Wes@Play - Toys - Bang & Olufsen Beocom 6000

This is by far the coolest home phone I've ever seen.

I've loved Bang & Olufsen equipment since the first time I played with their previous stereo system designs in the 70s. When every other manufacturer was using clunky spring-hinged pushbuttons, B&O had touchpads. When everyone else was using woodgrain paper and silver paint as decoration, B&O receivers were sleek black and aluminum panels with controls that lit up to reveal their purpose only when needed.

At first glance, the handset and base station are smaller than you might think, perhaps 5" across along the front and 7" deep.

Base Station
The shape of the base station is a sort of halved pyramid covered on two sides with 1/8" thick brushed aluminum, the third side being matte black plastic. The top of the base station comes to a fairly sharp point making this one of the few phone systems that can also split coconuts (or similarly shaped objects).

There's an LED on the front panel that lights up green when the handset is charging and red when the handset is off the base, but otherwise the base station is featureless. The base station does not plug directly intoa phone jack. There is a converter you need to go through first, which also hooks up to the power tranformer so there's only a single cord to deal with (nice).

Handset
The handset (of the six colors available, I choose "terra cotta") is about 6" long, 2" wide, and 3/4" thick. It's basically a rectangle with one side curved in. When the handset is on the base and you have voicemail, a red LED flashes when it senses the voicemail signal tone. The handset is quite light and fits comfortably in my hand. The two-line LCD display is backlit in green (see photo). Up to six handsets can be used with a single base station. You will need to read the instruction manual to understand the more sophisticated capabilities of the phone, but for everyday use it's quite simple.

Voice Quality
Of course, the thing that matters most is how people sound. Unlike most phones, the Beocom 6000 sounds like it has a full range speaker embedded in the earpiece—voices are deep and resonant regardless of the quality of the incoming signal. It similar to the difference between the built-in speakers in a laptop computer and computers hooked up to stand-alone speakers. The lower end isn't cut off, and the upper end doesn't have a tinny "telephone" quality.

The most notable feature on the Bang & Olufsen Beocom 6000 is the rotary jog dial, which allows access to various functions using just your thumb (the Apple iPod copies this design). The default choice is your address book, and you can go through about 12 names/numbers with one spin of the dial.

The handset also works as a remote, so you can pick up the phone, lower the volumn on your stereo or TV, and then answer the call. But, it only works with other Bang & Olufsen equipment.

05/27/02