Great Bargain Except for the Occasional Lemon

I recently began college in Pennsylvania. Of course, to be able to keep in touch with family and friends without having to pay a ton of money for a monthly cell phone plan, I needed to purchase a phone for my dorm room. Initially, I had thought about buying a cordless phone because of its portability; however, the school discouraged their use because I guess they sometimes don't work with the phone system (although I had seen students with cordless phones during an overnight visit).

In June, I decided to look for a phone to purchase. I decided to choose something inexpensive from a familiar brand. Of course, most phones now are cordless, so I was left with few choices. However, one of the choices Circuit City offered was AT&T. My parents have used AT&T products for years and have had no problems with them. Seeing the features this phone offered and the $10 price, I felt that this was the phone for me.

Ease of Use: This phone is very easy to use. Its slim design allows it to sit on a desk without taking up a lot of space. Right now, it sits on the edge of my desk right next to my computer mouse. I don't have to worry about hitting it due to its size. Setup is easy--just plug the phone line in and you're ready to go. The backlight also assists for making phone calls at night (or if the power goes out, as this phone doesn't run off electricity from the normal power feed).

The buttons are large, so virtually anybody should be able to accurately dial a number. The only drawback in this category is the cord. I cannot talk on the phone from anywhere except from my desk as my bed is too far away. If you can stand doing all your talking in one place, though, this shouldn't be an issue.

Features: This phone is packed with tons of features despite its low price. There is a 10-number speed dial function. Programming is relatively simple for having so few buttons and one only needs to hit the "Mem" button followed by the preset number to make a call. Emergency buttons are also included for programming and quick calling.

The phone's most surprising features are the Mute function and the ability to change ring tones. There are four different ring tones to choose from. Again, by reading the instructions and pressing a few buttons, the ring style can be changed. Also, if you want to talk behind someone's back while they're on the phone with you, just hit the Mute button. They can't hear you, but you can still hear them. I haven't used this feature yet, but I think of some uses for it (such as when I'm talking to my parents and I don't want them to hear something I say to my roommate).

Reliability: This has turned out to be the most disappointing part of this phone. The phone was working fine for the first 3 weeks of school. However, spontaneously one morning, my memory recall button would not work. I could press it, but I would not hear the confirmation "beep" I needed. Also, after pressing that button, I could not press any other buttons and get the confirmation beep unless I hit them twice. I was unable to use my memory presets, which included the authorization code I needed to make outside phone calls.

I wrote an e-mail to AT&T technical support and their answer surprised me--clean the keypad. I tried that to no avail. My only option was then to send the phone in for service as I had already passed Circuit City's return policy by a few months. I know the phone has a multi-year warranty, but I don't think paying to ship a $10 phone in for service and then waiting up to 30 days without a phone is worth it. I plan keeping this one as a backup should the power fail, but I have ordered a GE cordless phone as a replacement. I am disappointed because I didn't expect to have to alter my tight budget to buy a new phone. However, I do believe that this phone was a lemon and that AT&T phones have a great track record overall.

My advice: A great buy, but make sure you get some use out of your phone before the return policy in case the phone fails under normal use so you can return it without having to ship it for service.