Amplicom PowerTel 580 Review
There isn't a huge range of cordless phones for the hard of hearing on the market but if you want the freedom of a cordless phone around your home then the popular Amplicom Powertel 580 Cordless DECT phone is ideal for most people.
So What Main Features Does It Have?
- Adjustable loud ringer volume
- Very loud base ringer volume settings
- Loud handset volume
- Handset boost button
- Adjustable tone control
- Hearing aid compatible
- 2 programmable personalised volume, tone and boost settings
- Optical flashing ringer
- Answerphone (11 minutes recording time)
- Big buttons on the handset
- Bold font when using the menu
- Screen Contrast Settings
- Caller ID available if you subscribe to a service
- Capable of storing 200 names and phone numbers
- 2 direct dial speed buttons
- GAP compatible for up to 4 handsets
- A vibrating/shaker device (not included) can be connected
- Maximum 100 hours standby
- Maximum 11 hours conversation time
What's it Like in Use?
The Powertel 580 is a very loud phone (if you want it to be) especially when it comes to the ringer. If missing the phone ring is one of your main problems then this is the perfect phone. The handset ringer volume is loud but the base ringer volume is very loud so you may have to fiddle around with settings so that you can hear the phone ring but not have it so loud that it annoys your neighbours if they're close by.
There are a variety of different ring tones you can use and if you use a Caller ID service you can set it to play a different ring tone for different people.
The receiver volume can be changed so that it is much louder than on a normal phone by using the menu. If you need to increase the volume during a call you can do so by using a button on the right-hand side. There is even a boost button to increase the volume still further.
A particularly good feature of the Amplicom Powertel 580 is the equalizer tone control to compensate for individual frequency hearing loss. You can set it in advance via the menu or during a phone call.
Of course there is a problem if the phone is used by more than just one person in the home. A phone handset that is set to a high volume can be painful on the ears of anyone with normal hearing. The Amplicom 580 allows you to set up 2 personalised profiles in addition to the setting set via the menu which is automatically memorised. So you could set the phone to be at the right levels of volume, tone and boost for your hearing loss and if there's some else in your home with impaired hearing they can use one of the profiles to keep their own settings. And that will still leave one profile left which you could set at low volume for visitors to your home.
The phone is hearing aid compatible if you have a 'T' setting on your hearing aid which will cut out interference on the phone while also reducing background noise.
For older users there are the big buttons that are a lot easier to use than on a standard cordless phone and the display is bigger as well if you're sight isn't too good. However if your dexterity or sight are particularly bad then you may find the buttons aren't well spaced enough and the screen and font are too small. This is simply due to the nature of all cordless phones not just the Amplicom 580 - there's a limit to how big you can make buttons and screens because of the size of the handset.
If you want you can buy additional handsets to use with your base unit. Up to 4 handsets can be used and if you're worried about mislaying any of them there's a useful paging function that will allow you to locate any that have gone missing.
The phone also comes with all sorts of features that are standard on normal phones such as a mute button and phone book so you're not losing out on regular features by choosing an Amplicom Powertel 580.
Pros
This is a good all-round cordless phone with many features and it is very powerful so will be useful for even people with quite severe hearing loss. The profile settings are a very useful feature as they allow more than one person to use the phone without have to fiddle with settings every time.
Cons
The biggest problem that the PowerTel 580 has is that it has lots of features. This means that you do need to read the instruction manual to set things up. If you're buying this for an elderly relative you'll need to set it up for them unless they're good with quite complex instruction manuals. However once it is set then it's relatively straightforward to use.
