Cisco CP-7945G Two Line Colour Display IP Phone - Black

I am 36. I have used telephones since the age of around 4 years old. Back then you could dial a number and talk to whoever picked up the phone at the other end. That was it. It may not seem like much, but it worked and was relatively stress free. Which is more than can be said for the Cisco 7945G.Ok, I might be exaggerating slightly, but this phone really is bad. For around £200 (@ 07/11/2013) you'd expect something good. You may expect a touch screen, or an easy to use directory, or maybe a game or two on there for those all too often boring meetings, all of which you could find on a £100 mobile phone. With this phone you would be disappointed on all three counts.The directory is awful. I mean really bad. It uses old texting style letter recognition. So if you wanted to call someone with the surname Smith (if you have this phone at work, like me) you have to:1. Press the directories button2. Press 5 for the corporate directory3. Press down arrow to choose Last Name4. Press 7 four times5. Press 66. Press 4 three times7. Press 88. Press 4 twice9. Press Search (yes, really!)10. Wait a second....11. Use up and down arrows to find the correct Smith12. Press DialAnd all that takes is 17 easy button presses!My employer bought 200 of these recently at £250 each. That's £50,000. Cisco must be laughing their socks off!Also you cannot hear your own voice in the earpiece when you talk. This may not sound like a problem, but it is. Talk to the person sitting next to you now with a finger in one ear. Not nice is it? That's how it sounds on these phones. It makes you instinctively cover your other ear when you're talking.Good points:Nice weighty handset (although your arm/shoulder gets tired quicker)Nice clear and loud speaker phone functionGood choice of funky ringtones (although you can't add your own)Connectivity to OutlookIn conclusion: Shop around!