I agree, speakerphones are great!

My BlackBerry can be used "on speakerphone," and my phone at work has speakerphone capability. At work, though, I'm in a cubicle (only Data Processing Manager III and above get a hardwalled office) and I think speakerphone conversations at work are disruptive to others; so at work I use a headset.

The phone in my office at home and in my husband's office at home both have speakerphone capability, as does the phone in the upstairs landing area. Hubs' phone at work is also a speakerphone, and since he's in a hardwalled office (senior level attorney - actually, all attorneys get a private office), he uses it.

I have a neck injury from a car accident, so being able to use a speakerphone is a necessity!

Speaker phone are nice BUT, I hate talking to someome on one because the whole world can hear you and many times it is hard to understand and hear the person talking into the phone. If DH has a problem with his computer and is talking to a tech. I usually have to talk because he cannot hear the person. Lindsey in your case it is a medical reason--can you write the phone off?? Just a thought!
Other than that, I won't talk to a person on a speaker phone and if I use one, as soon as the customer service rep comes on, I go off the speaker phone. Just me!!!

well, there's never anyone here, but me when I occasionally talk on the phone.

I just find that it is convenient when you need your hand to write with, etc.

I've used it twice today :o)

I have a speakerphone in my bedroom, very handy if I'm in the room and busy dusting,making the bed,doing crafts, even watching TV. I can hear and be heard from anywhere in the room. It also has a handset,which I never use. The only slight problem is I often forget to push the "hang up" button when I'm done talking, so the operator picks up and asks "Do you want to make a call?" Uuuuh, no.

My c/p has a speaker phone function, and so do my portables. I have hearing loss, and I can hear better on speaker phone than I can using either ear. I always let the person I'm speaking with know if it's on speaker, but the only person that's here usually, is my DH. I have a couple of chatty friends, and I love working on my cakes or fancy cookies, and sometimes even gum paste flowers; while using the speaker phone. I always let them know what I'm doing and they say they don't mind... and then I can get something else done while I'm talking.

I hate talking to people when they have me on speakerphone because it's harder to hear them with all the background noise. I like my earpiece though...it's not a blue tooth type but just a headphone type piece that plugs into the phone. it's handy when I'm doing dishes or something.

That's what I always worry about, Jenn. The people I talk to say that they can hear me just fine. I hope they're not just humouring me...

I like a speaker phone too. My hands go dead after a few minutes so I like to use it with my cell phone. I have one in the house also.

Mine doesn't have a headset. You put the receiver upside down and talk into it. I'll just use it when I need a free hand for writing, etc. I'm not a phone talker person :o)

{{!gwi}}

I am really hard of hearing and the amplified phone didn't really help.....I still couldn't differentiate the consonants.
And I couldn't use my hearing aids with the phone either.
So, now that we have speaker phone, I put in my hearing aids and put on the speaker. I am so thrilled I can hear and understand my grandkids.
I also have speaker phone on my cell phone which helps a lot.

I use it when I'm on conference calls so I don't have to hold onto the phone for an hour at a time...it's much easier to just set it down.

I have it on both my home phones...and forget to use it. Of course it would be so much easier than saying "I have to put the phone down while I...."

Would have been really handy while tech was helping me reset our digital cable box last week. Never even though of it! Maybe now I will.

I have speakerphones but only use them these days when I need/want to record the call or when there's other people in the room I want to be able to hear the other party, though I normally will mute the speakerphone. They're almost always harder for the other party to hear and I'm courteous about that so you have to talk unusually loud to be heard clearly. Also there's a bit of a delay while the speaker switches mode and if both parties don't know how to time their talking, you miss things and have to repeat things. I don't like wasting my time like that. When someone calls me on a speakerphone and don't know how to use it properly I tell them to get off that squawkbox or I'm hanging up.

I much prefer using a headset on my cordless phone. Vastly superior to a speakerphone. With that I can use the computer, take notes, look up things, walk around, answer the door, go get the mail, cook, work on laundry or whatever else when I want my hands free and not be tied to the phone location yelling down at the telephone. All the advantages of a speakerphone and more.

Phones are *not* a priority for me. So if I'm going to be on it, I want to be able to do other things. I do use the speakerphone option on the cell phone often though to boost the volume in noisy conditions, but that's not a true speakerphone, it's an amplifier on the receiver so you don't have the switching and delay issues other than those normal on a cell.

I have speaker phones but do not use them. I don't really care for the audio when others have theirs on speaker phone mode. Of course it is on my cell phone and I don't care for that either.

Sue

we have v-techs and panasonics and they all have speakers...i'm not much for using it unless i'm needing to follow directions from someone on the phone...I do love my speaker phone on the cell though!

Cynic complained that, "Also there's a bit of a delay while the speaker switches mode and if both parties don't know how to time their talking, you miss things and have to repeat things."

Ah, that's because you're not using a full duplex speakerphone.

The phone I have in my office at home is a Polycom SoundPoint Pro SE-225. It's a professional quality 2-line speakerphone. And when I do use it on speakerphone, I make sure I don't have any music playing or any other background noise that would be disruptive to the call. When I use that phone on speakerphone mode, the folks on the other end can't even tell I'm on a speakerphone.

Here is a link that might be useful: Polycom SountPoint Pro SE-225

Come to think of it, you can't tell when I'm using the speaker phone function. I know that one time someone used the speaker phone function to call someone without informing the person they were speaking to, and when they were told, they were not happy. Also, my son has called me on it when I've been out, and I couldn't tell. Nothing was missed, and there was no clicking, or delay at all. These problems must only occur on some phones, as Lindsey says.

Whatever you do, please don't yell into a speaker phone. You simply have to talk at normal level. So many people stare at the phone and yell into it. What's up with that!?!?

I had a Polycom too back when I still had a landline phone (different one than Lindsey's - actually an office conference room phone that originally cost $1000+ that I bought cheap used). Had extension microphones and speaker. You could barely tell I was on speaker at the other end.

I haven't had a landline in almost a decade, but miss the sound quality of those old phones. Speaker on my mobile phone is great for when you're on hold forever, less so for talking. My bluetooth handsfree car speaker is awful. I'll probably spring for a wireless Bluetooth headset soon, but I was trying to avoid these with the car kit.