Philips 515

Everyone these days needs a phone, most people choosing some form of mobile rather than a ‘land line’ option. But for those people who want a bit of both, a land line one with the looks and similar style to a mobile, there are a few out there on the market which will make you happy, (and some that will make your bank manager weep into his yearly bonus).

Unfortunately, if you’re anything like me, then these types of phones, the land line/ mobile looking ones, (technically called cordless I think), then you may lose a few handset every now and then, usually down the toilet, or even dropped in the sink. Although I have lost them in sillier places, such as in the bubbling brook at the end of my garden, (tempers do flare somewhat when speaking to fools on the phone).
Anyway, when this happens it is a matter of kicking myself and replacing the phones one more time, promising myself, and the wife, that I’ll be more careful with the new one.
So a few months ago, after yet another mishap with my home phone, (accidentally of course), I was on the prowl for another cordless phone with at least two handsets, one for the main room and another for the bedroom/office.

Fortunately, when I came across this particular phone, from a well known company, I managed to get it at a cracking price, especially as it came with three hand sets and even included the batteries form each one, even if it was a few years old and, in the eyes of the fashion police, a little out of ‘vogue‘, but it has certainly done the job it has supposed to do.

The phone I am talking about is from the well known company called Philips, the actual name of the phone being the Philips DECT 515...

Firstly, I have to say for those people who do not know what DECT stand for, it stands for Digital Enhanced Cordless Telephones, which are designed to give a better signal.

** Now for the specs of this particular phone…

• The main base, being the answering machine, is a dark silver colour, being approximately 120 by 130 by 60mm in size and has a built in load speaker.
• It has a digital answering machine, which is capable of holding approximately 30 minutes of messages.
• The base unit can connect up to six handsets
• The handset measures a nice 120 by 40 by 30, each one requiring two AAA rechargeable batteries, (which are supplied)
• A fully charged battery has up to 200 hours stand by time and approximately 900 minutes talk time
• It has an 40mm four line LCD display with an orange backlight for easier viewing.
• In built address book which can hold up to 60 names and numbers and a last caller display.
• Each handset has a range of between 50 to 300 metres, depending on whether you’re indoors or out, plus what is between the handset and the base.

** It offers…

• Conference call
• Call waiting
• Caller ID
• Built in alarm
• And more

You can buy either the single phone, with the answer machine, or you can opt for more hand sets in the pack, up to six.
I have the triple set myself, the main answer machine in the lounge, one of the phones in my bedroom and the other in the kitchen.You only need to plug the main one into the main telephone socket but all the units will need an electricity supply for charging up, especially the answer phone one which, without power, will not work at all.
The answer phone is so simple to use, with four buttons on the front and a little light to show you that the answering machine is actually on.
The buttons are:

• On and Off
• Play
• Next message
• Delete.

The buttons on each handset are more or less standard on most phones, with the main button for answering or making a call being in the centre just below the LCD screen.
Then the load speaker button being to the left whilst the cancel button to the right.
Below them there are the usual number buttons.
Below the number buttons there are the a handset locator button and an sms option.The LCD screen may be a little on the small side, although not tiny, but it is clear enough to give you ample information without any hassle.
Information such as…

• Battery power level
• Messages received
• Mute
• External/internal call in progress
• Load speakers
• SMS messages received
• Handset in range of base

On the side of the handset to the left of the LCD screen there is the menu button which, when pressed, opens up the many options on the phone so you can set it to your personal preference by scrolling through.Such options as…

• Choose language
• Set date and time
• Setting the ringtones, both for base unit and handsets.
• Naming handsets.
• Babysit mode, which allows this to be used as a baby monitor using the intercom mode,(this only work if you have more than one handset).
• Setting the screen saver and LCD lighting

And more.

** IN CONCLUSION…

This is by far one of the best cordless phones I have come across, especially for the price I paid anyway.
It offers everything that any home phone needs and is so simple to use, you simply plug each unit in and, once fully charged, you’re ready to make and take all those calls, or, if you want to, you can screen your calls with the ID caller option or wait for the caller to speak through the crystal clear built in speaker which is discretely hidden on the rear of the main base.

The main base unit, which needs to be constantly plugged into both an electricity supply and the telephone socket, although the other units don’t need the telephone socket connection, is a nice ‘triangular’ shape and sits quite proudly on the telephone table in the corner of the room, with the handset settling nicely onto the two pins for charging, the wires slotting in well position grooves on the underside of the unit so that it doesn’t wobble.

As for what this phone offers, well, once I’d searched through the menu section, setting each hand set with its own ring tone, (don’t ask, I just couldn’t decide which ring tone to choose), I out the phone to the test, making calls to friends, work colleagues and the local takeaways on several occasions I was well impressed with the results.
The hand set speakers were crystal clear, although when using the load speaker on the hand set if the person you were speaking to speaks too loudly there is a little bit of sound distortion.
When actually speaking to people, so they told me, was as clear as a bell too, with some even stating that they could clearly hear what was happening in the background in my home, the television, radio or more than likely the kids screaming about something or other.

The answering machine works a treat and, as I said, is so simple to use. The messages are clear and easily understood, although this does depend on the caller themselves in some cases. And once you’ve listened to the messages you simply press the red cross button and the message is deleted, one by one. Or you could save those messages by simply skipping along them without deleting, the machine has more space than you need for storing messages.

As for the internal intercom, well, this works a treat and saves shouting around the home when you want something. You simply press the menu button, scroll through to intercom, select which ‘unit’ you want to connect to and press the menu button once more. The call being as clear as any other but with no cost at all as it is an internal. If you happen to misplace the hand set you simply press the button on the handset bases and listen out for the tone from the misplaced handset, then, as long as the dog’s not eaten it, you can find the handset and put it back where it belongs.
Then there’s the actual address book, which really does come in handy as it holds more than enough names that any average family will ever need, and is a matter of using the menu button and scroll method to find the number you want.

What more can I say about this good looking silver triangular digital cordless phone, it may not be the most modern on the market and is not the cheapest by far, but if you want clarity on calls and the ability to roam around you home whilst chatting then this is certainly one to look at.

As I said earlier I managed to get this triple pack for a cracking price indeed, in fact, after a quick search on line, I discovered that even now sells for between £80 and £110, remember this is a triple pack, so what I paid was really a steal.
Do you really want to know the price? Well, if your sure, I managed to get this triple pack for a penny short of £40.00 from a local shop, yes you heard right, £39.99, just because the box was slightly damaged and, according to Martin, (the shop owner), it was taking up room on his shelves.