Best Telephones
1 OBi200 1-Port VoIP Phone Adapter with Google Voice and Fax Support for Home and SOHO Phone Service
Use Google Voice with the OBi and enjoy free calls inside the USA and Canada. Call internationally at amazingly low rates to over 150 destinations. Rates to China, India, and Mexico as low as 1¢ per minute – with no connection fee. When someone calls, ring multiple OBi devices, anywhere. Block unwanted nuisance and tele-marketer calls. Voicemail that acts like email. Designed, developed and supported in the USA. Many more features! Also Supports T.38 Fax and SIP Bring Your Own Device Services like Anveo, Callcentric, Voip.ms, etc.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"With OBi, Google charges $20 to port your old number. However, there is one annoying catch: Google doesn't allow porting landline numbers, so you have to go through a bit of redundant obstacle if you want to keep your cherished old landline number; you have to first port your landline number to a mobile carrier such as T-Mobile (it was very smooth with them, which is what I've used; this part is free, but it takes a day to process), AT&T, Verizon, etc. -- to make Google think the number now belongs to a wireless service, which Google will then accept, AND THEN once that's completed, you would then request a port with Google ($20 fee). If you don't care about keeping your old home number then you don't have to go through any of that hassle; just make a google account and use whatever number Google gives you. What this OBI device is basically allows assigning different VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services on it, so you can then connect your old "brick" phones to it; Google Voice just happens to be the main preferred choice. Google Voice is not an actual carrier/phone service - what Google Voice does is just forward numbers to you, like a secretary. I like that Google Voice charges no connection fee for international calls, whereas Skype does. I did notice that I was receiving more spam calls when I signed up with Google; I'm not sure if that is a coincidence or not, but there is also a option in Google to block known spam calls. This OBi device will be useless without internet and a router - or if you don't even own a "brick" phone to connect this to; or if you want to get rid of "brick phones" entirely and modernize your whole home all together with just using tablets/WIFI only smartphone, or PC to make calls, then you don't even need this product and can just sign up for Google and use Hangouts Dialer app for that (granted you don't need 911 emergency services, since Google Voice does not support 911 calls; if you do, you need this Obi/connect a brick phone/add/sign-up/pay monthly fee for just the 911 emergency service). (granted you have internet). - More features than what you'd get with landline services that's a rip off costing more (this gets you cheap international calls, call forwarding, caller ID, threeway calling, transcript voicemails, text messaging, etc). - Small and easy to setup. - Better than the Ooma. Cons: - It relies on Internet/router, so if either of those fail on you, you won't be able to place calls."
"The 200 model supports multiple VOIP provider configurations and 1 Phone line while the 202 supports 2 Lines (regular pricing around $49 and around $69). Note some of have complained that Obi tries to sell you an 2nd year extended warranty and or priority customer service $20 also additional phone features you may or may not need. I only use my land line phone for making conference calls when I work from home and when I need a clearer call then I can get from cell phone. Some other providers I read on line even make it almost impossible to cancel or modify service, Ooma in particular had many reviewers complaining about that Obi talk works with many providers including the completely free Google Voice. ** This device has always paid for itself in 1 Month as I was paying over $40 a month extra to Verizon Fios **. Tech Note: The only thing I was not automatically promoted to do was change the default Obitalk password. Changing default passwords on all internet connected devices is always good idea both for you and the world.You can find out your Obitalk IP address from dialing ***1 on your handstand of a connected phone."
"Not anymore, thanks to Google voice + OBihai combination, that we never have to pay a single penny for using the landline at home. You also need to sign up for the Obihai account and register your device and a step by step wizard will integrate your google voice account with your obihai device."
Connect Ooma Telo to your high-speed Internet and regular home phone and get crystal-clear nationwide calling for free. Includes nationwide calling, voicemail, caller-ID, call - waiting, 911 calling and text alerts. Keep your current number for a one-time fee or choose a new number in any available area code for free.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"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."
"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)."
"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."
Caller ID/call waiting 50 name and number caller ID history Handset displays the name, number, time and date of incoming calls. Features Quiet mode DECT 6.0 digital technology 50 name and number phonebook directory 9 number speed dial Voicemail waiting indicator2 Quick access key for voicemail box Last 10 number redial English/Spanish/French setup menu Wall-mount bracket included Mute Any key answer. 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
Find Best Price at Amazon"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."
Best Telephone Answering Devices
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
Find Best Price at Amazon"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."
Best Telephone Audio Conferencing Products
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
Find Best Price at Amazon"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."
Best Landline Phones
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
Find Best Price at Amazon"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."
Best PBX Phones & Systems
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
Find Best Price at Amazon"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."
Best Pagers
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
Find Best Price at Amazon"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 :)."
Best Telephone Accessories
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
Find Best Price at Amazon"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."
Best VoIP Telephone Products
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
Find Best Price at Amazon"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)."