BT Granite Twin DECT Cordless Telephone with Answering Machine – Black & Chrome

This phone is very attractive to look at, does not take up much space and is light and comfortable to use.My only quibble is that sound quality is below par and the answer machine function could be more intuitive but overall its a good phone and i am pleased to have bought it!
Rating: 4 / 5

Initial impressions were impressive even the packaging is not overdone and claimed environmentally friendly with low power consumption power units. The main unit complete with answering machine is smaller than it looks in the photographs the main unit being approx 5 ¼” (134mm) square by 1″ deep with the actual phone recessed in the middle which is about the size of a large mobile. The other base for the extension is even smaller being approx 5 1/4 “(134mm) by 4″ (102mm). The phones can either be flat or at an angle using the supplied stands. After inserting the battery which in itself is a fiddly task but at least has only to be done once. The phones then need to be charged for 24 hours before use (there is a dire warning in the instructions that the phones may not work if it is not charged for 24 hours).

It then becomes easier the two phones are already paired and need nothing more than plugging in. The display is not the best I have seen and slightly cluttered but functional, there is a quick start guide included but the menu is intuitive and no real guidance is needed. BT however have followed the example of software producers in that you can download the complete 60 page user manual, not much help if the purchaser does not have internet access. The manual can be found buried at http://www.bt.com/producthelp should you wish to look at the manual for full details before purchasing.

The phones work well with numerous ring tones which can be assigned to callers if you want to hear who it is before you even look at the display which supports “caller display”. You have to programme phone book numbers into each phone independently it would have helped if there was a function which transferred the phone book between phones. The other annoying feature (common with several other phones) is that there is a flashing indicator to show missed calls this is fine however when you cancel this on one phone it remains flashing on the other one.

The phone supports text messaging which is functional but restrictive due to the screen size and a 160 character restriction although longer messages are broken into separate messages (Maximum 4) to receive text messages you have to first send one to enable the service.

The answering machine works well and can digitally record up to 12 minutes of messages or up to 59

messages. The maximum incoming message length can be up to 3 minutes.

In summary a very good pair of phones which seem a bit overpriced but you are probably paying for the styling the only phone that I believe has better styling is the BT Reveal however I did have some problems with this (hence the purchase of the Granite)

Rating: 4 / 5

I bought this phone based on its looks, as it is a welcome departure from the ugly tombstone design that has predominated for a number of years. Whilst it is not entirely a triumph of style over function, I would have expected more at this price. I also wonder how well the chrome finishings will wear, particularly the coating on the plastic back covers.

There are two bugbears: no sim card reader; no quick setting for the answer phone, instead there is the laborious process of scrolling through the handset options. My four year old Philips’ answer phone base unit had a button to set and remove the answer phone function.

A lesser point is the crudity of the graphics and text appearance. Whilst I did not quite expect mobile phone like appearance, with slick icons and stylish font, the ‘prehistoric’ look of the display is a little surprising.

The handsets though slim and light, have a positive feel to the closely grouped keys and I did not experience any mishaps when inputting numbers. The ringer volume is plenty loud on its default setting of 3 and callers sound clear. There is a considerable glow from the blue light on the base unit and handset display, and you can easily navigate your way to the door in a smallish dark room. I have switched off the handset display, which will also save on battery life.

There are 15 not very inspiring ring tones and no facility to capture sound and save as a ring tone as my Philips’ is able to do.

BT may have started a trend in landline phone design and other manufacturers may well follow suit and move away from the tombstone, but overall several tricks have been missed here and if only a couple of my annoyances had been addressed, this would have been a much better phone.

Rating: 2 / 5