BT Synergy 5500 DECT Single > Reviews (3)

The BT Synergy 5500 has been out for a while – but that doesn’t make it a bad phone, not by a long chalk (whatever that might be!)

The ‘Single’ unit comes with a base unit which plugs into the mains via a power adapter, and your telephone line. It contains the ‘wireless’ gubbins and a digital answering machine.

The handset pops into a docking slot, after a very brief setup routine, you’re in business (instructions recommend a 17 hour charging time)
What makes this a brilliant combo unit is that you can copy the phone numbers off your mobile SIM directly into the handset, so you’re not forced to re-enter the numbers.

You can assign one of about twenty ringtones to incoming calls (you need caller-ID enabled by your telecoms provider, that’s either free, or costs a couple of quid on your monthly bill)

- We have ‘Liberty bell’ for the inlaws (Monty Python theme)

Additional handsets and chargers can be bought on ebay for around £15, so if you need a replacement or just want to have more handsets, that isn’t too deadly.

Useful features; it has an easily accessable ’secrecy’ button which means that you can listen to your call without inflicting the caller with any background noise at your end, equally so, you can easily operate ‘handsfree’ – (the combination of both these features are especially handy for me as I do a lot of conference calls)

If you DO opt for a second unit, there’s an option to be able to do an internal call, which doesn’t connect you to the telephone network, and is therefore free.

The answering machine offers the usual features, date/timestamps on incoming calls, remote access and PIN security (word of advice, *don’t* make it the same last four digits of your telephone number – duh!)

Audio quality is reasonable enough, the microphone is pretty sensitive, so there’s no need to shout (her indoors still has to learn that! – no matter how often I explain, she still raises her voice enough to be heard clearly from the base unit)

I’ve noticed some wireless digital handsets offer coloured screens, I’ve never seen the point in that – no such nonsense with this unit – the closest you’ll get with this phone is a blue LED backlight to the handset (preference would be for green, as I believe it uses less power, but I have nothing firm to base this on)

If you subscribe to the ‘right’ services, you can text people, but I’ve never been tempted to take this out on my landline contract.

Radio range is entirely adequate for my needs, extending to every part of my house, and covers my entire (admittedly small) garden.

Battery life has never been an issue given that I replace the handset into the base unit when it isn’t in use.

Sometimes mobile handsets have a built in ‘best before’ feature, needing replacement rechargeable batteries every few years, these (if you can find them) are sometimes nearly as expensive as a new phone itself, the 5500 uses NiMh AA batteries, which can be had from such illustrious shops as poundland for a quid a set.

In summary – a highly practical, extra bonus points awarded for being able to copy number sto/ from your mobile SIM and a decent range.

Who could ask for more?