VTECH VT9111: A Cool Cordless Phone with Just the Right Features
Written: Sep 18 '01 (Updated Sep 21 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Loud and Clear, Inexpensive, Durable, Looks Cool, Many Colors, and much more…
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: A cool looking phone that meets one’s basic needs… great sound, battery life, and range.
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| rodeo7's Full Review: Vtech VT 9111 900 MHz - Cordless Phone |
I have owned my VT9111 for a while now and it is possibly my favorite cordless phone of all time! My former roommate also had a VT9151, which is the same as the VT9111, but with an integrated answering machine. Both telephones have been very dependable and problem-free.
The first thing that usually attracts people to this line of VTECH phones is their interesting visual design. They’re all made of translucent, brightly colored plastic and have very interesting lines and curves. The exterior of the plastic is slightly textured. Rather than having a perfectly shiny and smooth surface, it is on the “matte finish” side for looks and grip. They also come in several different colors including Blueberry and Grape. My former roommate’s was green, but it probably has some fruity name, like Green Apple. It’s neat that you can see the inner workings of the phone.
Another silly, but fun feature of the phone are three orange lights located in the base. They flash whenever the telephone rings, or when the handset is placed in the base. It actually does help in rare occasions like if I have the music crazy loud and I just happen to be looking in the phone’s direction when it rings. I never heard the ring, but I saw the lights blink and was able to get the call. It is more of a fun than functional add-on though
As with most cordless telephones, the VT9111 is very simple to unpack and use once purchased. Unwrap everything from their packaging. No, that is not a dust cover for the battery. It’s called shrink-wrap. Slide off the cover for the battery compartment in the handset. Put the battery in and replace the cover. Connect the AC adapter to the base and plug the AC adapter into the wall outlet (110Volt). Connect the phone to a wall telephone jack with the telephone cord. Mount the phone on the wall if you’d like with the included mounting adapter. You’re all set! It is necessary to leave the handset in the base “overnight” (12 hours is my usual new phone charge time) before using it to make sure the battery gets fully juiced up. If one wishes, now is a good time to flip through the Instruction Manual to check out all the features of your brand new phone.
The VT9111 has all the basic features of a good quality cordless phone. It’s 900MHz and has your basic 12 button configuration plus Redial, Memory, Program, Channel, Phone and Off. Phone acts as Flash if you need to toggle call waiting or caller ID. Use the Channel button to switch between 30 channels if necessary. My calls with this phone have been so clear that I actually rarely use this feature. The only times I’ve had to switch channels are when I accidentally pick up some one else’s cordless conversation. Don’t you hate that? Well, okay, listening in on your neighbor’s boring conversation is somehow interesting for a minute or so.
The Program button is used to program up to 10 numbers into Memory, which the Memory button is used to access. I like the feel and placement of the buttons on the handset. They aren’t too small or too large for me and are made out of a soft, rubbery material, which give them a distinctly different feel than the main body of the handset for easy dial-by-feel dialing. They also press nicely and register quickly. I know that sounds funny, but I’ve used some phones that don’t dial so well. Some phones I’ve used, you almost have to push the button as hard as you can just to get it to register the button press. Other phones, if you dial too quickly, it somehow doesn’t dial the numbers. It’s as if you’re physically dialing faster than the phone can register the presses.
There is also an In-Use LED on the handset as well as a three level volume control. The phone is adequately loud at the lowest level, but it’s nice to know I can increase the volume if there’s a little too much noise in the room I’m in. The handset also beeps when it’s low on batteries and when you press the Page button located on the base. This feature is useful when you have no idea where you left the handset.
Also located on the base is the Tone/Pulse toggle switch, an In Use LED, a Charging LED, and a Power LED to let you know the base is plugged in. The antenna isn’t obnoxiously long at about 6” in height. The antenna of the handset is very short and thick at about an inch high. I don’t like telescoping antennae because they tend to break more often from everyday use.
The durability of this phone is excellent. It has a nice weighty and sturdy feel to it. Some phones have thin plastic casing and are very light in weight. They feel as if they’d break the first time they were ever dropped of knocked off the coffee table. Both handsets have survived dozens of accidental drops and one intentional chuck across the room. (I didn’t chuck it. I prefer not to hurl my electronics through the air.)
As I mentioned, the quality of sound is excellent with this phone. Volume has always been loud and clear. There is never any fuzz or static during normal usage (i.e., static occurs sometimes if it’s storming outside). The only times I get static is if I leave my brick walled apartment and try to talk outside, but that would be expected. The included NiCad battery has never died on me. True, I am religious about hanging up the handset if I know I don’t need it off the base, so this keeps the battery 100% charged for every call.
The only feature of the VT9111 that I haven’t used is the Headset Compatibility since I don’t own a headset and have no need for one. You would simply plug the 2.5mm headset hack into the jack in the side of the handset. Slip the handset into a pocket, or hang it on your belt with the belt clip. Then, use the headset to listen and speak. This would have come in handy once for me, when I was on hold with Dell Tech Support for 2 hours. I could have gone about the rest of my day while waiting, rather than holding the phone up to my ear and trying to do things one-handed most of the time.
Comparatively, I seriously think this is the best cordless phone that I’ve ever had. The most important features of a cordless phone for me are that it has good range, battery lasts a while, and most importantly that the sound is loud and clear. All these are excellent with the VT9111. I’ve had so many more phones that had plenty of extra features to kick up the price and make them mighty expensive, but they lacked the basic qualities of a good cordless phone.
If you’ve read my other reviews, you’ve probably noticed that I tend to buy quality products at the lower end of the price scale being a poor college boy and all. I also love it when I can find products that have all the features that I want, and no extra features for me to have to waste money on. The only feature “wasted” on this phone is the Headset Compatibility.
Some features that I don’t need are Multi-Line, Caller ID Display, an Integrated Answering Machine, and Speaker Phone. VTECH is pretty slick because they have made multiple models of the same style phone that have each of these features. As I said, my former roommate had the VT9151 with the integrated answering machine. The answering machine worked well. It had three mailboxes and was very easy to use. It included the date and time as well as choice of messages and message types. Digitally recording, it had plenty of space for tons of messages.
I had heard that VTECH was an excellent maker of phones, which is why I decided to consider them when purchasing a new cordless phone. There was one model that I did return though. Since it is not available as a product in Epinions, I’ll just mention here that the VT989109 is not worth buying. Listed at $30, I was able to get one at $20. It is made of the cheap feeling plastic I mentioned, and it was kind of ugly too. Most importantly, it was ALWAYS fuzzy and unclear when having a phone call. If you increased the volume with the volume switch, it just increased the fuzz’s volume making it worse. I gave the phone a couple of weeks, figuring it needed to fully charge or break in, but I eventually packed it up and got my money back.
So back to the original topic, I recommend the VT9111 and its similar counterpart models to everyone looking for a simple cordless phone at an inexpensive price. Listed on the VTECH website as “under $70”, most retail chains sell the VT9111 for $50. It’s definitely worth $50. They’re perfect for kids and young adults since they look cool and are functionally excellent, but don’t let that hinder you from putting one of these babies in an office to spice up your desk a little.
[I believe this year’s models include solid colors too, but I’m not 100% positive. These weren’t available when I purchased mine and when my former roommate had purchased hers.]
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
rodeo7
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Member: Eddie
Location: Virginia, USA
Reviews written: 29
Trusted by: 71 members
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