Cetis Scitec 2510E Red Single Line Emergency Desk Phone (SCI-25003)

We needed a nice landline phone for emergency use and 911 identification (the VOIP phones and cell phones don't give your address to 911, only the landline phone does). The landline phones are also the only ones that will work in case of a power outage. Since these do not plug into an electrical outlet, only the modular phone plug, it will work in case of a power outage. This phone has a very solid feel and a good weight to stay in place. We've had those lightweight trimline phones, but the whole phone moves or falls off the table if you move with the handset too far from the phone. We didn't like those at all and the cord kinked up all the time. This red phone is solid, the cord is nice, and it stays in place, plus it's a great red color, easy to see and gives a fun retro Red Phone Bat Phone emergency look. Sound quality is good and the bell has two ring volumes that you can adjust. There is no way to silence the ring, but you can turn it down to the lower tone which is plenty audible in the house.

The phone is exactly what I hoped it would be! It reminds me of my childhood. It's nice quality and a brilliant red. The ring is nice and loud and the volume is good. I hooked it into my modem and bought a cheap answering machine and ran a line into it. No problems whatsoever. I definitely recommend it if you want a bit of nostalgia.

I needed a house phone i definitely wanted on that plugged directly into a wall jack (not a cordless). I also wanted something to fit into my clean retro styling. This phone didn’t disappoint! It’s stylish but looks vintage and the bright red color fits my decor. It works well and the ringer definitely has that loud retro sound! My guest have labeled it the BAT PHONE because of the look. I’m definitely happy that I purchased it.

**EDIT TO BELOW REVIEW** After playing around with some settings on my Cisco ATA, I was able to clear up the quiet DTMF and unresponsive button issue I was having. I did this by setting the FXS Port Impedance to 900. The default is 600. I also bumped the FXS Port Power Limit to 5. Because of this I also bump my rating to 4 stars for this product, as now it's a proper working phone! Overall, this phone is nice. Note that this is a rebranded Cortelco 250047VBA20MD (the "Made in China" model). The phone is branded as "Cetis", who is a distributor of phones for hotels, hospitals, etc. It has a very loud and nice sounding bell ringer with a high and low setting. Though there isn't much inside, there is a small weight to help give the base a heavier feel. This combined with the large rubber feet mean this phone won't easily slide off the desk. The sound quality of the microphone and earpiece are also excellent. Note that I am using this phone with a Cisco SPA112 SIP analog telephone adapter ("ATA"). One tip to make the bells work better with an ATA is to adjust your ring settings to sinusoid, 90V, 25Hz. I was worried the ringer might not work properly on an ATA (which is a frequent issue with some ATAs), but I've not had an issue when using these settings. The REN of this phone is listed as 1.1B. My only complaint with this phone is the keypad. I've noticed two problems - first is that the DTMF tones generated by this phone are very quiet. This results in frequent misdialing, as the tones are not always picked up properly. Other phones I have do not exhibit this problem, so I'm assuming this is a defect. The other flaw I noticed today is that the star (*) and pound (#) keys don't always work when picking up the phone. This is especially annoying when having to dial a service code (e.g. to access voicemail). Those two keys only seem to start working correctly after pressing a number key. Again I'm assuming this is a defect. Unfortunately, this problem with the DTMF tones and keypad is a dealbreaker for me. Despite the flaws, its classic look and color make it a nice decoration and conversation piece.

I had a cheap plastic phone that had such a light-weight base, it would flip off the desk when I picked up the receiver. Eventually the coiled cord twisted enough that the wires were breaking, but I couldn't replace the cord because it doesn't come out. Had to get rid of it. I cut all the cords off and gave it to my kids as a play phone. My new red phone is great. People agonize about the ring, so let me tell you, this ring is loud, but sweet. It's not like you feel some monster is clanging a bell in your ear, it's a nice high-pitched ring that isn't unpleasant at all, but is a pitch that nothing else in your house will have. So even from the other end of the house I know the phone is ringing. Oh, and it's a real bell, not some electronic sound. Kinda nice. I will have a newborn here in a few days, but I am not worried that the phone ring will wake her, because the pitch is pleasant enough that it is not jarring at all. So that's a real plus. The other great thing about this phone is that though it's not super heavy like the old ones were back in the 60's, it still has plenty of heft to keep it on the table and not sliding around. The receiver is very comfortable sitting on my shoulder propped against my ear as I chat and flip thru papers or computer screens as needed for my phone work. And I can hear everyone perfectly well with the receiver loudness set to medium. Its just slightly darker than fire-engine red. We call it our "bat phone". Oh, and the cords are all replaceable -- though no coiling around has been detected yet, after 2 weeks of use. Also, if you are getting a home phone, make sure it's one that your kids will be able to dial "911" on easily. The rotary phones are pretty, but less practical for that situation.

This thing is killer. From the gloss red finish to the real two-bell multi-tone ringer, the Cetis puts the more expensive Cortelco brand to shame. The phone fully functions with VoIP systems like OOMA and MagicJack, and even has a line out jack, should one decide to use a caller ID box. It isn't as heavy or solid as its Western Electric progenitors, but in call quality and compatibility, it far outshines.

PROS * The phone feels solid * The receiver has a volume control switch with a low and high setting (may be helpful for those who are hard of hearing - I find the low setting is sufficient) * It has a second jack on the back of the phone to run a line out to a fax machine (or a computer that uses a dial-up connection!) * It doesn't require an external power source (should work in a blackout if you still have POTS/"copper line" service) * It comes in "Presidential Hotline" red (I believe that it also is available in a non-gaudy beige) CONS * Began hearing significant static during calls after a few months of light use. Re-checked for loose connections/frayed wires: none are evident, yet static persists on all calls. The phone was not dropped or handled in a rough manner. We stopped using the phone for this reason.

I bought it recently so I can't say much, I'll update if necessary. But for the time being, I'm happy with the product. It's working well out of the box. Looks like it's made of good quality. Having red strong color was the most important for me and I'm happy with the result. One problem is that the cable does not fit the connection type of my line, hence I needed an adaptor to connect the phone. I don't live in the US though, so that's probably not a concern for most of you.