Office Automation
Review Grandstream DP715 DECT VoIP Phone
07.07.13 Filed in: Review
Because of severe functional issues with a FritzBox 7270 and connected MT-F DECT Handsets, I looked for an alternative DECT handset that I could use with our VoIP telephony account.
Besides the ominous Gigaset options, there isn't that much to choose from. After a complete disaster with a no-frills Gigaset DECT handset, I swore I would never buy Gigaset again, so the only alternative - at least at the time - seemed to be the Grandstream DP715.
The specs sound pretty okay, and we've had very good results with a Grandstream wired VoIP phone. On top of all that, the price was quite okay (I paid €60), so I purchased the phone.
All in all, though, the phone isn't really to be recommended. The display is a complete loss; it reminds me of early 90's Nokia mobile phones. Bizarre looking symbols (there is one that flashes at me constantly, and I still don't know what it means), crappy contrast. Number keys are not lit. There is no way to provision the phone with a phonebook. None. At all. What a pain in the butt, to be punching in names using that clunky "alphabet on the number buttons" method! That, too, makes me feel like I've warped back to the "good ol' days" of the GSM heyday.
The rechargeable batteries are two NiMH AAA Jobbers with 500 mAh of "life". Yikes. That is supposed to power the phone for 80h standby, according to the spec sheet. I don't buy it, and that brings me to the absolute no-go of this phone: when the battery is low, it starts beeping, perhaps once per minute. That's fine - let me know ahead of time if I'm about to drop a connection. Unfortunately, the beep is extremely loud and will knock your eardrum a couple of mm down the hole. Apparently to compensate the infinitesimal warning beep, the volume of the person talking to you is increased beyond the envelope you would ever expect the earpiece of such a phone to be able to reach. If your eardrum didn't pop from the beep, it will do so from the person now screaming into your ear.
OK, I'm exaggerating, but only a little. My eardrum didn't pop, but I ended up - after getting over the initial shock - holding the phone a ways away from my ear, which made the conversation difficult to say the least.
Grandstream does some phones really well, but this little guy is not one I would recommend to anyone!
Besides the ominous Gigaset options, there isn't that much to choose from. After a complete disaster with a no-frills Gigaset DECT handset, I swore I would never buy Gigaset again, so the only alternative - at least at the time - seemed to be the Grandstream DP715.
The specs sound pretty okay, and we've had very good results with a Grandstream wired VoIP phone. On top of all that, the price was quite okay (I paid €60), so I purchased the phone.
All in all, though, the phone isn't really to be recommended. The display is a complete loss; it reminds me of early 90's Nokia mobile phones. Bizarre looking symbols (there is one that flashes at me constantly, and I still don't know what it means), crappy contrast. Number keys are not lit. There is no way to provision the phone with a phonebook. None. At all. What a pain in the butt, to be punching in names using that clunky "alphabet on the number buttons" method! That, too, makes me feel like I've warped back to the "good ol' days" of the GSM heyday.
The rechargeable batteries are two NiMH AAA Jobbers with 500 mAh of "life". Yikes. That is supposed to power the phone for 80h standby, according to the spec sheet. I don't buy it, and that brings me to the absolute no-go of this phone: when the battery is low, it starts beeping, perhaps once per minute. That's fine - let me know ahead of time if I'm about to drop a connection. Unfortunately, the beep is extremely loud and will knock your eardrum a couple of mm down the hole. Apparently to compensate the infinitesimal warning beep, the volume of the person talking to you is increased beyond the envelope you would ever expect the earpiece of such a phone to be able to reach. If your eardrum didn't pop from the beep, it will do so from the person now screaming into your ear.
OK, I'm exaggerating, but only a little. My eardrum didn't pop, but I ended up - after getting over the initial shock - holding the phone a ways away from my ear, which made the conversation difficult to say the least.
Grandstream does some phones really well, but this little guy is not one I would recommend to anyone!
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