AT&T 1739 Corded Digital Answering System, White by AT&T
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Digital camera reviews of AT&T 1739 Corded Digital Answering System, White
Digital camera Review: Does the job, sounds a touch garbled
Summary: 4 Stars
About a decade ago, I had an tape-based answering machine die. It was a pain to use AND you could almost always clearly hear the message that was left. I replaced it with a combination telephone/answering machine/speaker phone -- which was really easy to use AND you could rely on it garbling the message at important points (such as in the middle of phone numbers). After nine years, I gave up on that machine when it recorded one message so poorly that the only words I could make out were, "and this is really important".
So, I purchased this machine. It has all of what you'd expect an answering machine to have: remote-access, choice on how many rings to answer after, detection and shut-off on a handset pickup, a readout showing how many messages are on the machine, playback, individual message deletion, and a day/time stamp. I've been using it for a little over a month and truly appreciate being able to hear message again -- albeit with the distortion that comes from either not using a high enough sampling rate or using too high a compression setting. The words can be heard and distinguished easily enough, but no one ever sounds quite like themself.
Overall I'm content with the machine: it does the job even as the sound is a touch garbled.
Digital camera Review: Easy to use for the elderly
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this answering machine for my 86 year old grandmother. Her old tape based answering machine finally stopped working and I needed to get her something very basic and simple to replace it with. This answering machine is just that. No fancy bells or whistles, just a big button to press to play her messages. Deleting messages is a little confusing for her, as you have to actually have the message playing when you press the delete button. Pressing the delete button after the message has played does nothing. Another pro of this machine for the elderly is that it is very LOUD, the volume goes nice and high for those with hearing loss.
Set up was easy with the directions included - I did that part for her. It has only been in use a couple of days, so I can't say what the long term quality of this machine is, but initial impressions are that it is a very basic, easy to use answering machine.
Digital camera Review: Easy, Cheap. Efficient
Summary: 5 Stars
As with another reviewer, I got fed up with fancy voice-mail systems (requiring a monthly fee). So I ditched v-m and got this machine. It's small, it's reliable, and it sounds fine. It doesn't interfere with our phone which announces the caller, so now I can ignore "Number Not Provided" calls, get my messages without fuss, and quit paying monthly fees. The machine was very easy to set up. All I needed was a little gizmo that converts the one-jack connection at the wall into a 2-jack connection. Maybe the machine won't last a year (I've had for only two months), but if so, I'll buy a new one and still be in money!Digital camera Review: Easy, economical, but sound could be improved
Summary: 4 Stars
I really like this machine because it is a lot more intuitive than the vtech we have on another line.
This ease-of-use is due partly a brief written tutorial included with the phone in case you need it, but even nicer is the fact that, as you're setting up the functions, the machine gives you audio instructions as well. I just LOVE products that do what they should without my having to read a novella to figure out how to make that happen, and if it's so easy to figure out that I don't need to read at all, I'll buy it. A well-designed product should be so self-explanatory that reading should be minimal, and I found that to be the case with this machine.
The only thing that could definitely be improved is the sound quality, both incoming and outgoing (my own greeting). It's sometimes hard to catch the name or number if people talk too fast or are calling from a cell. But it's not a major problem, and for the price, it's alright. I don't see the point in paying every month to get voice mail when this machine does precisely the same thing without storing my messages in someone else's server, and here I can save my messages to my heart's content without having to re-save after 21 days. We've all gotten those sweet greetings we never want to erase, and contact info on which we'll be following up periodically. Now, if ATT provided a way to get those off the machine and save in an audio file so we could run those as we're taking care of our follow-ups (helpful business app), that would be innovative and I'd love it.
As it stands, however, this machine provides a nice package of features. You can decide whether or not you want your messages broadcast as they come in, whether or not you want the phone numbers announced so you can hear it across the room and decide if the call is something you want to drop what you're doing to answer, you choose whether or not you want the number stored with the message, whether to accept blocked calls, receive a message alert (beeps every 15 seconds to let you know there's a new call if you forget to check when you come home), etc. You also get remote access, language setting, ring select (choose how many before the machine picks up, between 2 and 7), and a dedicated button for set-up.
All told, it's a nice little package for a just a few clams, and no monthly fee from the phone company.
I like it.
Digital camera Review: Exactly what I thought it would be
Summary: 5 Stars
I gave this as a present to my in-laws to replace another machine whose buttons no longer functioned. This one works perfectly for somebody who wants a basic answering machine. The sound was as good as any answering machine I've ever heard, and it was easy to setup and intuitive to use (i.e. buttons were of familiar purpose and functionality). This is a basic system and priced accordingly. If it has all the features you want, it's a good deal.