============================================================ Comments about the Uniden ELBT585 cordless phone system with Bluetooth Version 1, 9-Oct-2005, copyright Bill Fernandez 2005 This article may be freely distributed and used as long as: it's content remains unchanged, it retains the above copyright notice, and no charge is made for its distribution, access or use. ============================================================ INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY OPINION For years I used a cordless phone with a hardwired headset. I loved this phone for its convenience, reliability and user-friendliness. The only downsides were that it used 900MHz analog technology (which is insecure/unprivate), and I sometimes wished the headset was wireless. Eventually the phone died, and I spent the next couple of years looking for a replacement. Then my trusty answering machine died and I stepped up my search. Fortunately I discovered that Uniden had just (mid-2005) introduced a cordless phone with answering machine, speakerphone, 5.8GHz digital spread spectrum (which is reasonably secure/private) and the ability for handsets to pair with Bluetooth headsets. This sounded like the perfect answer to my needs. The reality is that this is a good, but not excellent system. It generally functions well and has good sound quality and overall performance, but the user interface is often quirky and inconvenient. I expect it will serve me well for the next several years, but each time I trip over some usability idiosyncracy I will wish they had done a better job on the user interface. Following are brief comments about some key features. Detailed information and a downloadable user manual are available online at http://uniden.com BASIC DESCRIPTION The Uniden ELBT585 consists of a cordless handset, a base station with a digital answering machine, and a computer program (see SOFTWARE). The base station has a standard modular jack for a telephone "land" line. The base station and handset communicate wirelessly with 5.8Ghz digital spread spectrum links in both directions. The handset can optionallly be paired with a Bluetooth headset (not included). The system can be expanded with up to nine additional handsets, and is compatible with several models of Uniden cordless handsets, but not all of these alternative handsets have Bluetooth capability. BASE STATION The base station has a battery that allows it to continue operating during a power outage. The answering machine only records about 14 minutes of messages, but the sound quality is good. The base station has a speakerphone that has good sound quality. The base station is physically attractive and has cool, blue-colored illumination, but the operation of the controls is often non-intuitive and quirky. NOTE: The base station for the similar model ELBT595 cordless phone system has the additional ability of making a Bluetooth connection to a cellphone. You can then make or recieve calls through the cellphone instead of (or in addition to) a land line. HANDSET The handset has a flip-phone form factor, similar to many cellphones. It is a bit bulkier, but also lighter, than most cellphones. My feelings about this are mixed: One one hand I like the conventional "brick" shaped handsets because you can just pick them up and use them (you don't have to flip them open and closed), and they are easier to hold. On the other hand, when having a conversation over a Bluetooth headset, its nice to be able to flip the handset closed, slip it into a pocket, and walk around while talking. The handset can be paired with a Bluetooth headset. Expansion handsets from this same model line can each be paired with their own Bluetooth headsets. The handset has a speakerphone that works reasonably well. The sound quality is good, but it's hard to align the earphone with your ear, so the incoming sound is often faint as a result. The handset has a USB port that allows it to be connected to a computer (see SOFTWARE) The handset can be used as a room or baby monitor, where you can connect to it from the base station (or another handset) and listen to the sounds audible at the handset's location. This can be disabled. Handsets can make direct, two-way-radio-like connections between each other. The handset has a color display and a keypad simiar to a cellphone, that lets you access and manage the phonelist, calendar, Bluetooth pairing, ringtones, etc. The user interface is often non-intuitive and quirky. SOFTWARE The system comes with a USB cable and a CD-ROM. The CD-ROM has software that runs on Windows 98se through XP on a PC (and, in my test, on Virtual PC 7 on MacOSX 10.3). You can use the USB cable to connect a handset to the PC, and use the PC to manage the handset's phone list, calendar, pictures, ringtones, etc. Each handset has it's own set of the above, and it looks like the software will let you manage the data sets for multiple handsets. The software also allows you to use the wireless link between the handset and base station to change settings on the base station. ============================================================