BT Synergy 4500

The synergy 4500 twin from BT is one of the most innovative home phones around, combining up-to-date functions with a sleek and fashionable outer design. This slim black handset houses some pretty useful features including a sim card reader, 255 name phone book and dialled calls memory as well as other features you may expect such as an answering machine and caller display. The fact that this phone is cordless is also a big advantage, especially ...
...got this information from the BT web site so I'm not sure what went on there. Anyway, here's a correct list of the features:

- Sim card reader - I have found this to be the most useful feature of this phone as not only is it convenient to have all you favourite numbers on hand rather then re-key them in every time, but it also makes a safe copy of all your numbers in case you loose your mobile phone.

- Range up to 300m ... more

The synergy 4500 twin from BT is one of the most innovative home phones around, combining up-to-date functions with a sleek and fashionable outer design. This slim black handset houses some pretty useful features including a sim card reader, 255 name phone book and dialled calls memory as well as other features you may expect such as an answering machine and caller display. The fact that this phone is cordless is also a big advantage, especially for people like me who prefer to wander around as they chat. We have owned this phone for around 6 months now and considering that we only purchased it as it was the cheapest handset in the store, it has been very reliable and hasn't let us down.

Product features

When shopping around for a new phone, I was particularly impressed with this model due to the range of easy-to-use features included with it compared to other handsets of a similar value. This is the part that Ciao seem to have got incorrect as I got this information from the BT web site so I'm not sure what went on there. Anyway, here's a correct list of the features:

- Sim card reader - I have found this to be the most useful feature of this phone as not only is it convenient to have all you favourite numbers on hand rather then re-key them in every time, but it also makes a safe copy of all your numbers in case you loose your mobile phone.

- Range up to 300m outdoors and 50m indoors - helpful to people who like to spend a lot of time out in their gardens without the having the hassle of running to answer the telephone. The indoor range of 50m is ample for most houses, so really allows the user to wander.

- Text service - Allows you to send and receive text messages like you would with a mobile phone. In order to see your messages, you will need to subscribe to the BT caller ID service at no extra charge. Otherwise you can choose to opt-out and receive messages in the form of a voice message read by one of those robot voices. These messages are charged at the standard rate and are handy when you have run out of mobile credit or just want to run up a large phone bill for your parents (the main reason I use it!) This service allows you to store up to 50 messages on the phone memory, which should be enough for most households.

- Conference call - Lets you have a three-way conversation using both your phones and an external caller. This phone also has the function of making internal calls between the two phones, which is a useful tool if you have more than one storey to your home and are tired of shouting all the time.

- Up to 10 hours talk and 100 hours stand by time - Makes this handset comparable to most mobile telephones on the market. It means that you are able to take this phone all around the house without charging it for over 4 days.

- 255 name and number storage - in conjunction with the sim card reader, you can also input extra numbers to the phone's memory. This makes it very easy to find the number you want, without having to re-type it every time.

- Answering machine - saves up to 11.5 minutes of messages onto the phone's memory. Comes with a polite default message by another one of those robot women or has the option of recording your own. Very good feature to have if you remember to actually switch it on every time you leave the house. The answer machine display is very easy to navigate, with the number of messages lit up in red and skip/repeat buttons on either side of this. On you have listened to the message, you have the option of saving or deleting it.

- 15 ringing tones - ranging from the classic 'ring ring' to more extravagant tunes, all of which can be adjusted in volume to make them easier to hear for the owner.

The look

This phone has a very contemporary design compared to other, more cumbersome models on the market that look like they're still in the eighties. Its design is very sleek and easy to hold due to its minuscule weight. The front face of the phone is matte black, with easy to read silver menu keys. When a button is pressed, the screen lights up in an appealing shade of cobalt blue making the black text within it clearly visible. One disadvantage about the appearance may be that the number keys have white lettering on a black background, which may be difficult for partially sighted people to decipher. The main display screen shows the time, date and location of the phone (kitchen, living room etc) so you know where to return it to. Both phones sit firmly into their neat little docks, the only distinguishing feature between them being the answer machine on one of the stands. Both of the phone stands house another useful feature in the form of the 'find' button. When pressed, this button makes the handset ring so you can easily find it if it has been misplaced. All in all, a very compact phone that's barely bigger than an average mobile phone and just as appealing to look at.

