1717 Digital Answering Machine

Pros: can listen to, skip, or delete individual messages
Cons: sound quality is marginal, setup is confusing, 12 minutes total recording time is too short.

THE reason I bought this machine was for it's ability to select individual messages to listen to or delete. That's probably it's only strong point. EVERY standalone digital answering machine I've EVER heard sounded really weird - The AT&T is yet...

Pros: Cheap, simple to operate
Cons: Poor sound quality

There it was, sitting on the clearance shelf at Walmart. All bright and shiny and full of empty promises. My wallet said yes, my heart said no. Foolishly, I listened to mly wallet and now I must pay.

Nice and cheap, the 1717 looks attractive....

Pros: compact size , easy to use , great basic features , excellent sound .
Cons: No battery back-up

I actually bought mine " gently used " . I have been very pleased , and I'm very fussy . I have seen the reviews regarding sound quality and can honestly say that's not the case with mine . I have had some digital machines and believe me I know what the bad ones sound like . It's true that there is no battery back-up ( would be nice ) but I can live with that . I got a deal ! If you need a great basic machine , this is it .

Pros: Easy to use and allows remote access.
Cons: 12 min max may not be suitable for "popular" folks needing more recording time.

I've had this answering machine for a couple of years now and I've not had any problems with it. I agree -- you don't need to read the manual to operate this machine's bare functions. But if you do read the manual, you won't be disappointed. I love being able to call home from anywhere and remotely access my messages and delete when done. I even have the manual in PDF format saved to my webpage so I always remember all the phone options. And I love being able to use the "listen" mode to hear around my house to ensure all is nice and quiet. Talk about peace of mind. It records 12 minutes of messages, and since most people leave 30 second messages, that comes out to about 24 messages of storage. When it's full, the phone just rings until the user hangs up. (The display shows "F" for full.) I definitely recommend this phone.

Pros: I thought this is going to work find.
Cons: Clock time is completely out. Cannot find technical support to do remedy.

I brought this to my country without checking at the point of buying and found that the clock time is completely out. I set the clock time according to the instruction in the manual and it was correct, at first. As time passed, even within a few hours later, the time drifted by an hour. After a day or two the clock time is completely out. Message stamp for incoming message is therefore completely out.

Pros: Sound quality is quite good on incoming and outgoing messages. Basic functions are good enough.
Cons: It could be easier to use. Limited recording time. No power failure memory back up.

We've had this one for a long time by my standards for cheaper electronics such as this. It does the basic job
recording shorter messages. Don't waste your time with the AT&T 1738 (newer model - horrible sound quality).