GE 29869GE2 Digital Answering System with 4 Mailboxes
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Compatible Devices | Personal Computer, Smartphone |
Brand | GE |
Microphone Form Factor | Built-In |
Format | WAV |
Battery Life | 40 minutes |
Digital Recording Time | 40 minutes |
Microphone Operation Mode | General |
Global Trade Identification Number | 00044319801514 |
Manufacturer | Thomson Consumer Electronics |
UPC | 044319801514 |
About this item
- Digital answerer with up to 40 minutes record time and 2 outgoing announcements
- 4 message mailboxes allow callers to leave separate messages for individuals
- Digital message counter
- Reliable digital technology means there are no tapes or tape decks to break, jam or wear out
- Call screening, auto disconnect, message scan and ring select
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Top Brand: GE
Product Description
Product Description
GE Digital Telephone Answerer with 4 Message Mailboxes and 2 Digital Outgoing Announcements, 40 Minute Recording Time, Touch Tone Remote and Message Retrival System.
Amazon.com
Ideal for small offices or busy roommates, the GE 29869GE2 is a completely digital answering system containing four mailboxes. The call-screening speaker allows you to answer only the calls you want to; you can even set the precise number of rings before the machine picks up. With 40 minutes of memory, you won't worry about running out of space, and you can easily set a time limit for individual messages. Each incoming message automatically receives a time-date stamp, and simple controls offer the options of listening to only the new messages or listening to every message, along with deleting, saving, or skipping. Remote access allows you to check in while at work or on vacation, and with the addition of a 9-volt battery, the machine is able to save messages even through a power outage. GE provides a one-year limited warranty on parts and service.
From the Manufacturer
Corded 29869GE2 Digital Answering System
Ideal for small offices or busy roommates, the GE 29869GE2 is a completely digital answering system containing four mailboxes. The call-screening speaker allows you to answer only the calls you want to; you can even set the precise number of rings before the machine picks up. With 40 minutes of memory, you won't worry about running out of space, and you can easily set a time limit for individual messages. Each incoming message automatically receives a time-date stamp, and simple controls offer the options of listening to only the new messages or listening to every message, along with deleting, saving, or skipping. Remote access allows you to check in while at work or on vacation, and with the addition of a 9-volt battery, the machine is able to save messages even through a power outage.
- Digital Answerer with up to 40 Minutes Record Time and 2 Digital Outgoing Announcements: Better reliability. No tapes or tape decks to break, jam or wear out. Digital microchip provides instant playback of messages.
- Four Message Mailboxes: Family members can receive messages in their own mailboxes. No need to listen to messages for others.
- Digital Message Counter: Displays number of new messages received.
- Auto Disconnect: Outgoing announcement automatically stops and resets when any phone in the house is answered.
- Call Screening: Allows user to listen to caller leaving a message.
- Message Scan: Allows quick review of incoming messages. Plays first five seconds of each message.
- Ring-Select Switch with Toll Saver (2-8, TS): Gives user a choice of how many rings before answerer takes a call. Toll saver delays answering if there are no messages, so if you are calling long distance to check messages, you can hang up and avoid paying for the call.
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Product information
Product Dimensions | 9.4 x 2.2 x 7.2 inches |
---|---|
Item Weight | 1.61 pounds |
ASIN | B00000J09V |
Item model number | 29869GE2 |
Customer Reviews |
4.1 out of 5 stars |
Best Sellers Rank | #501,830 in Office Products (See Top 100 in Office Products) #25 in Telephone Answering Devices |
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | Yes |
Date First Available | July 12, 2006 |
Manufacturer | Thomson Consumer Electronics |
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GE 29869GE2 Digital Answering System with 4 Mailboxes
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Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the answering machine easy to use and set up. It saves them time and aggravation with detailed programming instructions. They are happy with the value for money, record time, and voice mail boxes. However, opinions differ on functionality, audio quality, and overall quality.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers like the answering machine. They say it's a great digital answering machine, the best stand-alone one released for home purposes, and they can easily play messages from both boxes and delete them. They are satisfied with the features and performance.
