looking for home phone system recommendation

[NotThatTechie]

My boss would like to replace his current Panasonic home phone system with a new one. He has multiple lines (4) coming into his home and wants a system that will have some of the bells and whistles of small business systems.

caller ID
ringer control
Fax lines integrated
paging
wireless handsets
and a good battery backup solution -- they get numerous power outages in their neighborhood.


looking at the Partner ACS system... any others that I should look at?

 

[Dexman]

Cordless telephones are not one of the Partner ACS's strong points. With the R8 processor, Caller ID info will be passed to non-system telephones (corded & cordless).

The Transtalk 9040 was a full featured cordless telephone that could work with the Partner. Avaya discontinued it a while back. The replacement (3910) hasn't garnered many rave reviews.

There is a new cordless telephone in the works that, on paper, looks promising.

The ACS covers the other requirements nicely.

If it ain't broke, I haven't fixed it yet.

 

[skip555]

take a look at the NEC DSX 40 and EnGenis cordless phones

Any UPS will fit the bill it just depends on how long you want to keep it up

 

[NotThatTechie]

thank you for your feedback.. i will look into both of those options.

 

[mikedphones]

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!

 

[SYQUEST]

What is wrong with the Panasonic? What model is it? You did not mention the model. Does it not have the same features?

....JIM....

 

[Dexman]

I'm guessing that it is either a NoKSU unit or a 4 line cordless unit that was similar to a model sold by VTech several years ago.

If it ain't broke, I haven't fixed it yet.