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Vtech I5871 - Expandable System w/ digital Answering Device, Color Handset Display & Dual Caller ID | 
 enlarge | Brand: VTech
Category: CE
List Price: $211.60
Buy Refurbished: $44.00
You Save: $167.60 (79%)
New (52)
Avg. Customer Rating:  86 reviews
Color: Silver & Black
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Number Of Items: 1
Batteries Included: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.5
Dimensions (in): 11 x 6 x 5
Legal Disclaimer: Sale Ends: 12-27-2008. You may return or exchange merchandise purchased from Macy's @ Amazon by mail only. Certain items are covered by warranty as indicated. To obtain a copy of the warranty prior to purchase, please write to: macys.com Customer Service Dept.; P.O. Box 8215; Mason, OH 45040; Small Ticket Department-Warranty;
Warranty: 1
MPN: 80-5596-00
Model: 80-5596-00
UPC: 735078007940
EAN: 0735078007940
Release Date: January 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Expandalbe up to eight handsets using only one phone jack | | • | dual Caller ID / Call waiting with animated picture caller ID in the Handset | | • | High Resolution 65K Color Display | | • | Downloadable Images | | • | Recordable Ringer allows you to record directly from you PC or stereo equipment |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Always the industry innovator, VTech was the first to offer the 5.8 GHz Digital Spread Spectrum technology to the consumer electronics cordless telephone market. 5.8 GHz technology offers you the best available performance when it comes to clarity, range, and security.PRODUCT FEATURES:5.8 GHz digital expandable phone system; expands up to eight handsets;Digital answering system;Dual caller ID/call waiting with animated picture caller ID in the handset;High-resolution 65K color display;"Hands-Free" speakerphone in handset and base;Recordable ringer.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 81 more reviews...
 Took three times but I found a winner! May 29, 2005
136 out of 137 found this review helpful
I'll jump right in and say what I didn't like about this phone. The handset speakerphone is extremely bad, constantly cutting in and out made the phone unusable in this mode. I called Vtech customer service and they told me to unplug the phone for a couple of minutes and then plug it back in and try it, but that didn't help either. Figuring I got a bad one I went back up to Office Depot to get another and guess what, this one did the exact same thing. Vtech has a problem with these phones.
Aside from the speakerphone in the handset problem the phone worked great. The software which installs on your PC and allows you do download ringtones and photos worked very good. The screen on the phone was very sharp.
By the way the speakerphone on the base worked very very good, to bad they couldn't have done a better job on the handset's speakerphone.
If it wasn't for the terrible speakerphone on the handset I would have given this phone 5 stars and would still own it.
Update:6-11-05
After using the Vtech phone I tried the color models that Uniden and Panasonic had to offer. The Panasonic had a very good screen but lacked the volume I needed. The Uniden's flip phone was nice but the screen was way below the quality of the Vtech and Panasonic and Unidens software was not good at all. Sending info to and from the phone was very slow.
After taking the Panasonic back I decided to try the Vtech again but this time I went to another Office Depot. This new phone has worked flawlessly and didn't exibit the same handset speakerphone problems as the first two.
It's my opinion now that of the three color screen phones the Vtech is much better than Panasonic and Uniden. I'd now give it a full 5 stars.
Highly Recommended!
Stylish, but with some flaws... August 23, 2005
79 out of 83 found this review helpful
We purchased this phone primarily for its styling, but from the reviews it seemed like this phone did everything. From a styling perspective, it was everything we hoped for. It is very elegant in its simplicity. The base units all have metal feet (not just plastic). The handsets are very simple, yet look good in their base units and are well designed to stand upright on a flat surface.
The base units have a lighted ring on them that shows the handsets are charging, and helps you to find the bases in the dark. It is a nice touch. When you pick up the handset from the base, and press a key, the keypad lights up and the LCD display lights as well. The number keys, the speaker phone key and the send/end buttons are well-sized and easy to press. The design is very comfortable to use.
Although others have complained about the speakerphone, we found it to work quite well--better than our older Vtech phones. The sound is good on both the handset and the speaker phone--it was easy to hear and voices were clear.
