subject: How The Ooma Telo Handset Stacks Up To Other Phones [print this page] The Ooma Telo handset is a device that goes with the Ooma base station. Its purpose is for allowing customers of the Ooma voice over IP system to take their conversations in and around the home. Although not perfect, this gadget complements the system quite well.
Compared to other headsets, you will pay about the same price for the Ooma Telo handset. You may find coupons in some retailers that will get you below the $50 that the piece usually sells for. Sometimes Ooma has promotions where existing customers may give out coupons to others who do not already have the Ooma voice over IP system.
Another feature available only to the Ooma headset is the instant syncing feature. This feature allows you to add contacts to your online phone book in your Ooma panel, press one button, and have all of the contacts downloaded to your phone. It's not an instant transfer, and it does take some time, but it's a lot better than adding a hundred contacts the old fashioned way!
The Ooma Telo handset can also act as a baby monitor and an intercom system. Both features have a one-touch button to activate them. To activate the two features you must take advantage of your dual line system, which comes with the Ooma Premier service. An easy speakerphone is also included so you can do business as usual without having to worry about tying one hand behind your back in the process.
There are some gripes about the Ooma handset. For starters, the handset seems slow in reacting to different actions. You can cycle through your contact list as quick as you can, but the actual pointer will far lag behind. This holds true for entering digits and doing other functions as well. It's a little frustrating that you can't do something as fast with other phones, but this is easily overlooked if you have patience.
As far as looks go, the Ooma handset can't get much better. It's a sleek black that looks great right out of the box. The numbers are large, soft to the touch, and well laid out. You won't have problems figuring out the different functions or trying to push buttons. The one gripe about the base for the phone is that the LED can't be shut off. If your phone is in the base, you can bet the LED will be on too- kind of annoying.
Closing Comments
Ooma will be releasing a next generation phone sometime in the future- and it's going to definitely be exciting. There are many that speculate the new phone will have features like picture ID and messaging features enabled.
