Home > Consumer Reviews > AT&T 5800 Accessory Handset for 5800 Series Phones
AT&T 5800 Accessory Handset for 5800 Series Phones
See it at Amazon.com for $149.99Average Customer Rating
(4.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Disposable
(3 out of 5) by Kevin on Feb 5, 2005 (Los Angeles)I have the base and three other handsets. Best I can say is that they work. The problems would seem to have simple solutions--they must have rushed this to market without putting on the finishing touches.
Problems:
(1) The handsets don't synch with the base with respect to time, caller ID, and memory dialing. You have to repeatedly set the time on each handset. And caller ID only records on the handset where you take the call. Same issue with memory--who wants to punch inmemory dial numbers on 4 separate handsets.
(2) The text on the screen (numbers, letters, and a digitied analogue clock) look very Atari.
(3) The controls on the base simply stink--not intuitive and somewhat clumsy.
Pros:
The system isn't that expensive. Buy it, keep it for a couple of three years, and dispose.
Problems:
(1) The handsets don't synch with the base with respect to time, caller ID, and memory dialing. You have to repeatedly set the time on each handset. And caller ID only records on the handset where you take the call. Same issue with memory--who wants to punch inmemory dial numbers on 4 separate handsets.
(2) The text on the screen (numbers, letters, and a digitied analogue clock) look very Atari.
(3) The controls on the base simply stink--not intuitive and somewhat clumsy.
Pros:
The system isn't that expensive. Buy it, keep it for a couple of three years, and dispose.
2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
functional but not perfect
(2 out of 5) by K. E. Kroeger on Nov 7, 2004 (St. Louis, MO USA)I had a Sony multiple handset phone that I LOVED. Unfortunately, I found, when I moved into a bigger house, that the phone had been discontinued, and I could no longer get additional handsets for it.
I purchased the AT&T 5840 to replace it, and I suppose my disappointment with the handsets is probably more based on the fact that they pale in comparison to the former Sony ones, than that there is anything intrinsically wrong with them.
My primary complaints with the handsets are these:
1. The blue light that indicates that the handset is charging is bright enough to make it hard for me to get to sleep at night.
2. The caller ID lists incoming calls strictly based on what the phone company has in their system (i.e. "Cellular Call" instead of the name of the caller). The Sony phone would display a name for any number I had stored in memory (so if I had stored a number as "Annoying Guy" that is what the caller ID would say when that person called - and of course it also displayed my friends' names or nicknames as I had entered them too). This was particularly useful for me, as I have a terrible memory for numbers, and need a name in order to know who is calling. This is the feature I am most disappointed about losing.
3. The phone does not automatically store caller ID numbers in a format that allows me to call back with a single button press. In order to call a person back from the caller ID feature, I have to hit CID, then OPT #, and then select the appropriate number format. Although this process is not excessively difficult, it's annoying when I used to have a phone that allowed me to simply hit 'talk' to call a person back. It is also more difficult due to issue number 4 below.
4. The menu buttons 'wear out.' After regularly using the menu buttons for about a year, I have found that it now requires me to really push them hard, and sometimes several times, to get them to work.
I would recommend this phone to people who a) have a great memory for numbers and don't need a name listed on the caller ID and b) people who don't push buttons often. It does what a phone is meant to do, and so far, aside from the failing button issue, I have had no maintenance issues with it. I just became spoiled with all the features of my previous phone, and this one just doesn't come close in comparison.
I purchased the AT&T 5840 to replace it, and I suppose my disappointment with the handsets is probably more based on the fact that they pale in comparison to the former Sony ones, than that there is anything intrinsically wrong with them.
My primary complaints with the handsets are these:
1. The blue light that indicates that the handset is charging is bright enough to make it hard for me to get to sleep at night.
2. The caller ID lists incoming calls strictly based on what the phone company has in their system (i.e. "Cellular Call" instead of the name of the caller). The Sony phone would display a name for any number I had stored in memory (so if I had stored a number as "Annoying Guy" that is what the caller ID would say when that person called - and of course it also displayed my friends' names or nicknames as I had entered them too). This was particularly useful for me, as I have a terrible memory for numbers, and need a name in order to know who is calling. This is the feature I am most disappointed about losing.
3. The phone does not automatically store caller ID numbers in a format that allows me to call back with a single button press. In order to call a person back from the caller ID feature, I have to hit CID, then OPT #, and then select the appropriate number format. Although this process is not excessively difficult, it's annoying when I used to have a phone that allowed me to simply hit 'talk' to call a person back. It is also more difficult due to issue number 4 below.
4. The menu buttons 'wear out.' After regularly using the menu buttons for about a year, I have found that it now requires me to really push them hard, and sometimes several times, to get them to work.
I would recommend this phone to people who a) have a great memory for numbers and don't need a name listed on the caller ID and b) people who don't push buttons often. It does what a phone is meant to do, and so far, aside from the failing button issue, I have had no maintenance issues with it. I just became spoiled with all the features of my previous phone, and this one just doesn't come close in comparison.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Perfect phone!
(5 out of 5) by anthony palmer on May 27, 2004 (providence, ri United States)I'm fussy about small buttons, hard to program menues, poorly lighted dials....this phone has none of that! The talking caller ID on the base unit is terrific and the plug in add-on units are very convenient. Very good reception, easy to use call log...I like this phone a lot!!
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Perfect phone!
(5 out of 5) by anthony palmer on May 27, 2004 (providence, ri United States)I'm fussy about small buttons, hard to program menues, poorly lighted dials....this phone has none of that! The talking caller ID on the base unit is terrific and the plug in add-on units are very convenient. Very good reception, easy to use call log...I like this phone a lot!!
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
Getting closer to the perfect phone.
(5 out of 5) by Amanda T. Gamblin on Apr 1, 2004 (Portland, OR United States)I am a certified phone fetishist. After replacing cordless phone after cordless phone, I have now found one to keep for a while. The AT&T 5800 has the best speakerphone in the industry! You can actually use it in real situations! It has the now rare battery backup feature. I rotate batteries between the handset and the battery backup compartment when ever the handset battery runs out. By never putting the handset in the cradle, this "use it up every time" method makes the batteries last a year or more. Great memory and paging functions. You have to love the blue light! I have dropped it on hard wood floors many times, unlike any other phone or TV remote, the battery and battery cover don't go flying all over. Small but crucial details for the phone connesuer.