| If you run a home-based business, it's safe to
assume that a typical day for you includes a considerable amount of phone
calls, faxes, and e-mail. Products such as the Personal Extension Phone (PXP)
allow you more control over both your business and home phone situations.
The PXP phone is a 2x8 speakerphone which allows you to have the
advanced capabilities usually found only on business phones. These
capabilities enable you to transfer calls between phones, make internal
intercom calls, and place calls on hold. In addition, the PXP phone
indicates which lines are in use, and automatically selects open lines for
incoming or outgoing calls. This makes it possible to avoid disruptions to
fax transmissions or voice calls.
INSTALLATION
We unpacked the phones from their boxes and followed the quick
installation guide that was included. The phone setup was easy and only
took a few minutes. We simply connected each phone's AC adaptor and then
consulted the User's guide for connecting the telephone lines. Because we
wanted to test the phones in a multiple extension situation, we needed to
use a Teltone line simulator to emulate a 2-line setup.
Next, we programmed the extension number for each phone. This involved
pressing the Program and Transfer buttons at the same time, then pressing
the extension number we wanted each phone to use. If more than one phone
is used, then each phone needs to be programmed with a unique extension
number between 1 and 9. We wanted to keep it simple, so we chose to use
extension numbers 1 and 2. Since the phone's default extension setting is
1, we only needed to program the extension number of the second phone.
DOCUMENTATION
The documentation included a Quick Installation Guide and a User's Guide.
The installation guide provided five easy steps to get our phones up and
running in about two minutes. The User's Guide provided more detailed
information about each feature of the phone. It was easy to read,
understand, and helpful for the most part.
FEATURES
The Personal Extension Phone offers some of the most useful features of a
standard business phone, such as speakerphone, intercom, call transfer,
speed dial, and line-in-use detection. Some of the additional advanced
features include:
- 2-Line Conferencing -- allows you to have a three-way
conference with callers on lines 1 and 2. Additional PXP phones in the
household can also be included in the conference call when this
feature is used in conjunction with the transfer feature.
- True Line In Use -- prevents disruption to calls by detecting
when a line is in use by another phone, modem, or fax machine, and
makes sure that the free line is the only one available for you to
select. This feature allows phones, fax machines, or modems from any
manufacturer to be detected.
- Independent Do-Not-Disturb -- this feature prevents calls on
one line from being interrupted by calls on the other. It can be
enabled for each line separately. So if Line 2 is used as a fax and
voice line, then enabling this option for that line would prevent
calls from being interrupted by incoming faxes, while still allowing
calls to be made and received.
- Line Free Alert -- when enabled, this option sets off an
audible signal to let you know when a line becomes available. If both
lines are currently busy, then all you need to do is lift the handset,
press the hold button, and replace the handset. This will set the
alert to automatically let you know when a line becomes free.
- Intercom -- allows you to call a specific extension or to
broadcast through all extensions simultaneously. If you don't know
which room someone is in, you can broadcast a message through all the
PXP phones in the house. This allows the person to answer you by
simply picking up the nearest phone.
- Message Light -- indicates that an incoming call was not
answered. The message light will turn on if a call is not answered
within a specified number of rings, which can be set by the user.
OPERATIONAL TESTING
After setting the extension numbers on our phones, we were ready to test
the basic telephony features. We wanted to check the quality of the phone
itself so we disconnected one from the line simulator and connected it to
an outside line. We made several phone calls. The quality was good, though
we did notice that the volume of the handset was a little low, which made
the person at the other end somewhat difficult to hear.
Next, we tried the memory feature. Since it seems that everyone is a
slave to speed dial these days, we wanted to make sure that the process of
storing numbers was as easy as it appeared to be in the manual. We pressed
the Store button on the side of the phone, entered a phone number, pressed
the Store button again, and then selected 1 as the memory location. To
confirm that it worked we picked up the handset, pressed the Memory
button, and then pressed the number 1 button. We immediately heard the
sound touchtones followed by a connection to our intended destination.
To test the transfer feature of the phone, we initiated a call on Line
1 of one phone (extension 1), and then transferred the call to the other
PXP phone (extension 2). From the phone assigned to extension 2, we heard
two short rings as the Line 1 button started flashing. This indicated that
we had a call waiting, so we just lifted the handset and pressed the Line
1 button to be connected to our transferred caller.
The Do-Not-Disturb (DND) feature was one of our favorite options.
Simply by pressing a button, we could set this option for an individual
line, or for both lines. So if we were in one room and didn't want to be
interrupted, we could enable this option for the phone in that room, yet
still ring extensions in other rooms. Another nice feature is the ability
to program your voice mail service into speed dial. After storing the
number using the memory feature, you can just pick up the handset and
press the message button when you see that the message light is on.
Overall, the set up and testing of the PXP phones went relatively
smoothly. In terms of compatibility, we would like to mention that up to
eight PXP phones can be installed in your home and they will supposedly
integrate smoothly with telephones, fax machines, or modems from other
manufacturers. We found the design of the phone itself to be user-friendly
and easy to navigate. Specifically, we liked the compact style of the
phone and found the raised keys and control buttons to be essential to the
overall comfort of the unit. The only aspect of its appearance that we
would consider changing would be to move the Program and Store buttons
from the side of the phone to the front, or at least make them larger or
easier to access.
Alana Technologies has expanded their PXP product line to include a
cordless phone model and a caller-ID model. Both versions are essentially
capable of the same capabilities as the desktop model. They also have
future plans to incorporate data networking, computer-telephony
integration, and home automation into this product line.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
One complaint we have is that the volume of the person we were speaking to
seemed too low. We tried several calls and had the same results. While
there is a speaker volume button, this has no affect on the handset
volume. Volume control for the handset would be a welcome addition.
Another improvement we would like to suggest has to do with the process
of storing numbers in memory locations. The procedure includes pressing
the Store button on the side of the phone, entering the phone number,
pressing the Store button again, and selecting a memory location between 0
and 9. We think it would be beneficial to have some type of confirmation,
such as a series of beeps, when storing numbers into memory. The way it
works now, you only hear silence as you're pressing all of the buttons. A
beep or tone of some sort would be helpful in confirming that the number
has been programmed successfully.
Additionally, we would like to suggest that both auto-attendant and
voice mail capabilities be added to the PXP phone. As can be found in
competing SOHO phone products, these features could be built into the
system and utilize flash memory for storing information.
We noticed that we could not make a phone line active without picking
up the handset or pressing the Speaker button. We should be able to
activate a line simply by pressing one of the line buttons. Most business
phones offer this feature, which allows you to press the Line 1 button and
get a dial tone over the speaker without having to pick up the handset.
CONCLUSION
To have the capabilities of a business phone at home is more than a
convenience; it's a necessity. It allows users more freedom and control
over their business and home phone use. Because the successful integration
of business and home is such a crucial aspect, products such as the PXP
make that integration easier.
Overall, we were very pleased with the Personal Extension Phone and
would definitely recommend it as a SOHO solution. One of the main reasons
we liked this product was that it was so simple to set up and operate. The
hardware is compatible with the wiring standards found in most homes. To
the average user, this means that all you have to do is connect it to a
standard telephone jack, plug in the power, and program the extension
number. In our opinion, anything that keeps interruptions away from our
work is a good thing.
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