There are a lot of selectable ring tones. You can also download pictures onto the handsets using the supplied USB cable. The phonebook software is easy to use and it is possible to export a full phone book onto the handsets.
The digital answering machine is easy to use, and the recordings were very clear. We were very impressed with the sound clarity.
The nice features are more than offset by some issues, however. First of all, the handset is uncomfortable to hold against the ear. If you will be using the phone for long periods I recommend buying a headset or planning to use the speaker phone a lot.
The LCD screen is very small in reality. The screen color accuracy is also mediocre. One of the four handsets had good color accuracy, whereas the others ranged from decent to poor. There is a brightness adjustment possible, but that is the only color improvement I could find.
The digits are also small, and the caller ID would be very difficult to read if you needed glasses. It is easy to see the numbers when dialing the phone, but the incoming numbers are difficult to read.
One of the most frustrating elements of the phone was the phone book. Although the software is easy to use, it is not very good. It is easy to create phone book entries, but the number of characters you can use for names is limited. For each entry it is also possible to select a ring tone and a picture that come up when the number is received, but it is not possible to program these custom ringers or photos in the phone book software, so each of these combinations must be programmed on EACH handset. To do this for more than a couple of entries is a pain. Also, if you load new phone numbers onto the phone, using the software, it is very easy to overwrite all this programming--you have to do it all over again. In concept it is very functional, but in reality it is difficult and time consuming to use.
Also, each phone must be loaded with each photo, the phone book, and then you must program the photos and custom ringers for each number. If you add a number to one handset, it is NOT shared with the other handsets. If you have multiple handsets, it takes a lot of time to sync the phone books--and if you're programming custom photos and ringers, plan to spend a LOT of time doing it.
When loading photos, it is easy to select photos and load them onto the phones, but the amount of memory is limited. The problem here is that there are about a dozen images that are permanent on the phones--they cannot be deleted. It is only possible to load about a dozen of your own images.
If you're buying a phone to look good in a setting, and you don't use it for hours at a time, this is an excellent choice. It is extremely stylish. If, however, you are a technophile you will find this phone somewhat frustrating. It has a lot of good features, and with some software upgrades would be a great phone, but as it is there are probably better options.
 Sleek, svelte, sexy...and it works great! November 21, 2005
20 out of 20 found this review helpful
Vtech's phones were always a bit clunky and inelegant, but this one's a sleek, svelte, sexy winner. It looks great in any contemporary interior.
The handsets (I have five) feel like remote controls -- long and fairly thin -- but that doesn't affect how easy and pleasant they are to handle. The keys are more responsive than on Vtech's previous phones, and more thought went into the user interface and the electronic menus -- it's all pretty easy to figure out, and operating the phones becomes second nature in a brief span of time. The displays are crisp and easy to read, but some of the smaller type is going to make most people squint a bit.
The phones have a good range and are clear; even the speakerphone quality (each handset has its own speakerphone, a great convenience) is a cut above, according to people on the other end of the line (I've asked a few). The phones are quite sturdy too. I dropped my desk handset at least three times onto my hardwoord floor already (the base on which the handset leans is not quite stable enough for such a tall object, and it takes a second to find the right cradle position when you put the handset down to recharge it), but there's no visible or audible damage.
The amber backlighting on the base display doesn't exactly scream "modern" to me, and so it looks a bit out of place. That said, there's a lit half circle (also amber) under each handset when you put it in the cradle, so it's easy to find the phone even in the pitch dark.
Two points of caution: Programming a phone book into one handset does not lead to other handsets automatically copying the same names and numbers. In fact, there's no way to transfer the data, over the air or otherwise. It's mind-numbingly tedious to program each handset, because every letter in a person's name takes up to eight key presses. This is a big oversight on Vtech's part that the company should address in the second generation of this model.
For such a pricey phone, it also strikes me as a nasty case of nickle-and-diming that Vtech doesn't supply a battery that keeps the phone up and running during a power outage. That's an important feature, especially if you live out in the country. You'll need a proprietary battery that is hard to get ahold of from retail shops, so you're probably going to have to call Vtech and buy one directly from them. It's kind of a cheap trick, if you ask me.
