Plantronics CT12 2.4 GHz DSS Cordless Headset Phone with Caller ID
by Plantronics
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Our Price: $239.95 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $40.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Plantronics CT12 2.4 GHz DSS Cordless Headset Phone with Caller ID
Customer Review: This phone made my life (and my relationship) better
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this phone because I have a girlfriend that lives on another continent and I spend at least an hour per night talking with her on the phone. Before, after about 45 minutes on the phone my shoulder, neck, and ear would start hurting from having a large plastic handset held up to my face, I would get cranky and eager to get off the phone, we would end the conversation upset. Since I bought this I no longer have to hold a phone up to my ear for hours at a time, nor do the stupid shoulder shrug to type while I am talking. I can walk around the house with both hands free and not feel chained to a phone line. I no longer have to explain to my girlfriend, "No, everything is fine, I'm not annoyed with you, my shoulder just hurts from holding this stupid phone to my head." In short, it is one of those seemingly simple purchases that really improved my quality of life.
As for the product: the dialing unit is slightly wider and about the same thickness and height of my clamshell cellphone (a Motorola v60). So it is small enough to put in my pocket while I am talking or I can use the belt clip if desired. The dialing unit also includes a LCD to display options, stored phone numbers and caller ID.
The connection quality is very good and clear, equal to or better than all cordless phones I have used. I do not have any problem with interference, though I am not using wireless internet in my apartment. The signal is also pretty strong, I was able to walk out of my apartment, about 150 to 200 feet down the hall, up stairs and to the laundry room without dropping the call. The signal got weak and staticky at the furthest point, but it recovered when I moved closer to my apartment from one floor above.
The padding on the earpiece helps block out background noise and makes it comfortable to use for over 1 or 2 hours at a time. It also is compatible with the plug on my cellphone, so now I even use the headset for talking on my cellphone in the house.
If I had to say anything negative about the product, it is that the red LED on the tip of the microphone does not serve much of a purpose. I feel like a radio or cellphone tower with that thing glowing on and off in my perepheral vision. But when I use the headset with my cellphone the LED doesn't come on. If it really bothered me I could put tape over it. I suppose the reason for the LED is to warn you the phone is on in case you use this phone for business and wear the headset all day or if you set the unit down on the table to go the bathroom or something.
Overall I am extremely pleased with the cordless phone and it has definitely been the most useful purchase I have made in a long time. I am never going back to a handheld-type phone.
Customer Review: I love this phone
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm inclined to believe I have phone phobia because I generally try to avoid talking on the phone. I got this phone about a year ago and it is my favorite phone of all time. It's like not talking on a phone, so I get very comfortable while talking with it on. If it's not on and I know it's going to be an extended phone call, I always track it down and switch over to it when talking. For some reason, I'm not as perturbed. I actually enjoy using it. It's extremely easy to program both for ring styles and local/long distance numbers so you can easily use one-button dialing for returning calls. I have the rings programmed so that I can tell which of my loved ones are calling. (I give my sons the same ring so I know just to pick it up w/o looking.) The headset is very comfortable and I asked if people had a hard time hearing me. Not at all. The numbers pads are small so you really have to watch what you're doing, but it's the only negative and that is really not a major or even minor problem for me. No big deal. I enjoy using it very much and very happy I got it, even at the price.
UPDATE 4/17/2007
I am still using this phone from my kitchen counter. It's inconvenient to answer calls directly from this phone because you have to slip it over your head first as there is no way to answer it from the charger, so I almost never use it to answer the phone; but if I know I'm going to be on the phone for an extendend time or have to do "intensive" phone sessions, I always switch to this phone. I just turn the handset facing in towards my body and clip it to my clothing's neckline, waist or pocket. If I just clip it on facing outwards, I inevitably bend over or catch it on something and it falls off! Also, a small plastic piece broke off the headset and I have to manually slip the headset "wire" back into the headset before slipping the headset on; but once on -- only takes a second or two to slip the wire back in -- no problem. If this phone "dies," I'll probably get another one as I really like it that much and have used all other kinds of headphones and devices without as much satisfaction. This is from a gadget junkee who's only limited by finances in what I won't try till I get it right. :-)
Customer Review: I highly recomment it - perfect for the home office
Summary: 5 Stars
PROS:
* - The headset is comfortable and can be worn several different ways. I wear it using the over head configuration. I forget it is even on.
* - The foam cushion on the earpiece is very soft wand comfortable.
