Very good overall, great sound quality, few annoyances

Quick summary

Very good overall. Lightweight, comfortable headset, great sound quality, no 802.11 interference, good range. Slightly inconvenient mute. Highly recommended for telecommuters.

Overview

The Plantronics CT-12 is a 2.4GHz cordless phone for home or home office use. It comes with a base unit/charger, a wireless “remote pack,” and a wired headset that plugs into the remote pack.

Base Unit

The base unit is plugged into a standard phone jack, and comes with an AC adapter with a fairly short cord. The base unit has an antenna that doubles as a headset rest when the headset is not in use.

Headset

The included headset may be worn with an included over-the-head headband (my preference), or with an included earpiece, allowing it to hang freely off your ear. Either ear may be used in either configuration, and it’s easy to switch ears during a long call.

The microphone has a little red LED on the end that flashes when you are on a call, which is supposed to indicate to others that you’re on the phone. However, there is no way to turn this feature off, and occasionally the flashing LED is distracting in my peripheral vision.

When configured with the headband, the headset may be used with the included ear cushion, which is very comfortable. This is the way I used the CT-12, and I spend several hours a day on the phone.

Remote Pack

The remote pack has a keypad and a small LCD screen. The remote pack is really the “guts” of the phone; you can hang up, answer, dial, and view Caller ID info from the remote pack. The remote pack has a headphone jack, into which you plug the included headset.

The remote pack is about the same size as a deck of cards, and is lightweight.

Sound Quality, Volume, and Mute

The remote pack provides four volume levels (low, medium, high, and maximum). Having used a variety of headsets in the past, I am very pleased with the sound quality of the CT-12, and I find that I can sometimes turn the volume down to “low” and still hear everyone else on a teleconference, although I normally leave it set to “medium.” The sound quality really is outstanding, and it is one of the best features of the CT-12.

The Mute button on the remote pack provides a reliable mute, but its use is somewhat inconvenient. The Mute button is a small button, and must be held down for 3 seconds to activate Mute. (To unmute, you press the same button, but you don’t have to hold it for 3 seconds to unmute.) This makes it difficult to stick the remote pack in your pocket if you have to go on and off mute all the time, because the mute button is not easy to find and use reliably unless you’re holding the remote pack in your hand.

The LCD screen on the remote pack does indicate ‘Mute’ or ‘Talk,’ although I wish the flashing LED on the headset microphone (described above) provided some visual indication as well (like flashing more quickly).

Answering and Hanging Up

To answer an incoming call, you must press the ‘Talk’ button on the remote pack. Taking the remote pack out of the base unit/charger when the phone is ringing will not answer the call (which is good, in my opinion). Pressing ‘Talk’ while on a call will hang up the call or Flash (for call waiting, etc.)

However, placing the remote pack back into the base unit hangs up the call. This is an unfortunate design choice, because if the remote pack’s battery is going dead, there’s no way to put it on the charger without hanging up the call.

Battery Life

The manufacturer claims 5.5 hour continuous talk time. I haven’t tested this, but I have used it for about 3.25 hours continuously. There is no visual battery indicator on the remote pack, but the phone beeps every 10 seconds when the battery is low, indicating you are to switch phones immediately.

The included battery is a special rechargeable battery pack (i.e. it doesn’t use rechargeable AA’s or AAA’s). Replacement battery packs appear to be available for purchase.

Remote Pack Belt Clip

The belt clip is nice, but it’s fairly stiff, making the remote pack LCD screen tough to see when it’s on your belt. It’s also difficult to see and find the Mute button. I find myself either holding the pack, putting it in my front pocket, or hanging it around my neck with a chain (which looks goofy but is the most convenient).

Dialing

The remote pack must be removed from the base unit to dial or answer. Dialing may be done either before or after pressing Talk. The remote pack provides a “phone book” feature along with 9 speed dial numbers. The phone book entries are limited to 20 keys, which means they don’t work for some longer corporate calling card numbers.

You can, however, activate a phone book or speed dial entry while a call is already connected, which is nice. You can use this to store 16-digit calling card codes, etc. and use them while you’re making a call. Pauses may be inserted into phone book entries.

Ringing and Paging

The remote pack will ring for an incoming call, and you may choose from several ring tones and volumes. The base unit also has a ‘page’ button to help you find the remote pack (which simply makes the remote pack ring, but does nothing else).

Caller ID

If you subscribe to Caller ID, the information will show up on the remote pack screen, and you can scroll through previous entries.

Wireless Interference

My base unit sits right next to my Linksys 802.11b/g wireless router, but I have no problems with interference. I do get some crackling when I’m within 15-20 feet of my microwave oven, though, when it’s running, but I’ve never had it drop a call on me.

Range

The manufacturer claims 150’ range. I have taken it two houses down and still had no problems or call quality issues. It easily covers my house and yard.

Summary

Overall, I think this was a very good purchase for the price. Aside from a few minor annoyances, this is a very pleasant phone, especially if you’re on the phone a lot.