TV with DVR & Internet: $89.90/moGE 28128EE2 - cordless phone w/ call waiting caller ID & answering system
Manufacturer: GE Part number: 28128EE2
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The GE Cell Fusion ably combines access to home and cellular phone lines in one convenient package.
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CNET editors' review
GE 28128EE2 - cordless phone w/ call waiting caller ID & answering system price range: $34.99 - $103.39
- Reviewed by: Joseph Kaminski
- Edited by: John P. Falcone
- Reviewed on: 10/17/2007
- Released on: 06/27/2007
The good: Standard landline and cell phone calls on cordless handsets; good audio quality; great battery life; built-in speakerphone and digital answering system; includes two handsets, with support for up to five more.
The bad: Pedestrian handset design.
The bottom line: The GE Cell Fusion ably combines access to home and cellular phone lines in one convenient package.
While a lot of young people are said to be ditching their landlines, the vast majority of households continue to maintain some sort of wired line in addition to their cellular phones. As a result, people are often juggling both lines at home--fielding calls on the landline while opting to use the cellular to take advantage of free night and weekend minutes, for instance. Imagine, then, the advantage of being able to access both lines from a single phone. That's exactly the convenience promised by the GE Cell Fusion, a family of cordless home phones that can take and make calls using your cell phone or landline connections--or even both at the same time.
We examined the main 28128EE2 Cell Fusion model ($180 list, less online), which includes two cordless handsets and a digital answering system built into the base station. The base station supports a total of up to seven handsets, with additional ones (model 28101EE1) available for purchase for about $50. All of the Cell Fusion models utilize DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) wireless technology, a communications standard designed to minimize radio interference from other electronics devices, use power more efficiently, and provide encryption--potentially resulting in better audio quality, longer battery life, and secure conversations.
Out of the box, the Cell Fusion 28128EE2 delivers what appears to be a fairly typical cordless phone system: two handsets, a base station with a built-in digital answering system (for the primary handset), and a cradle charger (for the secondary handset). Each handset gets its own rechargeable battery and belt clips, and the package includes a wall-mount bracket for the base station as well. GE also throws in a Windows software CD and USB cable for customizing ringtones and editing the speed dial lists (more on that later).
In terms of cosmetics and aesthetics, the GE Cell Fusion phones are perfectly functional, but they aren't going to win any beauty contests. The handsets offer a slightly curved, rubberized-like grip on the backside of the handset, making it easier to hold in your hand or on your shoulder. The steel-gray, hourglass shaped faceplate includes a blue-backlit 1x1.5-inch LCD display, with a big chrome menu/navigation button underneath the LCD. The buttons are slightly raised with a keypad backlight. The handset measures 6.54 by 3.0 by 3.39 inches and weighs 0.34 lb. We found the handset to be comfortable and light. The base station measures 6.65 by 7.36 by 5.24 inches.
Using the Cell Fusion with your landline is as easy as connecting the base station to your telephone wall connection. But the Cell Fusion lives up to its name when you bring a cell phone into the mix. Up to two cell phones can be paired with the Cell Fusion base station. Any Bluetooth-enabled cell phone should work, and the process is identical to that of adding a Bluetooth headset. It took us only about 5 minutes of setup and getting acclimated to the keypad layout before we were making and receiving calls over our cell phone connection.
Once paired, one or two cell phones can nestle in their chargers, letting you make and receive calls on their numbers--from any of the Cell Fusion handsets in the house. We found that call quality was crisp and clear with both the handset's regular speaker as well as its speakerphone. In most cases when our cell phone rang, the Cell Fusion started ringing about 2 to 3 seconds later, giving us the option to answer the call from the actual cell phone or from the Cell Fusion--saving you from making a mad dash for the stairs to intercept a ringing cell phone. Assuming you have both a landline and a Bluetooth-capable cell phone, the Cell Fusion easily works with both, allowing you to put one on hold and switch over to the other--even allowing you to conference the two together. Conversely, those with no landline at all may find the Cell Fusion system to be useful as a "cellular extender"--setting up the base station in the part of the house where cell reception is best (say, on the second floor) and letting a secondary handset cover a notorious cell dead spot.
