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SBC Talking Caller ID
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Vendor Commercial
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ASOTVI Review
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June 13, 2008
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 What is it? A caller ID product that audibly speaks the name or number of the caller.
We found this product very easy to install right out of the box. You just put in its batteries (which are included) and then connect it in-line with your normal phone set (with an included phone cord) and then it’s ready to go. There is also a DC input jack on it for an optional DC power adapter.
Please note that you must have Caller ID service active from your telephone service provider for this product to work.
We performed three separate evaluations with the product, one with Caller ID information providing both the name of the caller and their phone number, a second test with no name provided and just the number, and lastly a cell phone call.
Essentially, this product employs a form of text-to-speech technology to take the text and numeric information provided to it by the telephone service and then do its best to pronounce what it receives out loud. We found this could be quite entertaining.
In the first test, the unit did a pretty good job pronouncing the caller’s name (see and listen to video), albeit somewhat robotically with a very basic synthesized “voice” that sounded “female”. And we also observed that when a name is provided, the unit attempts to announce that name only and not the number. Depending on who is calling you, this could be quite amusing.
Our next test was to call the unit with no Caller ID name provided, only the phone number. In that instance the unit audibly announced the calling number only.
Our third test was the most interesting, where we called the unit with a cell phone on the AT&T/Cingular network, routed to the landline of the unit on the Embarq network (formerly Sprint), whereby the Caller ID information came in as “Bellsouth Mobile” (we have no idea why), and the unit pronounced it as “Bellsouth Mo-Beel-O” with a heavy Spanish flair to the last word, pronounced with three syllables and the stress on the second. But then it was just doing its best to read the script it was given, so we don’t fault the unit for that.
All in all, we observed this unit works as advertised, and believe it would be very helpful for someone who was visually impaired and couldn’t use a standard Caller ID unit – or for just generally lazy folks who like to screen their calls but don’t really want to get up off the couch to see who’s calling even if they have the standard text-based Caller ID.
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Product: SBC Caller ID
Available From: Grace Digital Audio, Distributed via the SBC Phone Store
Summary:
- Easy to use & install
- Compact and light
- Excellent for the visually impaired
$29.99 + S&H
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