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We help you find the one accessory your home business can't live without
SURE, E-MAIL AND INTERNET-BASED COMmunication is here to stay...but it's still impossible to imagine a functional home office without a trusty telephone. Although some home offices may shelter beige slimlines borrowed from bedrooms, you need a true business phone-one that can match or surpass the multiline, conference-calling, bells-and-whistles phones used by corporate America.
Most small-business phones fall into two categories. One is a typical multiline device, in which two to four phone lines are plugged into one telephone. These systems are affordable, full-featured, and highly functional for the typical home office.
The second, newer category features so-called KSU-less phones-systems that promise much of the functionality of sophisticated, midsize office solutions at a fraction of the cost, partly due to the removal of the "key service unit," or separate electronic box, that handles such installations' auto-attendant, greeting, and call-- transferring capabilities. Instead, KSU-less phones' built-in intelligence enables calls to be transferred between different phones in your home and helps callers find their way to a particular extension or voice mailbox.
We reviewed six multiline phones aimed squarely at the home office. All boast two-line capability or better; conference call, speakerphone, and speed-dial functions; and caller ID support. Three are standard multiline phones, and three are KSU-less phones. All consisted of a base unit, a handset, and a power source.
We tested the phones the same way you would: placing and answering calls and holding conferences on several lines in a home office. When appropriate for multiple-extension phones, a small network of phones and phone lines was set up to check intercom capabilities and ease of use.
Any of these phones can make it easier to manage two or more lines, but they differ in sound fidelity and professional characteristics.
AT&T 954
HOC RATING
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Like the Casio SI-460 and the IBM 412 CID, the AT&T 954 is a KSU-less phone designed for a growing office that needs multiple phone extensions-it can handle up to four lines and 12 stations. This makes it an appealing choice if you want to pick up and transfer business calls between rooms. Also Like the Casio and IBM phones, the AT&T...