In addition to its unique cell phone features, the Cell Fusion system still offers a laundry list of the sort of baseline bullet points you'd expect from a cordless home phone system. Each handset offers a headset jack, room monitoring, speakerphones (on both the handsets and base), a push-to-talk feature that allows communication between handsets and base, a digital answering system with three mailboxes, call waiting, caller ID with 40-name memory, and phone book and directory memory (up to 200 contacts). You can add calendar entries, contacts, and polyphonic ringtones to the GE Cell Fusion from your Windows computer using the bundled software and USB connection on the handsets. And the wireless transmissions are said to be encrypted so that your neighbors can't listen in on their cordless phones or scanners. Additionally, the Cell Fusion comes with a one-year limited warranty and toll-free tech support.
In terms of general usage, the Cell Fusion is an all-around strong performer. The DECT wireless performed as advertised, with no breakup or interference, even in an office environment crammed full of competing wireless signals. Call quality was loud and clear, both on a landline and when using the Bluetooth link to a cell phone (though, obviously, cell quality may vary depending on the strength of your signal). GE says you can expect up to 7 hours of talk time and up to 10 hours of standby time. We didn't have the opportunity to formally test the battery life, but we did use the phone on and off for several days without recharging, and the battery-life indicator still showed a full charge. Like all multihandset systems, each handset communicates with the master base station, and we were able to get a good 125 feet before experiencing any breakup. In other words, most reasonably sized homes shouldn't have a problem, so long as the base station is centrally located.
While we could ding the Cell Fusion for not including the network connectivity that GE's Skype and InfoLink phones do, that would likely be overkill for most users at this point. Instead, the biggest gripe with the system is its old-fashioned run-of-the-mill cosmetics. It would've been a lot cooler, for instance, if GE used a look and feel similar to its Ultra-Slim cordless line. To that end, many users may find the stylish Vtech LS5145 to be a compelling alternative, even though it only includes a single handset and uses the older 5.8GHz wireless standard.
Its ho-hum looks notwithstanding, though, the Cell Fusion remains an impressive product. Its ability to make and receive calls on up to two Bluetooth-enabled cell phones easily trumps other cordless phone systems.
Labs Director Daniel Begun contributed to this review.
User reviews
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Terrible Product/ Terrible Support
by leader745 on November 20, 2007
Pros: Great Idea, too bad it does not work
Cons: Does not work
Summary: Bought this on Buy.com. I set it up and it worked for two or three days. Called Thomson and got no living person. Emailed Thomson/GE and got a ...
Summary: Bought this on Buy.com. I set it up and it worked for two or three days. Called Thomson and got no living person. Emailed Thomson/GE and got a automatic response that told me to power cycle and set up again. It worked for two or three more days. I decided to try again and waited until I had time to spend on the set up and troubleshooting - big mistake. It worked for a couple of days and then no dial tone again. Only now it has been more that 14 days since it was SHIPPED and Buy.com's policy is no refunds 14 days after it was SHIPPED, not received. Do not buy this product - it is defective, it looks great but it will waste your time and make you angry. I will not buy from Buy.com again and I think that CNET has become some kind of ***** for the commercial community. You cannot trust their reviews. Look at the cnet reviews and then at the user reviews - 9 times out of 10 there is not relationship. The users are getting screwed and CNET keeps giving questionalble items glowing reviews.
6 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great phone!
by hairr on November 21, 2007
Pros: Link To Cell and clarity
Cons: Phone book needs to be transfered to each handset and base, not just in all hand sets when entered. I find this a pain.
Summary: I got this phone a week ago and so far so good!
I have seen in other reviews that the phone book disapears and people seem to think that it ...Summary: I got this phone a week ago and so far so good!
I have seen in other reviews that the phone book disapears and people seem to think that it has something to do with the No battery warning on the base.
Well I do have the no battery warning but I have not put batteris in yet. I have not seen that my phone book has disapeared, at least not yet.
This Has been a life saver for me, since I only get cell reception in a certain place in my home. I use my cell for work and now when I am home I can get and make calls very easily!
Paired with my phone no problem I have a Treo700WX (Sprint).
The only glitch I have had so far is that for some reason once I could not make out going cell calls, incoming cell calls were coming in. I Unplugged the base and plugged back in, works fine. Haven't had the problem again.
