Not only does the phone have yes minutes of answerphone memory, but also has a built-in speakerphone and yes!

(The advert also lies; I have just bought the phone in question - from Amazon - and it has 15 ringtones total - 5 monophonic and 10 polyphonic.)

A phone that stays in your home only needs one ringtone.  Ringtones allow wireless phone users to distinguish whose phone is ringing in places where many different people happen to be present; in a home scenario, there's no need to distinguish which phone it is, because only the house phone sounds like a--house phone!

I also find it worrisome that they believe people have to be told that house phones don't do text messaging.  (Text messaging being a modern technology that allows average people to display their functional illiteracy in a much more compact format.)

Different ringtones in this context allow distinction between internal intercom calls and external phone calls, and allow users with Caller ID to have different ringtones for different callers.

There are some DECT phones on the market now that offer SMS messaging over standard phone lines if Caller ID is enabled (e.g. the Siemens S675 (which also allows custom ringtones).

mrprogguy:

A phone that stays in your home only needs one ringtone.  Ringtones allow wireless phone users to distinguish whose phone is ringing in places where many different people happen to be present; in a home scenario, there's no need to distinguish which phone it is, because only the house phone sounds like a--house phone!

What if you have more than one phone (possibly on different phone numbers)? In that case you might have multiple ringtones so you know the difference of each one, maybe you should also buy a different colors of phones so you know the difference of each one, also.

: IF COMPILE ?-GOTO COMPILE-HERE ; IMMEDIATE
: THEN HERE SWAP ! ; IMMEDIATE
: ELSE COMPILE GOTO COMPILE-HERE SWAP HERE SWAP ! ; IMMEDIATE

I think I have that exact phone. There's no model number I can see but it looks the same. Last I checked it doesn't support assigning different ring tones to different callers. But all the polyphonic tones get annoying really fast anyway. D:

mrprogguy:

A phone that stays in your home only needs one ringtone.  Ringtones allow wireless phone users to distinguish whose phone is ringing in places where many different people happen to be present; in a home scenario, there's no need to distinguish which phone it is, because only the house phone sounds like a--house phone!

Maybe that's all you use it for.  It's actually useful for caller id purposes.  Like for when the in-laws are calling.  Or if it might be worth interrupting whatever you're doing to get up and get the phone, or just let it go to voicemail.

I am sure that the missing ringtone simply is the off setting.

Tesco are great for this. Have a look at the TV section, and under the Brands section on the left you'll find "Technika" and "Tecknika"

Many home phones in the UK and Ireland are able to send/reeive text messaging, so telling people that a new DECT phone doesn't is a good idea  - most new ones are.

henke37:

I am sure that the missing ringtone simply is the off setting.

What about the remaining 16?

The main function of different ringtones assigned to callerids is to know which calls NOT to take. 

TheRider:

The main function of different ringtones assigned to callerids is to know which calls NOT to take. 

You forgot to add: .. without having to get up and check the Caller ID unit itself.

With AT&T, I have the Complete Choice plan. I can assign different rings to a limited set of numbers. I have a custom ring assigned to my dad's number. So, when he calls, I get a burst ring instead of the standard one. This works with any phone plugged into the line as the ring is controlled by AT&T -- not the phone.

mrprogguy:

I also find it worrisome that they believe people have to be told that house phones don't do text messaging.  (Text messaging being a modern technology that allows average people to display their functional illiteracy in a much more compact format.)

 

Panasonic actually make quite a few home phones that have SMS capability

mrprogguy:

A phone that stays in your home only needs one ringtone.  Ringtones allow wireless phone users to distinguish whose phone is ringing in places where many different people happen to be present; in a home scenario, there's no need to distinguish which phone it is, because only the house phone sounds like a--house phone!

I also find it worrisome that they believe people have to be told that house phones don't do text messaging.  (Text messaging being a modern technology that allows average people to display their functional illiteracy in a much more compact format.)

 

NOT TRUE: Ringtones make people feel like they are "COOL" and "AWSOME", but instead make them look like idiots. This is mainly true for MP3 ringtones and the such.

 

My house phone has a nice Text-to-Speach caller ID, it lets me know quickly when someone annoying is calling so I can get mentally prepared for the pain.

No, that's why you don't let people who work at Tesco's do data entry.

Maybe the 16 ringtone melodies include "I've Seen All Good People," "Owner of a Lonely Heart,"  and of course "Long Distance Runaround."

Mr_Bad_Example:

Maybe the 16 ringtone melodies include "I've Seen All Good People," "Owner of a Lonely Heart,"  and of course "Long Distance Runaround."

 

They do ... and it also plays "Soon" when you're on hold "To be over" when you're call has gone beyond a user defined "annoyingly long" length. You can program it also as an alarm clock and Yes it will play "Awaken" ... there are some charges for these extra services however and these appear on your phone bill under "Five Percent for Nothing" ... 

Mr_Bad_Example:

Maybe the 16 ringtone melodies include "I've Seen All Good People," "Owner of a Lonely Heart,"  and of course "Long Distance Runaround."

Owner of a lonely heart

Better than

Owner of a perfectly functional cheese slicer 

Multiple ringtones are useful when you have multiple phones/phonelines in a small space.  That's why those big, 8-16 line "office"-style phones (like you might see on a receptionist's desk) have supported multiple ringtones since the 80s. 

Ringtone per-caller is also potentially useful.

mrprogguy:

A phone that stays in your home only needs one ringtone.  Ringtones allow wireless phone users to distinguish whose phone is ringing in places where many different people happen to be present; in a home scenario, there's no need to distinguish which phone it is, because only the house phone sounds like a--house phone!

 

Unless the default ringtone simply sucks. I have yet to find a phone where this is not the case.