Hey, watch out for my pho*SMACK*

September 30, 2006 10:57 PM

Why does it seem that all modern phone/answ. machines when wall-mounted stick out VERY FAR?

Been to Fry's and Best Buy, so the sample is fairly small (~30 phones), but I didn't find one that was designed in such a way that when wall-mounted it would be unobtrusive. Is there some new thing that only the cool kids know about where no one puts their phone up on a wall any more?

posted by BruceL to technology (7 comments total)

I would say that the reason no attention is paid to making these things with a smaller form factor relates to b1tr0t's comment.

There's a shrinking number of people using actual answering machines. this one looks like it might not be too big though.

this one also.
posted by twiggy at 11:12 PM on September 30, 2006

Sadly, landlines are going the way of the Dodo. If you've ever been stranded out in the boonies during a blizzard without power, you'll know why it's sad.

Still, there are a few hold-outs that still design a nice phone for the old-fashoined fogeys like ourselves. Here's a nice one by Bang & Olufsen.

If you want to go the cordless route, I'd recommend something like this, or this version from the Danes. The cool thing is any additional lines you get for the phone just need a jack, so you can pretty-much put them anywhere.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 2:11 AM on October 1, 2006

That is, they just need a power jack, which is much more plentiful than, say, a phone jack.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 2:12 AM on October 1, 2006

Here's a picture of the last one mounted on the wall.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 2:14 AM on October 1, 2006

Motorola makes a few models that have an expandable number of handsets, such as C_D is talking about.
Perhaps you'd like this Motorola C50 SD4591 which has a wallmountable corded baseunit w/CID and digital answering machine. Then get a cordless handset or two.
Another shot of baseunit.
posted by sailormouth at 11:43 AM on October 1, 2006

Having seen this myself, I can observe that the problem is most often caused by the fact that the user wants to use the connector mount that is already on the wall, one that was intended for old-style phones. If you hire a phone guy to come to your home, cut into the wall and install a new connector that is somewhat recessed, you will probably be pleased with the result.
posted by yclipse at 5:28 PM on October 1, 2006

Good stuff, everyone, thanks.
posted by BruceL at 8:04 PM on October 1, 2006