Despite the criticism, I like these phones better than any I've owned.
 Excellent Cordless Phone December 25, 2005
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
After researching cordless home phones for only a few days (compared to months researching an LCD TV) and despite some of the negative reviews of this phone I decided to purchase it anyway, figuring that if it wasn't up to spec i would return it.
First off, this phone is replacing a Seimens which had caused interference problems with my wireless network in my home. That phone was a 2.4 GHz so my choices were narrowed to a 5.8GHZ phone only.
This phone was without peer in the 'looks' department. It is sleek and sexy (if a phone could be called such!). It is large enough to cradle between your ear and shoulder allowing you to use both hands for chores. This is a big plus for me. Too many of the new phones are too small to do this.
The quality of construction is superb. The base is metal as well as the legs which have rubber ends so it won't slide around. Overall the phone has a nice solid feel. I have an Apple computer so the provided software can not be used. I'm told that the software allows you to create an address book and download it to the phone and any additional units you may own. It also alows you to download pictures and sounds to the phone. I had to do it the old fashioned way...enter in the numbers directly to the handset. Still this was no problem. If you own a cell phone you've probably done it. It really was no big deal. Some folks here complained about the number of keystrokes. I completely disagree with them on this issue. It was a breeze. I was also able to load custom ringtones using the supplied audio cable. This also was a simple matter. All in all the menu's were simple and intuitive. The speaker phone also worked flawlessly. This phone is loaded with features (one of my favorites is the intercom system...my family uses it all the time). I also have had no problem with the phone working at a distance from the base station, though I have to say I live in an apartment so I can't comment on how it would work in a house, a backyard etc.
One slight reservation is with the volume of the earpiece. It tends to be a bit low. There is an adjustment which mitigates this problem somewhat and makes it acceptable. Of course if you have a hearing disability this might not be the phone for you.
Another issue. which I find to be not too bothersome is that all the handsets operate independently. For example if you clear the 'call log' from one unit it still appears on the other. Not a big deal in my estimation.
Overall I found this an easy purchase with no regrets.
Went back to VTech after trying Panasonic twice and Motorola once April 4, 2006
15 out of 17 found this review helpful
Originally, we had a VTech 5831 for about 4 years. This was a great phone and speakerphone - very good sound quality, nice readout for caller id, Ni-Mh battery performed well for 4 years, and very good speakerphone quality. BUT, as with all other reviewers of that phone, the OFF and 1 buttons have started to fail miserably. Strange and disappointing.
Anyway, this started our odyssey to find a new phone. First, we ordered the Panasonic KX-TG5432M (dual handsets, answering machine) because of the great Amazon ratings. The phone looks fine and the features were fine, but the sound quality was just horrible. (Who cares about the features if you sound like you are talking into a tin can attached to string?) I don't understand why these people would give the phone 5 stars! We sent it back.
Next, we went to Fry's and purchased the Motorola MD781. Not only was this phone aesthetically unattractive, the sound quality was actually worse than the Panasonic. Additionally, the battery for this phone was Ni-Cd. Shame on you, Motorola! This one went back the next day.
After the Motorola, I went back to Amazon and spent an afternoon looking at all of the phones available. I went to a few stores and talked to a couple of sales people that all said the same thing - Panasonic was the way to go. So, we decided that maybe we just got a bad phone the first time. We purchased another model 5432, took it home, and resolved to give it a real chance. I'm sorry, but the raters for this phone are wrong, wrong, wrong. The Panasonic has horrible sound quality. Horrible.
So, here we are, still no phone. I broke down and spent $180.00 on this VTech i5871. Very sleek looking, but very solid - metal, not plastic. The base/answering system is actually kind of heavy. Everything works - answering machine records messages and plays them back, battery performs well.
Read other reviews for pros/cons and feature rundowns. The simple fact is the sound quality is good. Very good. At this price, it better be, but I'm starting to believe that when it comes to the digital spread spectrum 5.8, you get what you pay for.
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