[ Music ]
^M00:00:03
>> Hi. I'm David Carnoy, executive editor for CNET.com, and I'm gonna give you a quick video tour of Vtech's LS6225 series cordless phone. This model is new for 2009, and is one of the company's featured Dected 6.0 cordless phones. In case you didn't know it, Vtech has a reputation for making sleek and stylish cordless phones, and the LS6225 series is an eye catcher, with a shiny black finish, touch buttons on the base unit, and a slight curve to the handsets that follows the contour of your face. You can get this model in packages of two and three handsets, and the system is expandable up to a whopping 12 handsets. With the design of this cordless phone, it looks like Vtech drew some inspiration from Motorola's razor cell phones, particularly when it comes to the keypad. The keys are flush to the phone and made of hard plastic, but their spacing is good, and we had no trouble dialing numbers. The keys are backlit, and while the 1.5-inch LCD isn't huge, it should be ample size for most users. The base unit is attractively styled with a sleek, minimalist design. As noted, there are no buttons on the base unit, rather all the controls are touch-based, and they worked fine in our tests. One thing that we didn't like was that the shiny black finish, both on the front and the back of the phone, is a fingerprint magnet. But on a more positive note, we found the user interface relatively straightforward and easy to navigate. And while there's no speakerphone in the base unit, there is one built into the back of the handset. This phone isn't loaded with features. For instance, you don't get the extras found on some of Panasonic's latest models, including talking caller ID, talking alarm clock, and talking battery or ringer ID. But all the standard stuff is here. There's a call silent mode, three-way conference capability, and a handset to base intercom function, plus handset-to-handset communications. It's also worth mentioning that there's no headset hack in the handset for hands-free operation, although many people don't care about this feature. The digital answering machine can store up to 14 minutes worth of messages, and any of the handsets registered to the system can access the phone book, which allows you to store up to 50 names and numbers. As for battery life, Vtech says you should get up to eight hours of talk time, and up to eight days of stand-by time. In our tests, these numbers seemed a little on the high side, but Vtech says operating times vary depending on your actual use and age of the battery. Dect 6.0 operates in the 1.9-gigahertz range and is designed not to interfere with other electronics in your home, such as microwaves, Wi-Fi networks, and baby monitors. It's also supposed to offer extended range, up to around 200 feet, though distance will vary according to obstacles and material in your walls. In our test we found that the LS6225 series didn't do quite as well as Panasonic 6400 series. The Panasonic offered about 10 feet more range before the connection with the base unit dies. That said, call quality with this model was clear overall, and we got ample volume. In the end, this Vtech may not have the deepest feature set or the strongest performance in terms of range, but it is one of the sexier looking Dect 6.0 models out there. And it's also relatively affordable with a three-handset model coming in right around $80.00. I'm David Carnoy, and that's the Vtech LS6225 series cordless phone. Thanks for watching.
^M00:03:11
[ Music ]
