Plantronics CT12 Phone

I purchased this phone because Radio Shack discontinued the inexpensive model I am used to using and I need a new hands-free phone. I found this one on ebay for a reasonable price, and heard that plantronics is the best brand for this type of phone. I love the hands free feature and the caller ID feature. I dislike that I have to take it off my belt to dial or see the caller ID. It doesn't have the pivot that the Radio Shack phone did that allowed me to raise it on a hinge to dial or see the caller ID without removing it and turning it the other direction. Also, the keypad is extremely small, but so is the phone, so that balances out, but I need my glasses to see the numbers. Bottom line is that I love the phone because of the hands-free feature, but if I could find the old Radio Shack phone or if Radio Shack put out another similar model at a good price, I'd buy it in a heartbeat over this one. I think I got a good buy on this one on ebay, however.

If you work with your hands, have a land line and need to "wear a phone, this is the on. It's got caller ID, one, one button speed dial, 9 two button speed dials and 100 storage #'s. I've been wearing one for that last six to seven years, daily, and it's a durable unit.

I own both the CT10 & CT12 models. The caller ID on the CT12 was my reason for getting the updated model. I will never go back to a regular phone! The ability to multi-task wearing these headsets is priceless! The sound quality is good and the batteries last for a fairly long period of time. I find it is perfect for VIOP calls made on the internet and have one just for my majicJack device so I can have both hands free for computer work while on the phone. I occasionally go outside with it and it gets a bit scratchy outside the building away from the base unit, but anywhere in the home it works great.

My only complaints about the CT12: you cannot answer or talk on the phone while the unit is still in the cradle. That is my biggest complaint but it is not a real big issue. So, if you have a low battery you can't talk on it until you remove it from the charger. (This is not the case with the older CT-10). Also, the clip on the unit is a weak link as there isn't much tension, so I have had it fall off my clothes a lot. It is pretty sturdy as it hasn't broken yet even though it has hit the floor quite a few times! Overall, I recommend it to everyone I know with a home phone and have bought three for myself plus for some friends.

I appreciate the fact that this is a cordless and hands free phone with decent range from the base. However, there are some annoying shortcomings that could have been easily resolved.

The dial pad is upside down to the user when clipped to the belt as intended, and right side up to those not using the phone. Someone surely should have considered that having the numbers and display screen readable by the user without having to take it off would have made the unit far more practical and much easier to use.

Also, I bought a couple of similar $19.00 phones in the last few years that functioned perfectly when sitting in the charger. This one promptly hangs up on you and doesn't even include a second battery to switch over as the $19.00 phones did.

Without the backup battery, and with the shortcoming that the unit fails to function when charging, is the most glaring shortcoming. Apparently, no one involved in the design of the phone ever had to use one for anything important.

Finally, that red flashing light is annoying and drains the battery. What on earth was the reasoning for making the user look like some kind of emergency beacon when they are simply making or answering a call?

All in all, I was very disappointed, and I haven't even mentioned the flimsy little wire connecting the headset to the dial pad. This was not well thought out, nor apparently intended for normal active use as a hands free unit should be. If I were just sitting at a desk all day it might be fine... but then, I wouldn't really need it for that anyway.

I bought a new Plantronics CT12 2.4 GHz phone a few weeks ago and was immediately impressed with the number of features available on this small lite weight hands free phone. What I don't like about the phone is the ringer even when set on high it is hard for me to hear! Overall, I like this phone and would recommend the phone for anyone that needs to have their hands free to do other things while they are talking on the phone.