* - The headset uses the a standard 2.5mm jack, which is compatible with cell phones and other cordless phones. (In fact I use it in the car with my cell phone, and at home with my other phones).
* - The sound is crisp and clear; much better than the spearker in my cell phone. I can clearly hear high and low pitched voices.
* - Callers say they can hear me perfectly.
* - The range is very good, about 30 feet through several walls. I don't get interference from electronic equipment (laptops, computers, UPC, microwave, power supplies, etc).
* - Long battery and talk time is great.
CONS:
* - The blinking light on the headset is annoying.
* - The unit is heavier than my cell phone.
* - The buttons are small and hard to press. It would be impossible if I had wide stubby fingers. Raised hard plastic buttons, with a raised rim to prevent accidental pressing, would be a great improvement.
* - You need light in order to use this product. The buttons are not backlight, and the LCD quickly goes dark.
* - The mute needs to be held down for a while before it activates.
* - Redial and call back using the CID are goofy. Long distance numbers show up in the standard format: 555-411-1212. But I can't call this person back using caller ID because it doesn't prepend the "1", and it doesn't allow me to do it either. On other phones I could dial "1", then press the CID button, scroll to the number, and make the long distance call. With this phone I have to write the number down first, then manually dial it.
Despite the minor flaws, I still rate this a 5/5, because it performs its primary function very well: providing crisp clear phone communications with no static, good range, and a small portable dialing unit.
Customer Review: Perfect for My Needs
Summary: 5 Stars
I just received my CT12 yesterday, and used it for several hours today so I wanted to give my review now. I charged it overnight, plugged it into a phone jack and away I went. I did not have to do any adjustments, it worked perfectly from the start. I like the over-the-head setup better than the over-the-ear just because the latter seems a bit heavy, so it's nice that both are provided. I was comfortable wearing it all day. I walked around the house making calls, and answering them. I found the remote unit to be very handy - I would dial a call then clip it to my shirt neckline. I like the caller-id feature, too. As for clarity, I asked several people how clear my voice sounded and they said it was very good. I was able to hear as well as on a handset. Obviously I haven't used all the features yet, but I've used all those that are really important to me. I asked Plantronics about the complaints about the plastic piece on the headset breaking and they said they have modified it so it won't break. We'll see.
UPDATE Jan. 23, 2005 - I've had my CT12 for 5 months now and still love it. I use it for 3-5 hours almost every day. The range is as great I would want it to be, it's very comfortable, and I can move around with it. When I'm expecting a call I don't want to miss I just put the dialer in my pocket and I can do anything around the house. I don't use the belt clip anymore as it is too loose most of the time, but I don't need it. I did have a problem after a while with the connection from the headseat to the dialer but sent it back to Plantronics and they sent me a new one very quickly.
UPDATE Aug. 28, 2010 - Pretty fantastic little phone. I got in in Aug. 2004 and except for an early problem with the connection (for which Plantronics quickly sent me a replacement) I have not had a single problem with it and it's still going strong. After 6 years of daily use, sometimes for several hours, that's pretty fantastic.
Customer Review: Happy with it
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had mine for a week or two now. It's one of the best things I've ever bought. It sounds clear and no one has any trouble hearing me. I haven't had an opportunity to test its range yet. I do have a few qualms with it. Really they are more like suggestions for the next version of this headset.They need to come up with a better way of attaching the headset cord to the control box. I first tried just plugging in the cord straight into the control box like the diagram shows. Unfortunately the first time I accidentally knocked the unit off my belt and the control box reached the end of the slack in the cord the headset plug popped out of the jack in the control box. After that I started looping the slack through under the belt clip. That way the connector is pulled down into the jack rather than up and out of the jack. That helped. I don't knock if off very often. There's probably a slick way of engineering better cable management. I just can't think of if at the moment.
I also wish I could set the microphone sensitivity. The mic picks up my breathing from time to time. I've tried placing the mic below my chin and even up as high as my nose. It's not catching actual wind. Instead it's actually picking up the sound of my breathing. Being able to adjust the sensitivity would be nice.
The only suggestion I can think of is for the engineers to make it easier to blindly find more of the important buttons. Only the "5" button has a raised dot in the button surface to tell the user where his finger is. It would be nice if the Talk and End buttons also had something unique on each to guide the ever blind finger. Mute is also likely to be used blindly. It wouldn't hurt to give that button a texture as well.
Other than that I'm really happy with this unit. I've wondered if I could use a 802.11b access point in bridging mode to extend the range of this unit. It's possible I suppose...