Installation

The phone is fairly straightforward to install. Following the guide in the instruction manual, all you have to do is plug the main phone into your existing phone socket and plug the other one in. Here comes the catch though, you have to leave the phones to fully charge for 24 hours before use which means unplugging them from the phone socket for this time. We found this irritating not having a phone for a whole day and started using the phone before the stated time, as we needed to keep in touch with certain family members at that time. This has not affected the performance of the phone so far as we keep them on charge for most of the day.

Ease of use

The number keys on this phone are ergonomically designed and give a 'positive' click when pressed. They are spaced far enough apart for most hands, big or small, to operate them.
The menu system is pretty much the same to use as a mobile phone, with the centre button providing the menu and the green and red buttons giving positive and negative responses respectively. Scrolling through the menu, you are given sub-menus for the answer machine, text service, handset settings, base settings, date and time settings and registration. I have written a bit more detail about each of these below:

Answer machine: Switch the answer machine on or off, record memo, answer mode, answer delay, message alert and remote access code.

Text menu: write message, inbox, outbox and text settings.

Handset settings: ringer volume, ringer melody, ear volume, auto answer, handset name, language and warning tones.

Base settings: ringer volume, ringer melody, pin code, dial mode and restore settings.

Date and time settings: set date, set time and set alarm.

Registration, register base, select base and de-register handset.

The user guide that comes with the phone is very straightforward and outlines all of the set up information and basic functions using diagrams with images of the different screens. Using this guide, it is possible to set up both phones from a single hone socket. If you purchase an extra phone to this twin pack, you can link it easily to your existing phone system.

Making/answering calls

To make a call, all you have to do is type in the number and press the green button, no surprises there. To search for an existing number, just press the top centre button to access the phone book and then use the arrow keys to scroll through the entries. During the call it is possible to put the speakerphone on by pressing the green button again. To end the call just press the red button.

How you answer a call depends on where the phone is. If the phone is in its stand, then all you need to do is pick up the phone and speak. If the phone is out of its stand, then you will need to press the green button before answering the call.

Price and availability

We paid around £65 for this phone and since have discovered that it is available for a lower cost. This phone can be purchased from around £50 to £90 in various electrical retailers, so it is definitely worth shopping around for the best price. It is available in triple form for around £110 and quad form for around £130. I have drawn up a small price comparison below to show the retailers that stock this item:

Argos - £89.95
Currys - £89.99
BT shop - £64.95
Big box shop - £45.91

There are obviously major differences in the price of this product, the upper limit being what I would class as extortionate - there's no way this twin pack is worth nearly £90! If purchased for the lower price, I would class this phone as good value for money because of all the features available with it.

Within there are 2 cordless handsets, 1 base unit with a plug, 1 base unit with an answer machine display and telephone cable, batteries and an instruction manual.

Product specifications

- Integrated antenna
- Audible battery alert
- Rechargeable battery
- VoIP enabled
- Cordless phone DECT\GAP standard

Would I recommend?

Overall this cute little phone is very handy for people who like to walk as they talk due to the fact that it's cordless. I would highly recommend this product for its range of integrated features and the ease of use of these features as well as the menu system. The only disadvantage I have found with this product is that certain individuals may not be able to see the keys very clearly, but there are specialised phones on the market for partially sighted people so this isn't all that relevant to this particular model. Another potential disadvantage is the price of this phone, but as long as you shop around it is easy to find a great deal on it. The advantages of this phone far outweigh the disadvantages as its combination of looks and practicality were always going to be a winning combination.

This phone requires 2x AAA batteries, which are provided.

For a detailed list of product specifications visit www.bt.shop.co.uk. 

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