Philips ID9372B

...On this handset however, Philips have used a high gloss finish on the sides but kept the front of the unit (the bit that comes into contact with you) a matt finish dramatically reducing the need for constant cleaning. A nice little touch inside the box is the inclusion of two large spectacle type cleaning cloths to keep your phone looking its optimum.

Features
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One of the main features ...
...to do this on the Philips phone involves holding down a dedicated key for at least two seconds which can seem irritatingly time consuming. Entering numbers into a text can also be a little annoying also as you have to press the relevant key several times (e.g to get the number "2", you would have to press the key 4 times) on a mobile phone numbers can usually be substituted by holding down keys. A useful feature with the SMS function on ... more

I purchased this phone approximately four weeks ago primarily as an upgrade to my existing hand sets. Prior to purchase I had no particular brand in mind and was driven primarily by features and price. To date I have been pleasantly surprised with its performance and only come across a couple of minor niggly points.

Description
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The phone is a set of two handsets and base units with an integrated answer phone. The larger of the two bases incorporates a digital answer machine and is the connection point to the phone line. Te second of the two bases operates independently of a phone line and can be located any where around the house.

Design
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The design of the phone is very sleek and modern. I must admit this was one of the appeals of the phone as the design does compliment very well the new BT Homehub 2.0 that I have. The base units are finished in a high gloss black finish likewise the handsets themselves.
What is very well thought out is the design of the handset. Whilst the high gloss finish does look very elegant, it is a proverbial pain in the rear to keep clean as it shows up finger marks very easily. On this handset however, Philips have used a high gloss finish on the sides but kept the front of the unit (the bit that comes into contact with you) a matt finish dramatically reducing the need for constant cleaning. A nice little touch inside the box is the inclusion of two large spectacle type cleaning cloths to keep your phone looking its optimum.

Features
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One of the main features of the phone is the incorporation of an answering machine. Messages are recorded digitally rather than the old tape machines of the past. Up to fifteen minutes of recordings can be stored before needing to delete old messages. Whilst this may not sound a lot, the average message left consists of a very brief "Call me back on ......" which usually consists of a 15 - 30 second message. Playback of messages is very simple via the menu facility of either handset and can even be accessed whilst away from home by dialling your home phone and entering a unique PIN.

The main reason for buying this phone was the ability to send and receive SMS text messages. Although not widely advertised, anyone with BT Option 3, actually has 200 free text messages per month included in their package. Consequently I was of the opinion "if they're included, I might as well use them". Text messaging is very straight forward and is done in exactly the same way you would expect on a mobile phone. The only slight irritation with text input is switching from upper to lower case. On most mobile phones, this is done by pressing either the star, hash or similar key. However to do this on the Philips phone involves holding down a dedicated key for at least two seconds which can seem irritatingly time consuming. Entering numbers into a text can also be a little annoying also as you have to press the relevant key several times (e.g to get the number "2", you would have to press the key 4 times) on a mobile phone numbers can usually be substituted by holding down keys. A useful feature with the SMS function on the phone is the ability to have up to nine different mailboxes, ideal if there are several different family members using the facility.

The main base unit has a slide out panel which allows you to insert the sim card from your mobile phone and transfer all your phone book records either to or from your Philips handset. Whilst this facility is very very useful in terms of saving time inputting names and numbers, I did find quite a big flaw. On my Sony Ericsson mobile, I have different numbers stored under one name such as mobile, land line and fax etc. When transferring numbers from the sim card, only the first number rather than multiple entries under each name is transferred. Consequently, although sim transfer does save a lot of time by doing the bulk of the work, I still found myself carrying out several manual entries. Once all your names and numbers are stored, a useful feature is the ability to transfer either individual entries or a complete phone book from one handset to another, thereby providing very simple synchronisation between the two.

The LED display on the handsets is full colour providing a very clear and bright image. There are a number of different wallpaper designs built into the handset for personal preference. However unlike a mobile phone, you get what you get, it is not possible to download personal pictures to the phone. Whilst standing on the base unit, a screen saver kicks in after so many seconds and displays a low light analogue clock, very useful if you have a handset in a bedroom. When receiving calls, the phone is equipped with a caller ID feature. Basically this allows you to see who is calling you before answering. It should be noted however that this facility is dependant upon your service provider and is sometimes a chargeable optional extra provided by the phone company.

There are a variety of different ring tones built into the handset which can be selected according to choice. However like wise with the display settings, they can not be added to via downloads etc.

Philips have used what they call Xhd for sound reproduction on their handsets. I presume this is just some fancy name that has been dreamt up of in the marketing department. In the real world I have to say that the sound quality is nothing short of exceptional! Compared to my old phone (which I had thought was good) the quality of sound during a call is superb and crystal clear. As with most cordless phones there is the facility to use hands free which can be useful when you need to make notes etc. during a call. On my old phone, I frequently ended up picking the handset back up as the person as the on other end had difficulty hearing me and visa-versa. Philips is the first phone I have come across where hands free is a reality rather than just another feature. Likewise with standard calling, the sound quality when using hands free is nothing short of excellent.

As with most twin or multiple pack phones, there is a paging facility between handsets. This can be useful or not, depending on weather you actually want the other half to be able to reach you whilst you're down the bottom of the garden. A useful feature for any one with small children is the ability to use one of the handsets as a baby monitor.

In an attempt to emulate a mobile phone, there are three games built into the handset. Nothing particularly exciting, although I did give in to temptation and have a game of Tetris (obvious sign of boredom). As with display and ring tones it is not possible to add to these.

Battery life I have found to be quite good. I have in the past left the handset off the charger for several days and still been able to make or receive a call without any problems.

If you have small inquisitive children or even older ones who like to run the phone bill up, there is an option to disable the handsets via a key-lock. Additionally, calling can be disabled requiring the user to enter a PIN before the phone can be used.

Negative Points
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I am pleased to say that for all the positives, I have yet to find just two negative points.
The first one as mentioned above is the design flaw in copying address books from a sim card. However as this is not a daily function, it more of a minor irritation rather than a major problem.

The second is the missed call feature. On the top of each handset, there is a red flashing light that alerts you instantly to any missed calls. I have to admit the feature is a good idea as it alerts you without the need to check the handset every time you get back home. However when you clear this alert, it only clears it from the one handset. It can be a little confusing or annoying when you approach the second handset to find that it is still flashing away to show the same missed call. What would have been ideal would have been to clear missed call alerts from both handsets simultaneously. In contrast, each handset has to be cleared independently. I would imagine this to be a real annoyance if purchasing the triple or quad pack version of this phone.

Price
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As with most things it really does pay to shop around. The price of these phones varies tremendously with high street prices ranging from £70 - 100. Personally I got mine new from the infamous ebay for a little over £45. The phones are GAP compatible, meaning in theory they can be linked with any other brand of GAP compatible phone. However, if you wanted to add the same brand and model of phone they tend to retail around the £40 mark for additional handset / charger units.

Further information and support
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Interestingly, despite being sold in the UK by most high street names including Argos, Comet etc. they do not feature on Philips UK web site. They do however feature on their global website. Should you ever loose and require instruction manuals, these are available to download direct from the Philips website. Additionally Philips provide an on-line trouble shooting guide should you experience any difficulties setting up your phone.

Summary
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If asked would I recommend these phones it would be a resounding yes! They do excel in both looks and quality of performance. Admittedly there are a couple of points that could have been a little better thought out in the design, but then again I don't believe the 100% perfect consumer product has yet to be marketed.  

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