BT Paragon 550 Corded Telephone with Answering Machine, White

It's a pretty old-fashioned concept -- a corded landline phone with a built-in answering machine. The choice of ringtones is rather what you'd have got from a cellphone fifteen years ago. Most of the ringtones are naff beyond description, but there are a few that are simple enough not to be embarrassing. We needed a corded phone, because the cordless one was playing havoc with the WiFi router, and an answering machine because my parents insist on calling the landline number. I get why the other reviews are so negative -- this is really ancient technology. However, the phone works really well and the answerphone is really easy to use. It would be fine to buy one of these for elderly relatives who cannot work a cellphone. The keys and screen are really big and bright, and the controls are obvious and work well. Great value at the price.

We needed a phone with a built in answer phone. This one fit the bill and we are pleased with it. Easy to set up and to use. Menu options are clear and the answer phone works well. We have recorded our own personal message. The options for the ringtone are numerous and not that brilliant as far as having an option for a straightforward ring but we have found one that works perfectly well. Pleased overall with the product and how it performs.

Despite having a set of cordless phones around the house I always keep a wired phone plugged in just in case of an emergency during a power cut. My old one wasn't working that well any more so I decided to buy this one as a replacement. It's a very presentable looking phone which is nicely laid out with good-sized buttons which are easy to use for larger or older fingers, and I find it to be clearly marked too. The digital display will only work when the unit is plugged in although the phone itself will still make and receive calls when it isn't powered. It is possible to program the phone with names and numbers so that when a call is received the caller's name appears in the display (provided you have caller display enabled) which I find very handy when ignoring cold-callers. Because the phone does not have a battery back-up I was worried that all of the numbers that I have saved would be lost in the event that it was unplugged, but I needn't have worried; they were all still there afterwards. It did forget the time and date but that is automatically set again as soon as you make a phone call, or it can be done manually if you prefer. The handset is comfortable to hold and the sound quality is very good. I find it to be very clear, and it's possible to easily adjust the volume on the earpiece simply by using the large button on the base unit. The wires for plugging it in and also connecting to the phone box were easily long enough to reach and I think that it is a very well-made product. The only thing that I don't like about it is the ringtones - there were quite a few to choose from but I don't really like any of them. If you want a standard ring tone then you'd better look elsewhere as this one only has more modern ones, including some polyphonic ringtones. I did manage to find one that I could use, but I prefer ringtones to be kept simpler. On balance it is still a very good phone and I do not regret choosing this one.

Oh BT what a strange organization you are. This replaced the excellent Comverse 1300, but nearly every change is for the worse. This phone is OK and is one of very few to offer handset/speaker/headset switching - which is why I bought it. Oh dear though what a box of bizarre foibles. - It starts ringing 1 to 2 rings after every other phone in the house - the selection of ringtones seems to me to have been made by someone with a deep and abiding hatred of humanity - the contacts list seems to me to be a how-not-to-do-it case study - the display light goes off at moments I find annoying The speaker and mic quality is OK. Handset quality is OK. I don't get on too well with headsets with this phone and the guys the other end have trouble hearing me even though I am using a pretty good quality telephone headset. I don't use the answer phone.

There have been so many horrified comments on this and other websites about the naff ringtones on the Paragon 550 that I must share my discovery. I bought this phone last week, and almost returned it because the ringtones were even worse than what had been described. But I persevered - and am glad to report that there IS one ringtone which is just a conventional ring. You need to listen through the whole lot carefully, and you'll find it: it's a steady continuous ringing sound and sounds pretty awful, but when it's selected and the phone actually rings, it breaks up just as the normal ringtone on any other landline phone does. It's perfectly acceptable, and as far as I'm concerned does away with the only reason for not buying this phone, which is everything the other satisfied customers have said it is: easy to set up and operate, with very good quality sound, at a very good price.