Nothing is perfect, especially with electronics.
extremely clear as well!2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Horrible- Don't waste your time or money
by jarah_s on March 24, 2009
Pros: I like the fact that I can connect to my cell phone,
Cons: Can't dial out on it-- called customer service they said ship it back to them my cost, plus spent 30 minutes on a long distance call to them for nothing except a higher phone bill. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE STAY AWAY FROM GE PRODUCTS
Summary: Experience has been bad bad and bad. Don't waste your time or money on this item it is a waste all together
Summary: Experience has been bad bad and bad. Don't waste your time or money on this item it is a waste all together
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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overall not bad - could use some tweeking
by antkarn on November 29, 2008
Pros: Handset design is good with rubberized back so it doesn't slip. Sound quality good, no static. Voice mail alert/retrieval good. Base is good with numbers to dial out with.
Cons: When trying to access phone book, buttons do not work well for choosing names directly. Could use more ring tones.
Summary: Not being tech savvy, my husband has a difficult time with the bluetooth feature. When walking by the base unit with a cell phone, it picks up on the cell ...
Summary: Not being tech savvy, my husband has a difficult time with the bluetooth feature. When walking by the base unit with a cell phone, it picks up on the cell and then won't let it go causing the phone to be unusable. Just gave screeching noises when trying to use the Cell Fusion until it was reset by me, who was out of town so it took a few days to fix the problem. It gets really frustrating trying to get a specific phone number from the phone book. The buttons don't work well when they are pushed when looking for a person's name, ie. under 'R' ,etc. You have to scroll through all the names to get to the specific one you want, from 'A-Z'. I do like the Voice Mail alert feature. To use some of the features, it seems like you have to go through too many steps to access them, such as to use a speed dial feature on the base unit, you have to press 'end', then the number and HOLD it, then 'speakerphone' to access the speed-dial number. I don't know why you should have to press 'END' first when you haven't even picked up the phone to begin with. What am I ending? Overall it's an OK phone, but I think it could be improved on.
The phone should also come with more handsets, or have them available at stores for purchase, not have to go online to search for them.
Updated on Nov 29, 20081 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Support - BAD, Phone - We'll see
by hajekmarek on March 6, 2008
Pros: display on base station, battery backup
Cons: The phone can't be turned off unless you want to take out the batter
Summary: Purchased phone at Walmart 2 days ago. Installed battery pack and let it charge in cradle for 24 hours. One of the handsets never came on. I did some troubleshooting ...
Summary: Purchased phone at Walmart 2 days ago. Installed battery pack and let it charge in cradle for 24 hours. One of the handsets never came on. I did some troubleshooting and determined that the NiMH battery pack was dead. Ok, I figured this kind of thing happens. The easiest thing would be to take the unit back to Walmart for an exchange but first I decided to test out the support line. I called Thompson, reported the problem. The technician was intelligent enough not to give me some stupid run around. However, I was asked to send the whole unit to their service depot. I asked for a call tag and they said they don't pay for shipping. First, I think it should be the manufacturer's responsibility to pay for shipping when a unit fails out of the box. Then, requiring to ship the whole unit in because the battery pack is dead is ridiculous.
As far as the other problem people are experiencing that are most likely firmware related I have to say GE's support is lacking grossly! Why does every other company but GE have a Support section on their website? Why doesn't GE allow firmware updates through the USB interface on the phone? That is commonly done in electronics today. Kind of like a BIOS update you can perform on your computer motherboard. They tried to tout the phone as having the latest and greatest technology yet failed to incorporate common "useful" features.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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GE should get the Razzie for quality. Unreliable phone!
by glofalcon on June 23, 2009
Pros: Loaded with features.
Cons: Handset doe not work when dialig out/receiving calls. It has to be placed in the base to somehow reset the handsets. Phone is unreliable.
Summary: GE should be given the razzies for quality. Sure the phone is loaded with features. But if the phone turns out to be unreliable what's the point. This is ...
Summary: GE should be given the razzies for quality. Sure the phone is loaded with features. But if the phone turns out to be unreliable what's the point. This is my second GE phone. All the features fell apart one by one in the last one. Thought I will give them a second chance. Guess, it's the same old GE. But this time I am going to be smart and so I have returned the phone. Also, forget about GE support. I didn't really care about it though this time, but couldn't take the unreliable aspect of the phone
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Awesome Idea :: Buggy Software, Bad Implementation
by btheargy on October 8, 2008
Pros: Great Idea. I think a lot of people would find this "cell-connects-to-home-phone" idea extremely convenient. This particular version also comes with a home answering machine for you normal home phone line.
Cons: Answering machine did not allow anyone to leave a message.
When talking on GE phone through cell phone (via bluetooth), the voice would often turn robotic and cut in and out.
