Page: 4 of 4
Answering Machines: Ratings of Sources
Total of 5 Sources
1. Amazon.com
As of Dec. 2007
Answering Machines
by Contributors to Amazon.com
Our Assessment

There are only a handful of answering machines reviewed here, but most receive many owner-written reviews, making Amazon.com the best, most current source of reviews on answering machines. A few have received over 50 reviews. The top choice among contributors appears to be the AT&T 1738. Owners like its ease of use, remote access, caller ID announcement and sound quality. The GE 29869GE2 also gets good reviews from over 80 owners.

expand

collapse

2. ConsumerReports.org
Sept. 1999
Answering Machines
by Editors of Consumer Reports
Our Assessment

Consumer Reports tests seven answering machines, ranking each for message and greeting clarity (meaning accuracy of recording and presence or absence of noise), total recording time for each individual message and total limit for all messages. Editors also evaluate ease of setup and use. Testers recorded both male and female voices and had a panel judge the clarity of the greeting and playback; they also performed lightning-surge tests, but don't explain exactly what this means. Consumer Reports has not updated its coverage since 1999 and the tested answering machines are out of date.

expand

collapse

3. ConsumerGuide.com
As of Dec. 2007
Answering Machines
by Editors of ConsumerGuide.com
Our Assessment

Consumer Guide has the most recent coverage of answering machines, but it's not clear whether the answerers were tested. The AT&T 1722 is the only Best Buy -- considered one of the best because it has excellent sound quality, remote access, audible message alert and 19 minutes of memory. This model also has high-end features such as those you'd find on more popular answering-machine/phone combo units like memo recording and battery backup.

expand

collapse

4. Epinions.com
As of Dec. 2007
Answering Machines
by Contributors to Epinions
Our Assessment

There are fewer owner-written reviews here for answering machines than there are at Amazon.com. The best rated answering machine is the GE 29869GE2, but even this model receives mixed reviews. The GE answerer has some nice features like a 40 minute recording time and four mailboxes. Owners liked the price, the backup battery and the sound quality. The AT&T 1726 and AT&T 1738 also get better write-ups than others.

expand

collapse

5. BestBuy.com
As of Dec. 2007
AT&T 1739
by Contributors to BestBuy.com
Our Assessment Best Buy has only one answering machine for review, the AT&T 1739, which gets only two owner written reviews. Both like the various features and neither feels the device has a downside.

Back to top