Motorola MA351 2.4 GHz Analog Cordless Phone with Caller ID (Silver)

I had been looking for a 2.4GHz phone for a while. I wanted a great color-matched home/office phone with good reception, Caller ID, backlit LCD and buttons, and not on the heavy side. The phone also needed to be friendly to my WIFI / 802.11b wireless network. This phone matched my requirements.

Pros
* color-blended well with my PowerMac G4 Quicksilver computer, and black TV -- should look great with any silver-grey/black setup
* green backlit LCD and buttons
* good voice quality and reception
* no interference with WIFI / 802.11b wireless network -- including the Mac airport
* belt-clip and ear piece socket for hands free use

Cons
* ringer button is on/off only -- and the ringer is loud
* function buttons are tricky to use and a bit small -- for example, the caller ID history button sometimes needs to be pressed several times for it to work
* straight shape is not very comfortable to hold against ear

Still, a great cordless phone in this...Read more

Been happy with this phone for a couple of months now; particularly like the rubber edges that provide a nice, solid grip on the phone. The simple shape and the nice weight makes the phone feel sturdy. As others have commented, it looks less star-trekky than a lot of other phones out there - a real plus. The answering machine is easy to figure out and does the job nicely; caller-ID seems reliable enough.

Only complaint is the ringer on/off button that has been placed exactly where you're most likely to get switched off by accident - most other 2.4Ghz' I've tried had the button in the exact same place, so Motorola's not the only vendor failing here. Oh, and the cover for the battery compartment pops off every so often unless you use strong language and/or brute force to keep it in place.

Even though this thing has a built-in answering machine, the footprint is reasonably small. A real plus is the nicely executed wall-mount that takes the phone off your table.

I would have...Read more

After a lot of looking and many returned phones, I settled on this Motorola. It has all of the features most people need in a cordless, in a very compact and stylish form factor. It is also about the only normal looking phone on the market which discretely fits into your room, unlike all the wannabe Star Trek communcators out there...

Pros:
-Form factor: Small and unobtrusive
-Good range and very clear reception
-Effective and easy to use caller ID features
-Very handy volume buttons on the side of the handset with several settings
-Great battery life
-Price

Cons: (mostly minor annoyances)
-Display is small and sometimes hard to read (although it is backlit)
-Message waiting indicator on base (for voicemail) does not work
-Some interference with my WiFi base station (although only when they are very close)
-Hard to hold against your ear with your shoulder