"If you are middle age, this is the best way to control your voice mail. The TAM is feature laden with excellent performance. You have 40 min...." Read more
"...I often call from my cell to check for messages, I can easily play my messages from both boxes and delete if desired...." Read more
"...We are satisfied with the features and performance." Read more
"...It's certainly not a great answering machine but there are few choices out there for machines with multiple mailboxes...." Read more
Customers find the voice recorder easy to use and set up. They appreciate the detailed programming instructions and that it saves time and aggravation. The remote access is simple, and the battery back-up is a big plus.
"This machine works out great for a small business. It's easy to setup and use. The sound quality is very good too...." Read more
"The setup was easy. But when I went to review my messages...the roboot voice was so bad I could hardly understand with it was saying...." Read more
"...It is further hampered by a low sampling rate; thus it is very hard to comprehend during a remote retrieval session...." Read more
"...This machine saves us time and aggravation." Read more
Customers appreciate the value for money of the voice recorder. They find it a good product for the price, excellent, and great for a business or home with multiple family members who don't want to share one.
"...It's a pretty short list. The GE 29869GE2 gets the job done for a good price...." Read more
"...and is a good product for the price." Read more
"The machine was priced right which is why I chose it. I've owned it for about a year. This answering machine is unreliable...." Read more
"Great machine for a business or home with multiple family members who don't want to share 1 message center. Recommend" Read more
Customers appreciate the voice recorder's 40-minute recording time. They say it can store up to forty minutes worth of messages, even if the phone company screws up.
"...You have 40 min. total record time and the voice quality is the best I have heard...." Read more
"...It can store up to forty minutes worth of messages, and I have them even if the phone company screws up things..." Read more
"...for an answering machine with four mailboxes, memos, and plenty of record time & this does the trick...." Read more
"...The 40 minutes on this unit seemed ideal. Unfortunately, the speaker was so poor that many of the messages were garbled almost beyond recognition...." Read more
Customers appreciate the voicemail boxes. They say it provides them with 4 mailboxes, so the secretary no longer needs to waste time reviewing. The multiple mailboxes also provide enough answering boxes for the office and they can check their own.
"...The one good point is that it can provide four separate voicemail boxes. This is more than offset by several drawbacks:..." Read more
"...Two advantages are (1) the multiple mailboxes - I do not have to listen to my wife's various organizational calls and (2) the ability to set a time..." Read more
"This was the perfect solution for our situation. It provided us with 4 voice mail boxes so the secretary no longer needs to waste time reviewing..." Read more
"...Provides enough answering boxes for the guys in my office and they can check their own messages without going through every one elses...." Read more
Customers have different views on the voice recorder's functionality. Some say it works well and has excellent performance, while others report issues like data retention not working, battery backup failing, lights not working, and buttons not functioning properly.
"...The TAM is feature laden with excellent performance. You have 40 min. total record time and the voice quality is the best I have heard...." Read more
"...2. Battery backup does not work: It works perfectly unless you are a ding-dong and unplug the power supply jack from the machine which disables the..." Read more
"...--A data-retention system that doesn't work...." Read more
"...Not bad, not great, acceptable and does the trick. I am NOT sorry I bought it." Read more
Customers have mixed reviews about the audio quality of the voice recorder. Some find it satisfactory and easy to use, while others report issues like poor voice quality, inconsistent volume levels, and unintelligible prompts.
"...I wish the audio quality were better - but I can live with it. I also wish my cat didn't erase the outgoing message by walking on it so often...." Read more
"...You have 40 min. total record time and the voice quality is the best I have heard...." Read more
"...The comical result is a herky-jerky delivery of voice prompts...." Read more
"...But when I went to review my messages...the roboot voice was so bad I could hardly understand with it was saying...." Read more
Customers have different views on the voice recorder's quality. Some find it reliable and sturdy, while others report poor quality or a defective product that quickly breaks.