When scrolling through the menu, I could get the buttons to stop working.Summary: Again, I think this is an awesome idea. I ended up returning mine though because of all the bugs and the fact that the answering machine couldn't record a ...
Summary: Again, I think this is an awesome idea. I ended up returning mine though because of all the bugs and the fact that the answering machine couldn't record a message. I am looking forward to the future models of this style phone where you can talk on your cell phone through your home phone - but to me, this version is not quite there yet. Overall poor final implementation & buggy software. Great first try, but it's still gotta work the kinks out. Slightly lower price would be nice too.
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Did not work...twice
by moni013 on August 14, 2008
Pros: good idea but not executed
Cons: battery, linking
Summary: I purchased a Cell Manager and charged the phones for the 16 hours that it directs. Neither phone held it's charge, so they never worked. I exchanged the phones, ...
Summary: I purchased a Cell Manager and charged the phones for the 16 hours that it directs. Neither phone held it's charge, so they never worked. I exchanged the phones, charged the new phones, finally got a full battery, then tried to link my cell phone. My cell phone does have bluetooth, but it could not ever find the Cell Fusion. I guess in my experience this system was a huge failure... twice. I was excited about the idea of being able to use my house phone on my cell minutes. I've looked into other brands, but most have certain cell phones that you can use. I haven't found one that uses all bluetooth devices.
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Phone battery dead out of the box
by satish_ramakrishna on July 2, 2008
Pros: Looks good
Cons: Unreliable piece of c**p - typical GE product. And I sometimes fly in planes with their engines!
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So much promise, so little performance
by jeffbrichards on June 24, 2008
Pros: Trusted brand name
Cons: New bugs surface constantly
Summary: This is an unreliable phoneset. The Address Book disappears from the handsets. The Bluetooth links bond unreliably. The ergonomics are dense. Even the plasticky buttons stick. This is the worse ...
Summary: This is an unreliable phoneset. The Address Book disappears from the handsets. The Bluetooth links bond unreliably. The ergonomics are dense. Even the plasticky buttons stick. This is the worse phone I've had in two decades.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: GE
- Part number: 28128EE2
- Description: For over 100 years, what has remained constant is GE's dedication to change and progress. And that's what will keep the company growing over the next 100 years. From jet engines to power generation, from financial services to plastics, from television to medical imaging, GE people worldwide are dedicated to turning good ideas into products and services that make the world a better place. PRODUCT FEATURES: Dect 6.0 technology; Call waiting caller ID; Digital answering system; Handset speakerphone; Expandable up to 7 handsets; Melody ringtones; Do not disturb; Interference free; BlueTooth technology; Pairs 2 cell phones; Download: phonebook, calendar, ringtones.
General
- Product Type Cordless phone W/ answering system & caller ID
- Additional Handsets Qty 1
Phone Features
- Digital Technology DECT
- Max Handsets Supported 7
- Dialer Type Dual keypad
- Dialer Location Handset, base
- Dialing Modes Tone, Pulse
- Conference Call Capability Yes
- Intercom Yes
- Speakerphone Yes
- Caller ID Yes
- Call Waiting Yes
- Call Transfer Yes
- Call Hold Yes
- Call Screening Yes
- Toll Saver Yes
- Menu Operation Yes
- Function Buttons Mute button, Flash button, Redial button
- Volume Control Yes
- Ringer Control Yes
- Polyphonic Ringer Yes
- Handset Locator Yes
- Indicators Visual ringer light
- Lighted Keypad Yes
- Additional Functions Alarm, Call timer, Built-in clock, Time/day stamp
- Additional Features Babyphone (room monitoring)
Phone Memory
- Phone Directory Capacity 200 names & numbers
- Caller ID Memory 40 names & numbers
Answering System
- Answering System Type Digital
- Recording Capacity 20 min
- Message Counter Display Yes
- Voice Prompts Yes
Display
- Display LCD display - Monochrome
- Display Location Handset
- Display Languages French, English, Spanish
- Features Backlit
Display (2nd)
- Type LCD display
- Color Support Monochrome
- Display Location Base
Miscellaneous
- Connections 1 x Headset jack, 1 x USB
- Hearing Aid Compatible Yes
- Placing / Mounting Table-top, Wall-mountable
- Included Accessories Belt clip
Power
- Type Phone charging stand + power adapter - External
Battery
- Technology Rechargeable - Nickel metal hydride
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 1 year warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 1 year
