The Life and Times of Seattle’s Small Business Systems Consultant. Articles and advice on small business phone systems, phone and internet services, VoIP, and all things technology related.

Selkowitz Technology | Seattle’s small business network and telecom consultant

(2 votes, average: 3 out of 5)

 Loading ...

Cordless phones are very popular for small medical clinics and retail stores, as the staff often isn’t tied to a desk but around and about. For an office needing a bare-bones solution, the Panasonic KX-TG4500B among other models are good, but lack the feature set of a full phone system.

Few small business phone systems have offered high quality cordless handsets at a reasonable price. Furthermore cordless handsets have often suffered with lower call quality, interference, and poor battery life.

This is why the introduction of the Talkswitch TS-850i a big breakthrough for the market. The 850i uses the DECT6 protocol which delivers great sound quality and avoids interference. Plus the handsets deliver 8 hours of talk time and 240 hours of standby - plenty for even the busiest day at work.

While this phone is brand new, I’m happy to say that I’m not getting my information from the press releases - I’ve been a beta tester for a few months.

The Package
The 850i is a three part system - base station, handset, and charging cradle for $299. The base station generally gets installed with the phone system or in a central location for best range. Each base can support up to 8 handsets, so most small businesses will need just one or two bases - but the system scales to five bases (40 handsets). Additional handsets with charging cradles are $149.

The Physical Handset
One of the nice things about the 850i is its comfortable to hold. Many cordless phones have followed the cell phone “thinner is better” approach only to lead to handsets that are uncomfortable to hold over a long period. The 850i has a good size and curved backside which I’ve found very comfortable to hold. The handset can stand upright on its own, making it easy to grab when it rings. I know this may sound trivial, but trust me, you’ll come to appreciate it after time with other handsets.

Handset battery life is 8 hours of talk time, 240 hours of standby - I end up charging the handset once or twice a week. A pleasant surprise is the 850i uses standard NiMH AA rechargeable batteries instead of proprietary battery packs - replacement batteries are available at nearly any electronics store.

The 850i also includes a belt clip and has a 2.5mm (cell phone style) headset jack - making it ideal for handsfree use. The speakerphone function is surprisingly high quality - I’ve had no problem carrying on long conversations over speakerphone.

Features
The 850i is designed specifically for the Talkswitch phone system, making it is nicely integrated with the phone system features. Common features like call transfer, hold, and 3 way conference are all just a button press away. Voicemail alerts show up both on screen and via a flashing light on top of the handset.

The handset features a 170 entry phone book and call log of incoming, outgoing, and missed calls - allowing for easy redial.

Ideal Uses
So far our most interested customers have been medical offices but I see many uses. Retail stores and warehouses can both benefit from cordless handsets. One of the most interesting applications is in job trailers - the 850i base with a VoIP enabled Talkswitch can go outside a business’s main office and be placed anywhere with an internet connection. This means job trailers don’t need their own phone lines, making job setup and teardown easier. For contractors this makes communication easier, faster, and cheaper between the office and job sites.

Bottom Line
For businesses looking for more than just a basic cordless phone system, the Talkswitch offers a full phone system feature set along with any combination of desk and cordless handsets. This flexility and power makes the Talkswitch and 850i unique in the small business phone system industry. Given this and the excellent price point I’m certain the 850i will be a popular option.

Leave a Reply

Join the Discussion in Our Forums