"...The machine is sturdy and reliable, very easy to use, and the remote accessing is simple. Given the lack of choice, I would buy it again." Read more
"...The GE 29869GE2 gets the job done for a good price. It's cheaply made with lightweight plastic but I have no issues with reliability or interface...." Read more
"...Soppy but true. This was always a reliable unit and I am glad to have a backup." Read more
"...These complaints are very valid. The quality is POOR, but unless you have auditory processing difficulties, the quality won't interfere with..." Read more
Reviews with images
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2025It worked until I fired my landline. I had it recycled.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2014If you are middle age, this is the best way to control your voice mail. The TAM is feature laden with excellent performance. You have 40 min. total record time and the voice quality is the best I have heard. The possibility of using 4 mailboxes is great if you want to route messages to different family members or use the same TAM for business and personal use. You do have only one password for remote retrival of messages, so expect all your messages to be heard by the entire family. The TAM is kind of quirky in the way it will only hold memory if the power goes off. Use a 9volt LITHIUM battery and be careful not to allow the power cord plug to detach. When you remove the power cord from the machine, you reset settings. This box originally sold for under a hundred bucks. Expect to pay 300.00 today if you want a nos unit.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2006I looked long and hard for a cheap digital answering machine with 3 or more mailboxes and more than 15 lousy minutes of memory. It's a pretty short list. The GE 29869GE2 gets the job done for a good price. It's cheaply made with lightweight plastic but I have no issues with reliability or interface. I wish the audio quality were better - but I can live with it. I also wish my cat didn't erase the outgoing message by walking on it so often. Moderately recommended.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2015This is now deemed "obsolete" but I've had one for years, and still vastly prefer it over the telephone company voice mail system. So, when my old unit started to behave badly (it's mainly an issue with the battery... somehow, the battery discharges even when the unit is provided with power, so power failures always result in lost messages). So, I replaced it with the exact same model... seen here.
The nice thing about this... well, there are several. I like having multiple mailboxes. I move messages to various "bins" (personal, business, and so forth) when I don't have time to deal with them. It can store up to forty minutes worth of messages, and I have them even if the phone company screws up things (I've had my phone company "accidentally clear my mailbox" several times over the years... not fun. So, I prefer having my messages LOCAL.)
I recommend this if you prefer keeping control over your own messages, and want more than a few minutes worth of storage.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2009The standalone answering machine had its heyday in the 1990s. Digital recording, an exotic and imperfect technology, transformed it from a complicated tape-based machine into a flexible voice-mail system.
The technology has stagnated since miniaturization made it possible to incorporate answering systems into wireless telephone base stations. This GE-branded machine seems to represent a sad backslide.
The one good point is that it can provide four separate voicemail boxes. This is more than offset by several drawbacks:
--An almost-unintelligible voice-prompt system. The designer of that feature seemed to be aiming for "robotic strict female voice," and did not build appropriate "shoulders" into each voice segment. The comical result is a herky-jerky delivery of voice prompts. It is further hampered by a low sampling rate; thus it is very hard to comprehend during a remote retrieval session.
--A computer-centric coding system for days of the week. The voice-driven time stamp system can tell you which day of the week a message arrived. But to SET the date, you have to know that the days of the week are numbered from 1 to 7, starting with Monday.
--A data-retention system that doesn't work. In theory, unplugging the machine from the wall (or experiencing a power failure) should not affect the system programming or received messages, as they should be retained in Flash ROM. Unplugging the power connector from the machine itself is designed to reset the machine--a desirable feature in the event that ownership is transferred to another person. In practice, forget retaining your messages when the transformer is unplugged, because the machine certainly will.
In sum, this is old technology, and it appears to have been realized by resource-starved wannabes who had little more than ancient parts, old designs, and a GE logo with which to work. There are almost no choices remaining for this kind of answering machine, but don't conclude that this one is still on the market because it deserves to be.
You would be better served to invest in a wireless base station that includes a mailbox-based answering system--and ignore the wireless handset if you don't need it.
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- Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2009This machine works out great for a small business. It's easy to setup and use. The sound quality is very good too. I was concerned about some complaints I read in other reviews, but have found them to be non-issues:
1. Hard wired phone cord: There's the cord + jack, and you can use either interchangably without problem.
2. Battery backup does not work: It works perfectly unless you are a ding-dong and unplug the power supply jack from the machine which disables the battery backup.
- Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2019The setup was easy. But when I went to review my messages...the roboot voice was so bad I could hardly understand with it was saying. The product arrived with a battery in it, so I am guessing someone returned it. It could have been defective, but I am going with another brand.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2022Some years ago we bought this for our existing landline to screen solicitors. We never answer the landline anymore — we let the machine do it — since the vast majority of calls are unsolicited sales calls, often from computers. This machine saves us time and aggravation.
Top reviews from other countries
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Johanne McCarthyReviewed in Canada on March 8, 2019
4.0 out of 5 stars J'ai pas d'instruction
J'ai pas d'instruction