BT Freestyle 3200

This is a review of the single cordless phone - BT Freestyle 3200. You can buy this as a twin pack, trio or quad but I only needed the single phone to replace my old BT Synergy cordless phone.

The phone Setup is thankfully painless and the manual simple & clear. You simply take the phone out of the box; pull the tag to activate the batteries (which are already installed in the handset) and place on the cradle to fully charge. Like most rechargeable phones, it is recommended that you charge for a full 16 hours before using and not initially connect to the phone line to avoid using it. After about 6 hours the display on the phone says fully charged but I did as I was told, and waited till the next morning before using the handset.

The phone colour is described as warm silver and is pleasant to look at. It is a nice size considerably larger than most mobile phones (which I personally like) but not like the old brick sized cordless phones of 80s and 90s (It also has a good belt clip.) The display is clear with an orange backlight and the buttons are a nice size, allowing for fast dialling.

Functions include a phone book, redial, call list (up to 10 missed calls are listed) and handsfree. There is also a secrecy button, where you can talk to someone nearby without the caller hearing you.

There are six ring tones to choose from (the standard ring tone is pleasant) and there are five different volume levels.

As with most phones there is a simple to use phone book for storing up to 30 names/ numbers. The large display screen again is beneficial as you can type in a reasonably long description for each entry across the screen e.g., 'John (Mobile)' rather than the sometimes cryptic displays on smaller screens e.g., 'J mob' and you can never remember is it John's or Joe's mobile, etc.

The only frustration is that unlike mobile phones, the caller's name does not show up on the screen when receiving a call, even if they are in your phone book. You can subscribe to BT's caller display service but a quarterly fee may apply, which seems incredible to charge for in this day and age.

The phone is nice looking and fits upright neatly into a small cradle for recharging. There is also a button on the cradle 'Find' which rings the phone to help you locate it, if you've forgotten where you last put it.

The phone is fitted with two AAA Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) (with minimum capacity of 600mAh) rechargeable batteries. Obviously I cannot yet vouch for longevity of the batteries as I have only had the phone for a month. However, unlike the specialist cordless phone batteries they do not seem to be too expensive to replace I have seen them for about £1 each . The handset seems to offer a long life before needing to recharge: 100 hours standby time or 10 hours (600 minutes) talk time, so hopefully I shouldn't have any problems for some time.

The range of this phone is approximately 300 metres from the cradle. There is small antenna symbol on the display screen which flashes when you are out of range. The signal is generally very good and much better than my old BT synergy phone.

To summarise this is a simple attractive phone, which has all the basic functions you should require. It has a clear display, easier to navigate menus, pleasant ring tones and a good clear signal.

Phone Measurements

Length - 14cm (approx)
Width - 5.5 cm (approx)
Depth - 3 cm (approx)

I bought this phone for £20 from Currys.