Don't much about the NEC so can't comment either way. You should look at it also.
As far as the Partner, what we liked about it was
1. Backlit LCD screens that you can adjust the brightness of.
2. The ability to make 4 calling or page groups to hit all or certain areas.
3. Ring or voice call to an extension.
4. Hands free reply on a voicecall
5. The little voicemail card could act as a fax detector if one of the lines could be answered immediately with a greeting which would listen for the fax tone.
6. Cordless phones (basic with caller ID) are ok with R8, but as mentioned, the system versions are not great.
7. I hate call waiting but you can program a flash key.
8. You can program a different ring sound by line.
9. You can set auto privacy or make it button controlled.
10. You can add up to 2 door intercoms
11. There is a contact closure option for controlling a door or device like that.
12. It supports music on hold and you can play the source through the phone, but it isn't a Bose!
13. DND do not disturb is nice for the bedrooms or such.
14. You can program which lines are accessed for either inbound, outbound or when the handset is lifted.
15. Because it supports single line devices you can connect a modem, fax, postal meter, cordless or even a TV Cable box to the system for line sharing.
16. It has 100 number system wide and 20 number personal speed dial codes.
17. You can actually plug a single line device such as a $39.00 cordless or a corded single line headset into the Other port on the bottom of the phone and have a bridged connection with that phone. For example, if at your desk and you need to go mobile, just turn on the cordless and keep going. Makes it great for a headset such as the CT12 since you don't have to keep lifting the handset off the hook to use the headset for each call.
Thats my 2 cents!
