Intellitouch 420 Execufone 420 SBC-420 Technology-challenged phone . Internet

Ever see a stand-alone caller ID unit show the calling number as 1-800-555-1212? The ones I've seen just display ten digits. No "1". Well, this phone does just that. And then when it dials a number it adds even another "1" besides. Naturally the phone company balks at that and says it cannot complete the call as dialed. Boo Hoo. UR SOL SUCKA. If someone from the example above were to call you and you wanted to call him back the phone would dial 11-800-555-1212.

Imagine someone calls you and it's a local call. This phone still displays the calling number with a "1" in front of it. Press Redial and it dials yet another "1" besides. Same for long distance numbers. Two ones. There is a way to program all your local area codes into the phone's memory, but it does no good. The phone is still going to insist on dialing two ones before any number you pull out of the caller ID display.

I called tech support and they were no help. "That's normal." What idiot thinks it's normal for a phone to dial a number in such a way that the phone company can't connect it for you? Are the programmers who designed this phone so technology challenged that they can't tell the phone to not add a one in front of a number when displaying it on the caller ID, or teach it to not dial a "1" when it's a local area code?

This reminds me of when the phone company was a monopoly. Supreme arrogance was their trademark back then. Maybe that spirit isn't dead yet. Or maybe the folks who program phones aren't good enough to get a real programming job and have to settle for working on phones instead of computers. Who knows?

I do know this though. Sucker beware. Find you a better model.

Arthur
Wylie, Texas
U.S.A.