from my home office and have it not be like I was calling from another planet."
"This was purchased for a home office where there was a need for a regular amount of conference calls. The home office is on the noisy side with a regular amount of activity in the background."
"The only issue that I have is the microphone volume."
"Perfect for home office use multiple times per day with residential POTS line."
"Clear and straight forward to use for video conferencing in our small 6 pp conference room. After considering the price difference between the lower end model without it, I'm glad we chose this one."
"Works great."
"Awesome speaker phone."
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Best VoIP Telephone Products

Ooma Telo Free Home Phone Service
Connect Ooma Telo to your high-speed Internet and regular home phone and get crystal-clear nationwide calling for free. Ooma Telo works with Ooma Home Security sensors to monitor your home and contact you when activity is detected. Includes nationwide calling, voicemail, caller-ID, call - waiting, 911 calling and text alerts.
Reviews
"I switched to Comcast for $33 a month for VOIP service through their HFC network as part of a Triple Play. Since this was no longer a must have, I looked for something that was low cost but would still provide traditional land line service for the FAX, business calls, etc. Vonage was pushing a lot of ads at the time, but to me the cost was still too high at $13 a month. I found that the service offering compared well to Comcast, and when the unit went on sale, I decided to give it a try. Although Ooma considers this the optimal configuration, I did not like the set-up and used the sub-optimal set -up of connecting it to my routers Ethernet port as a stand-alone device. Since cost was my driver, I decided to remain on the normal service with a number I chose from a short list of options. Start-up: This was a little frustrating and the unit took some time to link with the service and download the updated firmware. My children play online games and we stream a lot of movies from various services. In two years, we have never seen a loss in quality of the call and the sound and reception is as good as Verizon or Comcast, maybe even better. In fact, I am on a conference call on the Ooma for work as I am writing this on the web and my teenager is playing an online game on the PS4. 911: Ooma provides for 911 service to your local police, fire, and medical based on the address you say the box is at. Two Year Experience: As of April 2014, the box has performed well and I have had no quality issues or failures. I will update the post if it fails in the future, but my expectation is that I will get several more years of service from the Teleo. Four Year Experience: As of April 2016, we continue to use the Ooma box with no quality issues or failures. Many are worried about the VOIP, but once I explain to them it is the same they are getting from the Cable Companies or Verizon Fios, some of the concern drops away."
"I am opting for basic ooma service, so I had to pay $40 to port my landline number from Comcast, but it was worth it to me versus keeping the free number I selected through the ooma website. Some considerations: -If you want transfer your phone number, don't disconnect your phone service with the current provider until after the transfer occurs. Cost comparison: +$10.00 for cell phone upgrade to security system. +$ 3.85 for monthly ooma taxes and fees. -$ 7.00, no more monthly comcast modem rental charges. -$ 32.00, no more Comcast phone service. Net savings is about $25 per month; I spent $160 on the ooma and $150 on Netgear modem plus $40 on the port ($350), so I will break even in about 14 months. Update- as soon as the phone number ported to Ooma, Comcast automatically raised my monthly subscription rate to internet and cable to $200, so I had to call them and go through the process of getting the monthly rate down. BTW, it took me 6 months to get the $90 Comcast owed me back from them- after three calls and hours on the phone, plus a FAX to their "Consumer Service VP" or whatever their title is, I finally got the check."
"Here's why: 1. Came in secure packaging with easy to follow instructions. The lighted design on the top lets you know at a glance if your service is connected by shining an electric blue color. I've tried several other VoIP's including Vonage (which is good, but costs $10-$25/month while Ooma is ONLY $3/month), and a few other apps on my iPad mini that let me make/receive calls in my iPad when I'm connected to the Internet (Talkatone, Google Voice, Voxofon, and WeTalk)."
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Best Landline Phones

AT&T EL52313 DECT 6.0 Phone Answering System with Caller ID/Call Waiting, 3 Cordless Handsets, Silver
Increase participation by allowing both ends to speak—and be heard—at the same time for conversations that are more true to life. By allowing you to add up to 5 handsets using just one jack, the EL51203 is ideal for your busy home or small office (model EL50003 accessory handsets sold separately).
Reviews
"In my tests, I found that neither model's battery life was as good as my Panasonic cordless phone, especially if the base unit lacks power or is unplugged. If the base unit doesn't have power you cannot make calls even if your phone line is working. You cannot get a battery backup for the base unit. If you need to be able to listen to your messages in a noisy room, model EL52100 would be a better choice because the base unit has more power."
"I recently ordered these phones for my elderly Mom as her hearing and sight are not what it used to be."
"I entered the names and numbers of our family/friends into one of the hand sets, and lo and behold, without any further effort on my part, all the other handsets were identically programmed."
"The phone uses a battery pack made from 2 NiMH AAA cells rated at 400mAh. But, it may not be for you if you tend to have long phone conversations, unless you replace the battery pack with a higher capacity one. There are higher capacity battery packs available for this phone, just search the model number and add the word battery. EDIT: I did make my own battery pack using two 1000mAh AAA NiMH batteries and the connector from the stock battery. I recently did a 2-hour phone training session using the phone and the battery wasn't even half drained."
"These phones are well made, the sound quality is good, and many nice features."
"This set replaced their old set and although it took a little getting use to that was only because of a change in model."
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Best PBX Phones & Systems

Cortelco Yealink YEA-EHS36 Wireless Headset Adapter
The new advanced Yealink Headset Adapter EHS36 provides the technical interface between Yealink SIP-T48G/T46G/T42G/T41P/T40P/T29G/T27P telephones and a compatible wireless headset. Enter your model number to make sure this fits.
Reviews
"Makes answering my Jabra headset vie headset possible with my T46g setup."
"Setup was a bit challenging, so I had to find a setup video on YouTube."
"Easy to install with plantronics headset, I'm not exactly sure what it does or why it's necessary for the T41p but it works."
"I had to wait for the price to drop, but works great!"
"Works perfectly and easily."
"so far so good, this is a great product."
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Best Pagers

Smart Caregiver Two Call Buttons & Wireless Caregiver Pager
The TL-5102TP Two Pendant Paging System comes with two nurse Call Buttons and one Caregiver Pager. The TL-5102TP Two Pendant Paging System comes with two nurse Call Buttons and one Caregiver Pager. Allows both caregiver and resident freedom while still calling for help at the touch of a button.
Reviews
"She has one of those life line buttons but this was an additional level of security for her."
"We stuck one of the buttons to the back of the bed control. There are two sound settings - a "ding dong," like a door bell, and an "alarm," which sounds like a siren. It was nice to have the second button to replace it until we found it."
"This caregiver gave us an opportunity to be on-call to assist my mom, but didn't take away her privacy."
"Very reliable."
"This is perfect for my needs."
"This is a great product."
"Great to have on hand for anyone recovering from surgery or in my case letting my husband know I need a refill when he is in he kitchen and I am upstairs :)."
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