BT Paragon 550 Corded Telephone with Answering Machine, White

It's a pretty old-fashioned concept -- a corded landline phone with a built-in answering machine. The choice of ringtones is rather what you'd have got from a cellphone fifteen years ago. Most of the ringtones are naff beyond description, but there are a few that are simple enough not to be embarrassing.We needed a corded phone, because the cordless one was playing havoc with the WiFi router, and an answering machine because my parents insist on calling the landline number. I get why the other reviews are so negative -- this is really ancient technology. However, the phone works really well and the answerphone is really easy to use.It would be fine to buy one of these for elderly relatives who cannot work a cellphone. The keys and screen are really big and bright, and the controls are obvious and work well. Great value at the price.

We needed a phone with a built in answer phone. This one fit the bill and we are pleased with it. Easy to set up and to use. Menu options are clear and the answer phone works well. We have recorded our own personal message. The options for the ringtone are numerous and not that brilliant as far as having an option for a straightforward ring but we have found one that works perfectly well. Pleased overall with the product and how it performs.

Despite having a set of cordless phones around the house I always keep a wired phone plugged in just in case of an emergency during a power cut. My old one wasn't working that well any more so I decided to buy this one as a replacement. It's a very presentable looking phone which is nicely laid out with good-sized buttons which are easy to use for larger or older fingers, and I find it to be clearly marked too.The digital display will only work when the unit is plugged in although the phone itself will still make and receive calls when it isn't powered. It is possible to program the phone with names and numbers so that when a call is received the caller's name appears in the display (provided you have caller display enabled) which I find very handy when ignoring cold-callers. Because the phone does not have a battery back-up I was worried that all of the numbers that I have saved would be lost in the event that it was unplugged, but I needn't have worried; they were all still there afterwards. It did forget the time and date but that is automatically set again as soon as you make a phone call, or it can be done manually if you prefer.The handset is comfortable to hold and the sound quality is very good. I find it to be very clear, and it's possible to easily adjust the volume on the earpiece simply by using the large button on the base unit. The wires for plugging it in and also connecting to the phone box were easily long enough to reach and I think that it is a very well-made product. The only thing that I don't like about it is the ringtones - there were quite a few to choose from but I don't really like any of them. If you want a standard ring tone then you'd better look elsewhere as this one only has more modern ones, including some polyphonic ringtones. I did manage to find one that I could use, but I prefer ringtones to be kept simpler. On balance it is still a very good phone and I do not regret choosing this one.

Well, I agree with most of the other reviews that say that this phone is good, but it could be a lot better.Probably the two things that really annoy me area) despite setting my chosen ringtone the phone decides, of it's own free will, when it so chooses, without warning, to change to the most annoying ring tone imaginable.b) the delay before it rings, when a call is incoming, is about 2 seconds.From a business point of view it's ok as long as you are in a quiet environment and no more that a couple of feet from the phone. I'm in a slightly noisy(ish) environment in that I have a small, fan gas-heater on sometimes, and I cannot hear the phone ring. I now have to have a cordless phone aswell to be able to tell me the phone is going when the heater is on.With regards the ringtone, if you take the batteries out to reset the phone then you loose all your settings and stored numbers. I think BT need to stop and think about their ringtones because they are enough to make you want to throw this phone out of the window. In an average office environment their choice of ringtones should ensure that a health and safety warning is placed on the phone itself stating 'BEWARE OF LOW FLYING BT PHONES'..........apart from that, not bad.

I have lived with this phone for a week now and I like it more and more. The sound is especially sharp and clear, and the menus are easy to navigate. The only down side is that it does not respond immediately to an incoming call, maybe a 2 or 3 second lag. But if you can live with that, it is a very friendly phone to use.