Home > Consumer Reviews > Southwestern Bell FM2552 Trimline Corded Phone with Caller ID and Wall Mount (White)

I bought this Southwestern Bell caller ID phone solely because I wanted something inexpensive and small for my desk. What a mistake! Every time I get a call, I have to lift the entire unit close to my face to see the caller ID. Sometimes when I pick up the handset to make a call, I don't get a dial tone until I click on the cut-off button.

It looks nice, but feels cheap. Even for the slight cost, this phone is not worth the money. Although it stores a sizeable list of incoming calls, erasing the list takes a fair amount of time if you've built up more than a few calls.

Buy yourself a more expensive phone. This one isn't worth the effort of ordering.

I purchased a sleekline telephone about a year ago. There is a design flaw in that the Flash button is actually a bar that is located near the mouth piece. The location of this bar makes it easy to mistakenly press it with one's chin or cheek. I've cut off countless phone conversations due to this fact. Aside from cutting off one's conversation, the rest of the phone works well.

This telephone has been a delight in the three months that I have owned it. It sits on my computer desk, alerts me to the identity of my incoming calls, takes up a minimum of space and has proven faultless in its operation and setup. For the price it was a steal.

Pro: Cheap ... it works ... so far.
Con: Sound quality is bad, noisy, and low (turning it
higher amplifies everything: noise, echos, etc).
When you talk into the mouth piece you
hear your own voice in the ear piece. So if
you and the other end speak at the same time,
you can hardly hear them (lot of "sorry what?").
None of my existing phones does this.
This thing is cheap, feels cheap, Smells cheap
(bad plastic smell). LCD is not backlight, and is
hard to read. Batteries Not included (3AA).

*Sigh* hopefully someday China will make better products.

I was very disappointed in this phone because it only lasted 4 months before it started making loud noises during conversations. I was surprised that Southwestern Bell would tolerate such defects in their workmanship.