CATiq

In the first post in this series I described the common aspects of the the various Gigaset SIP/DECT systems being offered in North America. This post will go on to examine the entry-level handset, model A58H.

This handset was already described in depth back in my review of July 2009. That review, which has proven to be very popular, was done on a system using the most current firmware at the time. There have been several firmware releases since then, some adding significant new functionality. I’m not going to burn the cycles to go through that entire process again, but I will offer a brief summary of its features.

Gigaset Communications reintroduced their line of SIP/DECT cordless phones into the North American market at CES in January of 2009. It wasn’t until a few months later that I received a couple of sample systems; the A580IP and S675IP. After actually using it for several months I reviewed the entry level A580IP system in July, and we have since been using it as our primary home phone.

One of the great things about the Gigaset phones is the way you can mix a variety of handsets against a single DECT base. The basic systems are complete systems, meaning that each includes one DECT base and one cordless handset. Beyond that you can add up to five more handsets, and they don’t need to be the same model.