Cons:
Retrieving old messages requires pushing button for an extended time.
The Bottom Line:
Heartily recommended: adequate quality, good features, easily mastered.
Overall Rating:
Author's Review
After reading reviews complaining of poor sound quality and excess complexity, I was pleasantly surprised with the unit. The number of buttons is few compared to the number of features. A little study makes them perfectly clear. The sound quality, while it could be better, is adequate for the task. I was able to rerecord voice mail from the phone company onto the unit with no discernable voice degradation. The memo record feature is great for putting messages on the machine that others in the household should hear -- such as recorded messages of doctors' appointments and scheduled events.
I am particularly fond of the male announcing voice that I also had on an old AT&T unit. Given the limited bandwidth of these units, the lower male voice sounds more natural to me. The unit features faster or slower playback of the message with pitch correction which can save time or improve comprehension while maintaining quality. It works well. The caller ID is also a useful feature.
The unit is a welcome change from telephone company voicemail, allowing us to screen calls and still get them after the message has started. When retrieving a message, one need only press a button rather than dialing a number, entering a code and prompting the playback. The only annoying feature for me has been the wait required pushing a mailbox button before the unit will play back an old message. I find that "feature" pointless and time consuming. Apart from that I heartily recommend it.