AT&T CL4940 1-Handset Landline Telephone with Large Display

I purchased my AT&T CL4940 locally because I needed a that-day replacement for a long-time-in-service Nortel.

I'm writing this review based on initial quality as I have only owned the phone for 24 hours. Thus far I am impressed by:

1. Sound quality through both the handset and speaker. This is adjustable with a 4 setting equalizer, I'm using the default 'Natural' setting, there are two treble boost settings and one bass boost setting available.

2. Volume available through both handset and speaker is individually adjustable and can be made very loud on the highest settings.

3. Answering machine ease of operation.

4. Total message+announcement recording time of 25 minutes -these days that's good, many answering machines have less than 15 minutes of audio storage. 60 minutes is still the target amount for manufacturers in my opinion -the problem is that like most answering machines, this one will stop taking messages once the memory is full -and a busy business day or some political robocalls can fill things up pretty fast and shut the system down.

5. Good human interface -big buttons, readable and backlit display, clealy labled control buttons -you do still need to look at the manual just a bit to see how the menu and control system is set up but it's about as simple as it can be made, IMO.

The one disadvantage is the index in the user manual which has way too few entries -I downloaded the .pdf version of the manual just to search for info on the 'equalizer' (it can only be set while you are listening to something) -and how to reset the 'missed calls' counter (press and hold the CANCEL button). Other than the lack of a complete index, the user manual is clear and explanatory.

At the time of this review there are two 2-rated reviews. The one mentioning the need for a DSL filter if you have DSL service applies to most phones and fax machines. Although I did not try the included wall mounting bracket, looking at it I would agree that this phone is not well suited for wall mounting -I don't know of any larger desktop type phones that include an answering machine that are.

Overall I give this phone high marks for design, execution, and value, with durability being the unknown factor.

The AT&T CL4940 is a single-line speakerphone with answering machine functions and caller ID, which makes it one of many similar phones crowding the market.

What sets this phone apart is the large, backlit, tiltable display. Why every landline phone doesn't have a display this nice is beyond me. Most everything else about the phone is typical, but it does add further functions to help those of us who are growing older:

* A large keypad for easy dialing

* A four-setting equalizer function to tweak sound

* "Audio Assist" to temporarily boost receiver volume

* Relatively intuitive functions that can be set up easily

That said, one of the failings of this phone is that--for all its audio-altering capabilities--it does not have a rich sound compared to a cheaper AT&T phone I used to own. This seems odd given this phone's equalizer and Audio Assist functions, but the duller sound quality is obvious in comparison. Another quirk is the dial-back feature; there seems to be no way to program it to add a "1" automatically when dialing outside a set of local area codes, reducing the function's usefulness.

If all those sound bells and whistles had worked as advertised, this could have been a five-star phone. As it is, it's okay, but that still makes it better than many phones out there. And did I mention how great the display is?

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I bought this phone to replace an AT&T CL4939 which failed just three months after the warranty expired. While the phone has many nice features, when I hooked it up, the phone would not ring when a call came in. It took two different techs at AT&T customer service to figure out that I needed to upgrade my phone line to a digital signal box. This was nowhere disclosed either on the box or in the owner's manual. It should be. So, before you buy this phone, make sure you have the correct line coming into your system.

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The phone is well designed, except for one major flaw, which I discuss later. The basic controls are easy to use. It has some clever features, like the redial format selection, which allows one to select the format the phone uses to redial a number from the phone log. After selecting a number from the caller ID lot, you can select whether the phone dials seven digits, 10 digits, or 10 digits preceded by 1. The major flaw goes to the heart of the product, the large display. It is large. It is not backlit. An LCD display that is not backlit appears black on gray. It can be read only with strong direct light on it. It is all well and good to see the new message light blinking, but I wish I could glance into the kitchen as I pass and read the text display of how many calls I'd missed, or be able to review the caller ID log without turning on the brightest light in the room. While I'm at it, it is grossly misleading to market this phone with a picture of a backlit display. That is not what the phone looks like when installed.

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Bought this through Amazon.com. Price and delivery were very satisfactory. The phone has nice features like the amber back lighted display with large characters in addition to the large dial buttons especially good for older folks with less than perfect vision. The speaker phone works in a satisfactory manner.

Now for what I think may need some improvement:

when you record a voice greeting you have speak to the phone approximately 9 inches away from the phone. There should be a way to record your greeting on the handset. The resulting recorded greetings were not as good as they should be in this day and time I would not let this keep me from buying this phone at this price point.

our mounting location in the kitchen is under a high cabinet but lower than what many wall phone elevations are. The display on the phone is ok if you are sitting or kneeling down, but if you are standing the ability to read the display is diminished. The display tilts down, but I think the manufacturer should consider giving the display more range of tilt to include a few degrees up tilt.

the small recording controls buttons at the top of the keypad could be a little larger to accommodate larger characters so they would be more readable by the visually challenged.

Overall this phone is very nice and I recommend its purchase it just could use some improvements.

(Some reviewers complained about a flimsy wall mounting bracket that comes with the phone I have had no problems with the phone coming off the wall even with small jerks on the handset cord.)

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