Uniden TRU 446-2 Cordless Phone: Decent Price, but With Drawbacks
Written: Dec 27 '03 (Updated Dec 27 '03)
Product Rating:
Pros: affordable, good reception, great range
Cons: affected by microwaves; can interfere with WiFi
The Bottom Line: If you can deal with the inconveniences of 2.4GHz phones, this is a great system at an affordable price - $80 for main base, charging base, and two handsets.
pippadaisy's Full Review: Uniden TRU 446-2 2.4 GHz Twin 1-Line Cordless Phon...
I live in an older home, circa 1950, with two phone jacks and plaster walls. Rather than go through the mess of adding phone jacks, I was really searching for a cordless phone with the ability to add on extra bases at a decent price, and the Uniden TRU 446-2 Cordless Phone fit the bill.
~&~ The Basics ~&~
The Uniden TRU 446-2 Cordless Phone comes with a large base unit, smaller charging unit, and two 2.4GHz digital cordless phones. Both phones come complete with belt clips and headphone jacks. Set-up is very simple: plug in the large base unit to an outlet and a phone jack, and plug the base unit into any electrical outlet, program the Caller ID (if you already have the service) with your home area code, and you are ready to go. Our phones came with enough charge to start working right away, unlike some phones that require a full 12-hour charge before they can be used.
The phones are multi-featured. They are Caller ID enabled, and have a decently-sized LCD display that is backlit when you are scrolling through Caller ID or the integrated phone book (known as "Rocket Dial"). If your phone line is Voice-Mail-enabled, you are alerted to new voice mails by a blinking red light on the top of the phone on the opposite side from the antenna.
The integrated phone book can be programmed either by using the phone keypad or by saving numbers from Caller ID. Each number programmed into Rocket Dial can also be assigned a flicker ring (so that you know someone from your phone book is calling), and they can be entered as one of the 10 allowable "speed dial" numbers.
There are three ringer settings (off, low and high), 10 distinct ring tones (including Beethoven's Ninth, Fur Elise, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and "Home Sweet Home") and the option for distinct rings being on or off for your phone book. The Uniden TRU 446-2 Cordless Phone also has four volume settings: low, medium, high, and maximum.
~&~ Users' Perspective ~&~
My husband, who uses Epinions, but seems reluctant to actually write any reviews, was very vocal about this product when he saw I was writing a review, yelling "Make sure you tell them that it sucks for me." We have two main problems with this phone system, and they are fairly major ones.
I love the phones. I'm glad that we have them, and wouldn't be able to live without them now. They are easy to use, easy to learn to program, and have an incredible range to them; I can go visit my neighbor across the street, bring it into her home, and have crystal clear reception, with two exceptions.
The first problem is that microwave ovens will seriously affect your reception and clarity. Any time the microwave is running, you hear a loud crackling sound which can be heard by both parties on the phone call. Switching phone channels can sometimes improve it, but does not eliminate it totally.
The second problem is the bane of my husband's existence. He often works from home over our wireless network. And yes, everything you've heard about 2.4GHz cordless phones and WiFi is correct: if I pick up the phone to call someone, odds are I'm going to knock my husband off-line. I can usually switch channels to enable him to get back on-line, but only after much grumbling and complaining on his part. It's enough to make him want to get rid of the phones, but I'm so in love with them I vetoed his vote.
The only other difficulty with these phones is that you cannot use both of them at once to have two people in the same house talking to the same person. They have an excellent feature that allows you to transfer the call from one handset to the other, but that's all you can do. If one person is on a handset, and another picks up the other handset, all they will hear is dead air. As a result, we keep a "regular" corded phone handy for times when we both need to be on the phone at once.
Unlike other cordless phones, I've never picked up baby monitors or other cordless phone conversations on these phones. My only other niggling complaint is that these handsets stand up in the charging bases, and they are easily knocked out of place.
~&~ Overall ~&~
Depending on which one of us you talk to, the problems with the phone are either a deal-breaker or an inconvenience. Then again, my husband isn't writing this review, so if you can live with a bit of static on those occasions when you are using your microwave, and you aren't using a WiFi network, or you are and you don't mind switching channels to reconnect, this is a great phone system at a very reasonable price. We picked these up at Target for about $80.00.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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