5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cortelco 8780 Phone, Jan 22 2011
By TechnologyDependant - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: 878041-TP2-27S SP LinePower - Charcoal (Electronics)
The criteria critical to my phone purchase were:
1. Work well as a wall phone
2. Operate on line power (without adapter or batteries)
3. Have Caller ID and Call Waiting
This phone satisfies all these requirements. It also has several other useful features like 10 buttons for one-touch dialing, dialing by selecting a number from the list of missed calls and ability to select speaker-phone mode. While a back-lit LED would be nice, I'm sure this would require more power than available from the phone line. My 2 complaints are that the user manual is incomplete and that the LED does not have a suitable adjustment range for use as a wall phone. The manual, for instance, tells how to assign "VIP" numbers, but doesn't explain why you would do so. Given the height at which the phone must be mounted on the wall, it is necessary to duck down to see the LCD at its clearest. This problem could be avoided if the LED were designed to tilt back further when mounted on the wall.
While Cortelco is not a well known name, I learned that they have a very long history in communications and are a division of ITT. I believe the 8780 is a very solid instrument and successfully meets my needs.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Works for us, July 12 2009
By John W. Dillard - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: 878041-TP2-27S SP LinePower - Charcoal (Electronics)
I purchased this phone, despite the low marks given by the sole review at the time (sample size of one), because it had the features I wanted for a reliable, workhorse phone for our kitchen: corded, wall mountable, speakerphone, and no batteries or external power required. This phone fits the bill, and more. Everything works great, plus we are very pleased to have a visible message alert when we have a message waiting. Our external message system provides a stutter dial tone, and the phone detects it. I experience none of the issues described in the 1st review, including no trouble storing phone numbers. This is a very "green" phone due to its meager power requirement (I resent transformers that draw power constantly), and it's well designed.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Okay if it is the only phone in the house, Nov 22 2011
By Me - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: 878041-TP2-27S SP LinePower - Charcoal (Electronics)
I got one for my desk. The first time I was talking and someone picked up another extension, the sound started chopping out and it and was almost un-intelligible. The phone does not use an AC charger or batteries, but is powered from the phone line.
When another phone on the same line is picked up, the available power drops and the phone tries to shut off. It is a basic design feature. If you have any other telephones or devices plugged in to the same phone line, this phone will stop working while the other phone is off hook. That makes it unusable.
Also, the Caller ID phone number is displayed without hyphens separating the groups of 3 and 4 numbers. Hard to read.
I paid shipping to get it, shipping to return it, plus a re-stocking charge. Wasted $30.